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

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, We know that cultural customs vary from place to place. For example, in China, most people seeing this title would think: aren't saucers typically used for decoration or as heat insulation? Only Cantonese speakers would be shocked by this title, thinking: "Isn't that plate used to hold bones?"

Cultural Differences in Coffee Saucer Usage

We know that cultural customs vary from place to place. For example, in China, most people seeing this title would think: "Aren't cup saucers generally used for decoration or heat insulation?" Only Cantonese people seeing this title would be shocked: "果只碟，唔喺啰来装骨噶咩？" (Isn't the saucer used to hold bones?)

Indeed, modern coffee cup saucers primarily serve as coasters and auxiliary "props" to enhance the overall atmosphere. However, in Europe before the 18th century, the main function of coffee cup saucers was for—"elegantly drinking coffee."

The History of Coffee in Europe

In 1640, the Dutch brought coffee from Mocha, Yemen to the Netherlands, and then spread coffee throughout Europe from there, which immediately sparked a wave of coffee fever. At that time in Europe, people considered "drinking coffee" as a fashionable behavior.

Coffee at that time was made using an infusion method—coffee powder and water were boiled together in a pot, then filtered using flannel filter cloth, and finally distributed into cups for drinking.

However, Europe at that time did not have porcelain-making technology and was still停留在pottery-making techniques. The pottery cups produced had thick walls, unlike porcelain which is light and exquisite, failing to meet the "elegant" requirements of European high society at the time. Therefore, they could only use exquisite porcelain cups imported from China as containers for coffee to satisfy their "aesthetic" needs.

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 did not have heat-proof handles, and the extremely thin cup bodies naturally had very poor heat insulation. If one directly picked up a cup containing freshly brewed coffee with their hands, it would undoubtedly be a hardcore test for the fingers. If one couldn't endure it and let go, the expensive porcelain cup would directly fall and break.

(Here's a piece of trivia: Since the imported Chinese porcelain cups had no handles, and Europeans' stereotypical impression was that containers without handles couldn't be called cups, they referred to the imported porcelain cups at that time as—bowls.)

The Elegant Solution: Saucer Drinking

Therefore, the best method was to first pour coffee into the saucer to cool, and then drink the coffee elegantly and fashionably using a sipping method similar to modern cupping. This situation continued until the 18th century when Germans discovered the method of making porcelain, which allowed them to produce exquisite porcelain cups with heat-proof handles. As porcelain-making technology became widespread, European high society all acquired porcelain cups with handles, and the practice of drinking coffee from saucers gradually ceased.

The works left behind from that era, recorded through painting, well documented the action of "drinking coffee from a saucer." Now, let's look at some of these magnificent artistic works.

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

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

This painting is "Coffee Granny" painted by Finnish art painter Anna Sofia Sahlstén in 1895. The painting depicts a kind old grandmother preparing to drink coffee poured into a saucer, which was the daily life of Finns in the 19th century. At the same time, in this painting, we can also feel that Nordic countries were deeply influenced, and some people still retain this behavioral habit today.

There are many more such painting artworks, and interested friends can slowly explore them online~ But if after reading this article, you feel inspired to try this drinking method popular in the 17th century, FrontStreet Coffee suggests that you must carefully choose the time, place, and occasion to try it.