I love going for proper afternoon tea and enjoying a lovely hot cuppa being served in a dainty tea cup and saucer. There is something quite special about enjoying tea time with a tea cup and saucer. But why exactly was the saucer invented? What was the original use of the tea cup and saucer?

What is it that we love so much about the tea cup and saucer?
Why is the tea cup and saucer considered posh?
What purpose did the saucer serve?

What is the Saucer for When Drinking Tea?

A lovely cup of tea is traditionally served in a dainty china tea cup and saucer, but who would have thought that the saucer is more than just a handy place to perch your hob knobs.

Surprisingly, the saucer was created as a sort of bowl to slurp from. During the 17th century when tea was introduced to Europe. The finest, poshest, wealthiest people would enjoy their tea this way. And many people still adopt this method these days too.

Why was the Tea Cup and Saucer Invented? — The Tea Cup and Saucer: A Saucy bit of History

Who would have thought that the saucer is more than just a handy place to perch your hob knobs!

When Were Tea Cups Invented?

Although the tea cup design looks like a simple creation, it has many alterations over thousands of years.

Starting way back in China thousands of years ago when tea was first accidently discovered by Shen Nung, the Divine Healer. In China, tea cups were, and still mainly are teeny and designed to hold only a small amount of liquid.

What do you call tea Cups Without Handles?

These ancient ceramic or stone tea cups are called sipper cups or sometimes referred to as tea bowls. This is quite possibly where the name sippy cups comes from for toddler handle-less beakers.

Almost 5000 years later, the handled tea cup was first introduced in Germany in 1707 by Johann Friedrich Bottger. Johann Friedrich Bottger was an alchemist who also created a type of porcelain.

During the 17th Century, the tea cup in Europe was mainly made from wood. It wasn’t until aristocrats started to indulge in the ceremony of tea, that the tea cup was made of elegant fine china or bone china.

Asia had been making hard porcelain tea cups for a long time before the British started to add bone ash to create more durable and hardy teaware around 1747.

Why was the tea Saucer Invented?

Not long after the tea cup handle was invented, the tea cup and saucer was invented and introduced in Europe.

Green tea is the preferred leaf to be taken warm in China and so holding a cup has never been an issue. Whereas, in Europe piping hot black tea was and still is the most popular choice.

In Europe, the tea cup was far too hot to hold the popular black tea, especially tea cups made from thin porcelain or fine bone china and so the tea saucer was a welcomed discovery. Not only did it keep hands cool, but kept the tea table from scorches and tea drips and stains too.

Tea would be poured into the tea saucer to reach an optimal drinking temperature much quicker than in the cup. This is due to the larger surface area of the wide and shallow saucer vs. the smaller surface area of the narrow and deep cup.

Drinking directly from the saucer, much like a shallow bowl, would save many burned lips, tongues and taste buds.

It is also believed that this very practical way of having tea time would also bring more fun and playfulness to the occasion too :)

Why do the British put Milk in Their Tea?

Just as the saucer was invested to help cool the tea more quickly, milk was added to tea for the same reason, to cool the tea more quickly. The introduction of milk was first for practical reasons, however, it became such a hit because of various reasons such as it helps to balance the flavour and takes away some of the astringency that black tea may sometimes have. It also reduces the cost of a cuppa as it allows for cheaper tea to be used with added ingredients such as milk and sugar.

What is the Difference Between a Tea Cup and a Coffee Cup?

Tea cups are generally smaller and more delicate than coffee cups. Tea cups have a wide rim and narrow base of the cup, while coffee cups are taller, have larger handles and more chunky to the feel.

Is it Rude to Hold Your Pinky out While Drinking Tea?

Pinkies out whilst enjoying tea is elegant for some people, but for others this is extremely rude. Pinkies up or out comes from centuries ago when the higher classes wanted to use as little fingers as possible to touch items that their unclean servants had touched! Nowadays, the term ‘pinkies out’ means trying to be fancy and a bit silly. However, some people regard it as rude and a elitism attitude, a very outdated thing to do.

Blog

Why was the Tea Cup and Saucer Invented?