At home, what do you drink tea out of?
Do you drink tea out of a mug? Most people do because:
- A mug holds lots of tea
- A mug is easy to hold
- A mug keeps the tea hot
- A mug is easy to carry
- A mug feels nice to drink from
Mugs are easy, reliable and functional.
Occasionally, people will use a vintage china cup and saucer like this to enjoy the ceremony and skill of making and serving tea. This is tea as art.
Why then, do so many cafes and restaurants serve tea in cups and saucers like this?
This cup and saucer is an abomination. It is not tea as art and it is not functional. It’s just wrong.
In contrast to the mug you drink your tea out of at home, it is:
- Difficult to hold
- Makes the tea go cold
- Doesn’t hold much tea
- Not nice to drink from
- Is hard to carry
These chunky cups and saucers are standard crockery in hotels, restaurants and cafes because they are cheap, durable and STACKABLE. They are designed for mass catering. You will find them in garden centres, pubs, wedding receptions and hotels. You even find them in fancy artisan cafes and in small and expensive restaurants.
These cups and saucers tell you:
- You are one of the masses
- You are clumsy
- You just want the liquid
- You are a space in our dishwasher
- You aren’t worth another few quid a year of our money to upgrade to mugs
- You aren’t as important as coffee and hot chocolate drinkers
There is no ceremony with these standard stackable cups and saucers. They aren’t about pleasure, taste or style. It’s time we collected up across the country and recycled then into something more useful and beautiful.
You are not stackable. Always ask for a mug.
