Crossword Genius

Ship’s officer drinking tea he buys (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

purchaser

'he buys' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'ship's officer drinking tea' is the wordplay.
'ship's officer' becomes 'purser' (purser is a kind of ship's officer).
'drinking' indicates putting letters inside.
'tea' becomes 'cha' (cha is a type of tea).
'purser' enclosing 'cha' is 'PURCHASER'.

(Other definitions for purchaser that I've seen before include "One who buys something" , "Buyer" , "he's bought" , "I'll buy" , "customer" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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