Who Knew! The Surprising Purpose of a Coffee Saucer Is...

Q&A Session

Q: What is the purpose of a coffee saucer?

Aristocratic A: To prevent the hot coffee from burning the table surface.

Common A: To place the spoon used for stirring coffee.

Refined A: To hold the saucer while picking up the coffee cup for a more elegant gesture.

Guangdong A: To hold bones.

The history of human coffee consumption is long, with different methods, etiquette, and customs varying across countries. If you ask Europeans, they might answer: coffee saucers are for drinking coffee.

Yes, you read that correctly - coffee wasn't drunk from cups, but rather poured from the cup into the saucer and then sipped. At this point, some might ask: Why not drink directly from the cup or serve coffee in saucers from the beginning, rather than pouring into a cup first and then into a saucer? Because Europeans at that time wanted to be elegant but were also afraid of the heat! Pouring into a cup was elegant, then pouring into a saucer was for cooling.

Image: "Woman Drinking Coffee" by Louis Marin Bonnet

The Early History of Coffee Vessels

Before the 17th century, spoons, cups, and plates were rare items in the West, and there were no cups specifically designed for drinking coffee. Most European cafes were influenced by Turkish coffee drinking methods, where a large pot of coffee would be brewed and then distributed into bowls for customers to drink.

- French film "Blue Betty"

We can imagine this scenario in modern terms: a well-dressed professional walking into a specialty coffee shop and drinking from a bowl - how down-to-earth! Another reason people were unwilling to use cups for drinking coffee was that even when cups were available, they were used for heating purposes and made primarily of tinplate, which conducted heat exceptionally well and was very hot to the mouth.

The Introduction of Chinese Porcelain

It wasn't until Zheng He's voyages to the Western Oceans brought Chinese porcelain to Europe that Europeans discovered: this material was absolutely heavenly! Although it also conducted heat well, it was beautiful and didn't rust! They began to imitate Chinese teapots, teacups, and tea bowls, creating cup and saucer sets that allowed for elegant coffee drinking. Although there were now cups specifically for coffee, they were expensive and scarce, only available to nobility, while common people continued to drink coffee from bowls.

Image: Jean Étienne Liotard

The Rise of Saucer Drinking

However! Even though they were beautiful, the cups were hot to hold and hot to drink from. Heat-sensitive Europeans complained: Can't hold them long, can't drink from them, and it's not elegant! So they started pouring coffee into saucers to cool it down before sipping. This practice quickly spread among common people, who began imitating the nobility by drinking coffee from saucers.

The Evolution of Coffee Cups

It wasn't until the mid-18th century that European porcelain makers gradually摆脱了 the concept of "imitating the East" in their vessel shapes. Coffee cups broke away from the shape of tea bowls, and teacups were also influenced, gradually evolving from common shapes like the "beaker" type to cups with handles - what we now know as mugs. Materials were no longer limited to pure porcelain and glaze, becoming more affordable for common people, allowing more coffee cups to enter the lives of ordinary citizens.

However! Even with handled cups, people seemed to have become accustomed to drinking coffee from saucers. We can still see from many paintings and photographs that both nobility and common people continued to drink coffee with the cup in the right hand and the saucer supported by the left hand...

Image: "Woman Drinking Coffee" by LOUIS MARIN BONNET

Modern Reactions and Experiments

Now that the story is told, let's look at some online comments! They nearly made this writer laugh to tears!!!!

So! The awakening of curious DNA led our writer colleague to briefly try this method of drinking coffee. Elegant~ Noble~ So hot!

Image source: Internet

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