Teacups
Over time, teacups evolved to reflect each culture’s tea-drinking rituals
First popularized in Tang Dynasty-era China nearly 1,500 years ago, tea has grown into one of the world’s most important beverages, with roughly 15 billion pounds consumed annually. Over time, teacups evolved to reflect each culture’s tea-drinking rituals. From China’s delicate porcelain gaiwan to South America’s yerba mat gourds, these vessels may look quite different, but nearly all have come to symbolize hospitality.
Here are five interesting examples:
Milk Street
Chinese Gaiwan
Often made of porcelain or glass, gaiwan cups are more than vessels for tea—they’re integral to gong fu tea brewing, which involves an elaborate sequence of infusions. Gaiwan, which translates to “lid” and “bowl,” include a saucer; the three pieces are used together to brew aromatic loose leaf teas like earthy, fermented pu-erh, allowing its aromas to be fully appreciated. Gaiwan came into fashion during the Ming Dynasty, when tea culture flourished in China.
Russian Podstakannik
Dating to the 18th century, the podstakannik—which translates as “the thing under the glass”—was devised in Russian taverns to protect hands from hot brews. Russians traditionally drink black tea spiked with lemon and sweetener, served hot in glasses. Podstakanniks evolved from practical, unadorned holders made from brass or nickel into the ornate silver filigree models favored in the 19th century and those emblazoned with Soviet-era slogans and motifs. Today, Russian railroads still use podstakanniks to steady glasses on moving trains.
South American Yerba Maté Gourds
Bitter, earthy and vitalizing, yerba maté—the preferred tea of many South American cultures—traditionally is brewed and sipped from hollowed-out calabash gourds. While steel or ceramic versions have grown in popularity, many materos—or maté enthusiasts—prefer the aesthetics and sensation of a cured gourd, thanks in part to the sweet, bready smell it imparts to the tea. While decorative designs vary, no gourd is complete without a bombilla, a metal straw with a filter attached at the base that allows the drinker to sip maté while straining out tea leaves.
Moroccan Glass Teacups
Adorned with hand-painted motifs, etchings or gold filigree, Moroccan teacups are small by design. Tea drinking in Morocco is a social experience that involves multiple cups of tea; the small glasses allow for repeated fresh pours, rather than a single larger one that might cool before finished. And because the favored blend of Chinese green gunpowder tea and fresh spearmint leaves is not strained from the teapot, the flavor of each subsequent glass is different.
Tibetan Tea Bowls
Butter tea—made with fermented pu-erh tea, tsampa (roasted barley flour), salt and yak butter—is a rich, creamy beverage providing warmth and sustenance in Tibet’s cold, high-altitude Himalayan climate. It traditionally is served in jha-phor, or tea bowls. Today, they can be made with porcelain or other materials, but classic jha-phor are wooden, sometimes inlaid with intricately decorated silver. Butter tea is a staple of Tibetan life, offering energy and hospitality, and is consumed multiple times a day, particularly during meals.
