January 1, 2007 Sweet Willa Archive

The Mysteries of the Cup
By Laurie Nienhaus
 

              In The Book of Cups, author Garth Clark suggests that teacups have somehow been slighted for "…while vases, urns, and teapots have been extolled upon by poets, painters, and musicians, there has been…no ode to a teacup." Well of course not! The tea cup is completely cloaked in the mysteries of etiquette! Who has time to think creatively?

  There are no rules for how one handles an urn. One doesn't need to consider whether it's the flowers or the water that are put into the vase first. And, it doesn't matter whether utensils are put in front of or behind a teapot.

  It's time to set the record straight so the poets, painters, and musicians among us can begin our immortalization of the teacup!

 1.  If standing, you must lift the saucer with the teacup when drinking.
 If seated, you can simply pick up the cup.

 2.  Pinkies should not be extended (despite what everyone wants to
 believe.)

 3.  A teacup is not held with both hands. Rather you slip your index
 finger through the handle and placing your thumb on the top of
 the handle. 

 4.  Do not lift a tea cup while wearing gloves.

 5.  No making music! Gently swish your spoon back and forth in the
 middle of the cup.

 6.  Do not leave your spoon in the cup, but place it on the saucer
 behind the cup, preferably with the handle of the spoon facing the
 same direction as the hand of the cup.

 7.  Do not swirl the tea in your cup.

 8.  A cup of tea is not meant to be a thirst quencher or a means to
 wash down bites of food; it is to be sipped. (This can prove difficult
 if you've been served a very dry scone!)

 9.  No looking at others over your teacup. Look into the cup as you
 drink.

10. Fill teacups only 3/4 full.

11.  If you've been given a tea bag and not a small plate or saucer to
  put your used tea bag upon, it is appropriate to ask for one.
  Putting wet tea bag on your saucer will only cause you troublesome
  dripping a few moments down the road.

12.  Regarding the milk or tea first controversy - according to current
  American etiquette - it's the tea.

13.  Use milk sparingly at the tea table, or as Victorian mothers
  were said to admonish their daughters, "You might be taken for
  the daughter of a dairy maid."

  And lastly! When toasting, one does not actually clink the teacups (or any glasses for that matter). This was done in the Middle Ages to spill a bit of what had been poured into your cup into another's so you could be sure you were not being poisoned. Unless you find yourself at a surreal Agatha Christie murder mystery/tea, no clinking of  cups!

  Thank goodness that's settled! The teacup can now become your muse.

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