My paternal grandmother (born in London to Scottish parents) used to drink her coffee and tea from a saucer because it was too hot to drink from the cup. She would pour the tea from the pot into the cup and then from the cup to the saucer. Her friend used to put a sugar cube between her teeth and suck her coffee through it. I have not seen anyone doing this since I was a little girl.
Maybe bone china cups with delicate handles transfer heat more than the mugs we use today? So the tea, the cup and the handle were too hot? If so I wonder why they did not just pour the tea straight from the pot into the saucer to save washing up. Or maybe that was considered bad manners…
I remembered it, so had a bit of a Google… Some modern sensibilities seem horrified, but this ‘teatrade’ article suggests it was entirely normal:
https://teatrade.co.uk/learning/why-do-teacups-have-saucers.html
The physics supporting faster cooling is pretty straightforward, plus the potential for increased flavour, due to the very likely slurping…
There was slurping…
That article is really interesting. Thank you!
My grandmother born in 1913 in North Carolina, USA did the very same thing! Thanks for sharing this fond memory.
And thank you for sharing. This seems to have been common in many countries way back then.
My mothers family (all from Newcastle) used to do the same thing, pour tea into cups from the teapot and then cup to saucer before drinking it. Not sure what the logic was (unless it was a thinner wider surface to cool it down quicker?).
You are right there I think Dave.