Takes in tea brewed by son (4)
I believe the answer is:
eats
'takes in' is the definition.
('eat' can be a synonym of 'take in')
'tea brewed by son' is the wordplay.
'brewed' indicates anagramming the letters.
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'son' becomes 's' (genealogical abbreviation for son).
'tea' anagrammed gives 'eat'.
'eat'+'s'='EATS'
(Other definitions for eats that I've seen before include "bits of food" , "Seat (anag.)" , "what is on the Christmas menu" , "Chews" , "Scoff" .)