Teacup

For other uses, seeTeacup (disambiguation).

Teacups on matchingsaucers

A tea bowl without ahandle

Ateacupis acupfor drinkingtea.It generally has a smallhandlethat may be grasped with thethumband one or twofingers.It is typically made of aceramicmaterial and is often part of a set which is composed of a cup and a matchingsauceror a trio that includes a small cake or sandwich plate. These may be part of atea setcombined with ateapot,creamjug,coveredsugarbowl,andslop bowl.Teacups are often wider and shorter thancoffee cups.Cups for morning tea are conventionally larger than cups forafternoon tea.

Higher quality teacups are typically made of fine white translucentporcelainand decorated with patterns. Some collectors acquire numerous one-of-a-kind cups with matching saucers. Such decorative cups may besouvenirsof a location, person, or event.

In Europe, fine porcelain tea cups, such as FrenchLimoges porcelainfrom akaolinbase heated in ovens or Chinese porcelain, were a luxury for enjoying tea time. These cups are made with a handle and are paired with a saucer in a set and often feature hand painted decoration and gold or silver patterns, especially lining the rim and the handle.

In theChinese cultureteacups are very small and hold between 20 and 50 ml of liquid. They are designed to be used withYixingteapots orGaiwan.In Russian-speaking and West Asian cultures influenced by theOttoman Empiretea is often served in aFaceted glassheld in a separate metal container with a handle, called azarfin Turkish and Arabic, the podstakannik being its Russian cousin.

History

The teacup and saucer originated in China at the time of the near-simultaneous introduction of tea and porcelain. The original teacup design did not have a handle or a saucer. At some point a ring-shaped cupholder appeared to protect the fingers and eventually evolved into a saucer.The cups in 17th century were tiny, with the width about 2¼ inches across at the top,1¼ at the bottom, and the depth of 1½ inches. The saucers measured 4½ inches across. The European manufacturers initially copied the handle-less Oriental designsexported from theJapaneseportofImarior from the southern Chinese port of Canton (part of theCanton System,1757-1842), now Guangzhou. The teacup handles were introduced in the West in the early 19th century.The handles originally became a feature of chocolate drinking cups in the 17th century, while teacups were still handle-less.

Teacup platesoriginated in England in the early 1800s and provided a rest for the cup and a space for a light snack, went out of fashion in the second half of the 19th century.

Culture

A small-scale research was done by Yang et al. in 2019 to test the influence of the teacup shape on the expert evaluation of the tea taste. Significant variations were found,lending some support to the "you eat with your eyes" concept.

UnicodecodepointsU+1F375🍵TEACUP WITHOUT HANDLEandU+26FE⛾CUP ON BLACK SQUAREportray a teacup.U+2615☕HOT BEVERAGEis often rendered as a teacup.

See also

• "A Nice Cup of Tea"
• Gill (unit)
• Moustache cup
• Mug
• Saucer
• Tea culture

Sources

• Ukers, William Harrison (1935). "Evolution of tea-making appliances".All about Tea, Volume 2.Tea and coffee trade journal Company. pp. 436–448.OCLC1201914.
• Yang, Su-Chiu; Peng, Li-Hsun; Hsu, Li-Chieh (4 December 2019)."The Influence of Teacup Shape on the Cognitive Perception of Tea, and the Sustainability Value of the Aesthetic and Practical Design of a Teacup".Sustainability.11(24): 6895.doi:10.3390/su11246895.eISSN2071-1050.
• Jamieson, R. W. (1 December 2001)."The Essence of Commodification: Caffeine Dependencies in the Early Modern World"(PDF).Journal of Social History.35(2): 269–294.doi:10.1353/jsh.2001.0125.eISSN1527-1897.ISSN0022-4529.PMID18546583.S2CID22532559.\
• Schifferstein, Hendrik N.J. (April 2009)."The drinking experience: Cup or content?"(PDF).Food Quality and Preference.20(3): 268–276.doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2008.11.003.ISSN0950-3293.

External links

• Cool Trend of 1707: Teacups Get Handles