When the Chinese began drinking tea, they used simple ceramic bowls without handles. Merchants began to bring tea back to Europe from the Far East in the 1600s. It didn’t make it all the way to England until around 1650. Originally, European tea cups were made of wood. Once the aristocracy began to drink tea, ceramic cups were imported from China. While Europeans tried to copy these wares, they weren’t very successful until the English came up with bone china in the mid-1700s.
While the Chinese preferred green tea that was served warm, piping hot black tea like Earl Grey was preferred by the English. This created a problem when they tried to drink their tea. It was necessary to hold the bowl securely with two hands, but the bowl was too hot. A German named Johann Friedrich Bottger solved this problem in 1707 when he added a handle to the teacup.
While the handle solved the problem of holding the teacup, but there was still a problem. Freshly brewed tea was too hot to drink, and the would-be drinkers had to wait for it to cool. The saucer was added to solve this problem. Drinkers poured the tea from their cup into the saucer. This increased the ratio of surface area to volume, so it cooled much more quickly. They then slurped the tea from the saucer (Doesn’t sound like what you would expect from the aristocracy, does it?). The saucer also acted like a coaster, protecting the table from the hit teacup.
The British also began adding milk to their tea to cool it down, as well as for taste. Teacups increased in size slightly to accommodate the extra liquid. They also added sugar to make the tea sweeter. Tea sets, which included a teapot as well the cups and saucers, were originally imported from the Far East. Europeans added sugar bowls and creamers to these sets. Silver tea sets did not appear until 1790, but they did not become popular until the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901), who was an avid tea drinker.
The British custom of afternoon tea is often associated with Queen Victoria, but it actually began with Anna the Duchess of Bedford in 1840. The purpose was to have a mid-afternoon break. In addition to the tea, it also included small sandwiches and pastries. It quickly became popular with Anna and her friends, and soon it became popular with the aristocracy. By the 1880s it was well established among all social classes.
The tea bag was patented in 1903 by two ladies from Milwaukee, Roberta Lawson and Mary Molaren. This made it possible to brew one cup of tea at a time. It also eliminated the need to strain the tea. It was somewhat cumbersome to make tea in teacups, which typically hold six ounces of liquid. Because of this, tea drinkers began using larger mugs rather than teacups.
After World War I concluded, collecting teacups and saucers became popular. Manufacturers began producing teacups that were intended to be keepsakes or given away as gifts. Here at The Snooty Teacup, we have taken this practice to another level.