Shocking! You Can Actually Drink Coffee from the Saucer!?

Cultural Differences in Coffee Saucer Usage

Cultural customs differ from place to place, and the coffee saucer is a neat example. In most of China, seeing this title, people would think: "Isn't a cup saucer just for decoration or insulation?" Only in Guangdong would readers be startled: "Isn't that saucer meant for holding bones?" Indeed, in Cantonese dining the small plate under the cup often doubles as a bone dish.

True enough, on a modern coffee table the saucer mainly serves as a coaster and a supporting "prop" to round out the mood. In Europe before the 18th century, however, the saucer's main function was -- to drink coffee from with elegance.

The History of Coffee in Europe

In 1640, the Dutch brought coffee from Mocha, Yemen, to the Netherlands, and from there it spread across Europe, immediately sparking a wave of coffee fever. In Europe at the time, "drinking coffee" was considered a fashionable thing to do.

Coffee back then was made by infusion: coffee powder and water were boiled together in a pot, filtered through flannel cloth, and finally poured into cups to drink.

But Europe at that time had no porcelain-making technology and was still stuck at pottery. The pottery cups it produced had thick walls -- nothing like the light, exquisite feel of porcelain -- and failed to meet the "elegant" standards of European high society. So they could only use fine porcelain cups imported from China as coffee vessels to satisfy their sense of aesthetics.

In Albert Anker's 1870 painting "Still Life with Coffee and Cognac," the coffee container shown is a porcelain cup from China.

But the imported Chinese porcelain cups had no heat-proof handles, and the extremely thin bodies naturally insulated very poorly. If you picked up a cup of freshly brewed coffee with your bare hands, it was a hardcore test for the fingers. If you could not bear it and let go, the expensive porcelain would fall and shatter.

(A piece of trivia: because the imported Chinese porcelain cups had no handles, and Europeans' stereotypical assumption was that a container without a handle could not be called a cup, they referred to those imported porcelain cups as -- bowls.)

The Elegant Solution: Saucer Drinking

The best method, then, was to pour the coffee into the saucer first to cool, then sip it elegantly and fashionably, much like modern cupping. This carried on until the 18th century, when Germans discovered how to make porcelain and could produce fine porcelain cups with heat-proof handles. As the technique spread, European high society all acquired handled porcelain cups, and the practice of drinking coffee from the saucer gradually faded out.

The works left behind from that era, captured in paint, document the act of "drinking coffee from a saucer" beautifully. Let us look at a few of these magnificent artworks.

This is "The Woman Taking Coffee," painted by Louis Marin Bonnet in 1774. We can clearly see the woman pouring coffee into the saucer to cool it.

And this is "Spring Detail," painted by the German court painter Peter Jacob Horemans, where the noble lady is likewise pouring coffee into the saucer to cool it.

This painting is "Coffee Granny," by the Finnish art painter Anna Sofia Sahlstén in 1895. It depicts a kind old grandmother about to drink coffee poured into a saucer -- daily life for Finns in the 19th century. At the same time, the painting shows how deeply Nordic countries were influenced by the custom, and some people there still keep the habit today.

There are many more such paintings, and curious readers can explore them online at their leisure. But if this article leaves you inspired to try the drinking method that was popular in the 17th century, FrontStreet Coffee suggests you choose your time, place, and company carefully before giving it a go.

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If a bit of coffee history has you wanting to brew something clean and classic, start at the source. FrontStreet's washed Ethiopia Yirgacheffe from the Gudingding cooperative is the textbook African cup: jasmine florals, lemon-bright acidity, and a berry-toned, tea-like finish. It is easy to fall for and easy to brew.

For a contrasting, old-world style, try FrontStreet's Indonesia Lintong Mandheling, a wet-hulled Sumatran coffee that is earthy and low in acidity with a heavy, syrupy body. And if you would rather have an everyday Ethiopian with more fruit, FrontStreet's natural Sidamo Huakui brings berry, floral, jackfruit, melon, and honey into the cup -- an easy place to begin building a home-brewing habit.