When we talk about tea accessories, talking about the teacup is an obvious, unavoidable thing to do; we even create expressions around the subject ("It's not my cup of tea") whose origin we then forget.
And yet, there are several specific features to this teacup! Its shapes and materials have evolved considerably since the first examples were fashioned in clay, a small marvel of oriental pottery dating back several centuries before the year 0.
The Japanese and Chinese cup of tea
It is often said that the teacup as we know it was developed from the one that came from the East. However, the teacup as conceived in Asian territories is very different from what we know. First, it is very small, tiny compared to our modern mugs and thermoses. At most, the Chinese teacup holds 30 ml of liquid. This means that it must be refilled frequently – but also that the tea cools down more quickly.
The other distinctive feature of the oriental teacup is that it has no handle. No grip to gracefully lift the cup between two pinched fingers. Apparently, this absence serves a practical purpose: to check, without burning the tip of your tongue, whether the tea is cool enough to drink. If you can't hold the cup without burning yourself, it goes without saying that it's best not to dip your lips in it! Patience, patience.
In the European Far West (and soon the rest of the world):
While ancient Eastern teacups (or rather, tea bowls!) were crafted from ceramic or porcelain, historical records are uncertain about the greatest influences on the famous English teacup. Inspired by Asia, Europeans initially drank from these handleless tea bowls, and handles were added later. Others say the French were already drinking their tea from wooden cups. When tea became popular in Britain, it was the wealthy who enjoyed the privilege, and thus came the pretty porcelain cups with delicate floral designs.
Today, these traditional cups are still used, each appealing to different tea lovers. On a daily basis, tea drinkers readily brew their tea in the first cup they find. But for ritual or collecting, a typical cup always makes a more striking impression.
