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Finding the Right tea-sets for You
Ready to serve high tea and brunch for your family and friends? Start with the right antique, new or vintage tea set.
Tea is a multicultural, multinational beverage and isn’t confined to any particular lifestyle or age group. It has humble beginnings, and one of its best-known origin stories places the first cups of tea in 2700 B.C. in China, where it was recognized for its medicinal properties. Jump ahead to 17th-century England, when Chinese tea began to arrive at ports in London. During the early 1800s, tea became widely affordable, and the concept of teatime took shape all over England. Today, more than 150 million people reportedly drink tea daily in the United States.
Early tea drinkers enjoyed their beverage in a bowl, and English potters eventually added a handle to the porcelain bowls so that burning your fingers became less of a teatime hazard. With the rise in the popularity of teatime, tea sets, also referred to as tea service, became a hot commodity.
During Queen Victoria’s reign, teakettles and coffeepots were added to tea services that were quite large — indeed, small baked goods were served with your drink back then, and a tea set could include many teacups and saucers, a milk pot and other accessories.
During the early 1920s, a sterling-silver full tea service and tray designed by Tiffany & Co. might include a hot-water kettle on a stand, a coffeepot, teapot, a creamer with a small lip spout, a waste bowl and a bowl for sugar, which the British were stirring into tea as early as the 18th century.
But you don’t have to limit your tea set to Victorian or Art Deco styles — shake up teatime with an artful contemporary service. If the bold porcelain cups and saucers by Italian brand Seletti are too unconventional for your otherwise subdued tea circle, find antique services on 1stDibs from Japan, France and other locales as well as vintage mid-century modern tea sets and neoclassical designs.
- 1stDibs ExpertSeptember 28, 2021Japanese tea cups are usually called Yunomi, which are cylindrical in shape. They do not have any handles. These tea cups are made of ceramic materials and are the most common tea cups used in Japan. Grab your unique Yunomi tea cups on 1stDibs today.
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022Handleless tea cups are called “sipper cups”, and are probably the oldest form of tea cups. There’s also a proper way to use them - two fingers on the bottom and your thumb on top of the cup. On 1stDibs, find vintage and contemporary tea cups from some of the top sellers around the world.
- 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022A plate under a teacup is a saucer. Often, saucers come with teacups and show off matching designs. The use of saucers dates back to the Middle Ages. During the 18th century, people often poured tea onto the saucer to cool it and then sipped from the dish. On 1stDibs, find a large collection of saucers.
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