Mote Spoon Etiquette and History

What have we here? A Georgian Era Tea Bowl and Tea Cup. – The tea bowl and tea cup are based on early Chinese tea cups and bowls with no handles, however it is a bit larger. This Georgian era cup is shown with 2 period mote spoons and Georgian “tea tongs” or sugar tongs, to better show the size.

The Georgian tea-equipage usually included a tea-strainer or mote-skimmer, mote being the old English word for a minute particle of foreign matter in food or drink. This dainty little tool was like a long-handled spoon. The barb or point on its slender stem was used for clearing the perforations at the base of the tea-pot spout, and the bowl, patterned with perforations, for skimming the infusion in the cup.

The London Gazette for 1697 refers to “long or strainer tea-spoons with narrow pointed handles.” They were known as “long tea spoons” throughout Queen Anne's reign.

The bowl had rat-tail strengthening and circular perforations, pierced bowls. Saw-pierced bowls, lacking the rat-tail, were of Georgian origin. Early examples were sold en suite with tea-spoons.

It has been suggested that the contemporary tea-pot spout was usually too boldly curved for the spear-topped stem to be thrust down it. This suggestion overlooks the fact that the juncture of spout and body was protected by a perforated tea-leaf strainer. At that period, according to John Worlidge and other contemporary writers, the tea leaves were dried whole.

After two or three minutes infusion in the pot “the leaves spread out to their former breadth and shape” and were liable to block up the perforations, obstructing the flow of tea into the spout. The spear-knop of the mote-skimmer was used to remove these from inside the perforations.

Another widespread misapprehension concerns the perforations in the bowl of the mote-skimmer. Some collectors consider these too large to collect tea dust. In this connection it must be remembered that Georgian tea contained all the foreign matter now extracted by mechanical means. Such as floated on the cup of tea could be removed in the skimmer bowl. The skimming was sometimes done by the “tea-blender”, usually the most presentable house-maid or parlour-maid, who had charge of the tea-table equipage, preparing the tea and handing a cup to each guest and member of the family. On less formal occasions, however, mote-skimming was each individual’s own concern. Giant specimens usually bear George III hallmarks and were designed for use with contemporary tea-urns.

Some collectors of “strainer spoons” express their belief that they were used in France as snail-spoons, shellfish-spoons and absinthe-spoons. While somewhat resembling the mote-skimmer, such spoons show certain dissimilarities of design in keeping with their different purposes. — From, “1500- 1820 Three Centuries of English Domestic Silver,” Bernard & Therle Hughes, 1968

🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

American Tea Etiquette in 1980

In the 1880’s, the Meriden Britannia Company of Connecticut came out with a “self-pouring pots” for American tea and coffee drinkers. They were designed to “turn drudgery into pleasure,” “relieve aching arms” and avoid “soiled clothes.” Is it just me? I had always thought 19th century women were made of stronger stock than these silly two illustrated young women, who found pouring tea to be such the “drudgery.” 

Tea drinking was a fast growing American passion in 1980

Americans are not the greatest tea drinkers in the world. The British Isles, where six pounds of tea a person are consumed each year, has that distinction. But tea drinking is a fast growing passion in the United States, according to Sam Twining, export director for R. Twining & Co. Ltd of England. As ambassador-at-large for England's oldest tea company (1706 is the founding date) and the ninth generation of his family to join the business, Twining has acquired a large store of knowledge about his favorite beverage. And the thing he would most like to tell Americans, he said in a recent interview over a cup of tea, is that to make a proper cup of tea it is very important to have a proper tea pot. 

An examination of the pots on sale in American outlets has convinced him that Americans are as likely as not to end up with a perfectly dreadful pot, regardless of the cost, unless they learn a few things beforehand. A proper tea pot is one which pours without dripping. Its handle is designed so that the fingers go round it without touching the pot which is certain to be hot. The handle should be made separately and put on afterward so that it stays cool to the touch. 

The lid should have a little lug so it doesn't fall off when you pour the tea. Or, the lid may be hinged onto the pot itself to accomplish the same purpose. So that air can get in when tea is poured, there should be a tiny pinhole in the spout. If it isn’t there, a full teapot will create a kind of vacuum so that it is difficult to pour. A built-in strainer at the base of the spout is necessary to catch the tea leaves before they reach your cup. 

A tea pot may be made of earthenware, silver, stainless steel, glass or porcelain. All are excellent materials and impart no aftertaste to the liquid. Aluminum and enamelled cast iron, which chips easily, are not good teapot material. Aluminum turns tea blue and contact with iron turns it bitter and black, says Twining. Most English families have at least two tea pots, a small one with enough for two or three cups and a large pot, holding enough for at least six. “The brown earthenware pot, which we English call a ‘brown betty,’ makes a great cup of tea. It’s excellent for morning tea. But if I were giving an afternoon tea party, I think I’d prefer to pour from a delicate porcelain pot or a silver one that is more graceful,” said Twining. 

Regardless of the type of pot used, make sure it is clean. “The idea that a layer of built-up tannin in the pot contributes to the taste of the tea is disastrous,” he added. “The best tea is made in a pristine tea pot.” For Twining that does not mean that a pot has to be scrubbed to a fare-thee-well with soap or detergent. He advocates a brief rinse in clean water after each use and a regular, four-hour soaking with water and about a teaspoonful of bicarbonate of soda once a month. 

The English regulate the strength of their tea by the addition of more, or less, hot water. A tea pot and a companion jug of boiled water appear together on the tea tray. Unlike coffee, which tends to get more bitter through the day as it sits, tea stops brewing when the water turns cool. In most pots, this means after about seven minutes. Since the tea is not going to get bitter, unless it is reheated with the leaves, an individual does not have to remove the tea leaves from the pot before serving.

As a nation of coffee drinkers, Americans may not know that coffee cups and tea cups have classically different shapes. The tea cup is narrow at the bottom and wider at the top to emit the bouquet of the tea and to permit rapid cooling, A coffee cup is taller and narrower, said Twining. 

As for accessories for the tea-drinking ritual, Twining is for some, against others. He is against tea cosies, those fabric covers designed to keep the tea pot hot. Why? Tea is supposed to stop brewing when the water cools down. By keeping the water hotter longer, the cosy leads to stewed tea, he said. He does like a new filter pot that accommodates a filter paper and in effect allows the tea brewer to make his own giant tea bag. A lemon squeezer that works like a garlic press is another item of which he approves. 

English tea the meal taken about 5 p.m. each day varies from season to season. In summer, a thin tea such as Lapsong Souchong might be served with cucumber sandwiches or lettuce sandwiches and a light sponge cake. In winter, a strong tea such as Earl Grey would accompany toasted crumpets, hot toast, jam and honey, tea sandwiches, fruit cake and scones. 

Special among famous English teas are cream or Devonshire cream teas and strawberry teas. A cream tea consists of scones, butter, Devonshire or clotted cream, and strawberry jam plus tea. A strawberry tea includes fresh strawberries and Devonshire cream plus tea. Strawberry and cream teas are often taken in small country inns and tea shops, added Twining. — By Barbara Mayer AP Newsfeatures 

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Tea Etiquette and the Pinky Debate

Not only did Disney have it wrong on the pinky finger sticking out, but Alice having her elbows on the table, is certainly considered rude.

“Disney has it wrong I’m afraid; the extended pinky is a big no-no. The correct way to hold the teacup is to lightly grip the handle between your thumb and fingers but not clutch your fingers around the handle. Sticking your little finger out into the air whilst drinking tea in England will likely get you some strange looks and weak smiles but they won’t get you invited to the palace for afternoon tea, so please keep them tucked in nice and tight. Some people say that the “pinkies out” affectation dates back to the eleventh century when it was considered cultured to eat with three fingers and common to eat with five. Another explanation is that the earlier styled tea cups had no handles and therefore the little finger was extended to provide balance.” – Rachel North, Shipshape Etiquette

Old Chinese tea cups in Great Britain. 

Many disagree on the whole pinky finger debate, but most anthropologists believe the lower classes watched the upper classes on how to hold their cups, and believe that heat had nothing to do with how people held their handless cups of tea. “After all, the tea and cups came from China and the Chinese held their handleless cups in a manner without fingers extended.” – Maura J. Graber, The RSVP Institute of Etiquette

And prior to small salt spoons being used, other ways of salting one's food or adding spices were devised. "Pinky fingers were extended while eating, and kept away from the greasy foods so that they could be used for dipping into expensive spices." –Bernadette Petrotta, The Art of Social Graces

 🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber of The RSVP Institute of Etiquette, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Georgian Era Tea Etiquette

Etiquette demanded that the tea should be tasted from the spoon, and that the hostess should then inquire: “Is your tea agreeable?”

“Tea Drinking a Century Ago”

as it was told in 1899

A hundred years ago it was considered a lack of courtesy to take much cream or sugar in one's tea. Etiquette demanded that the tea should be tasted from the spoon, and that the hostess should then inquire: “Is your tea agreeable?”

Modern women would be shocked by a fashionable lady of those days who cooled her tea with her breath, yet Young wrote of a certain bewildering Lady Betty: Her two red lips affected zephyrs blow, To cool the Bohea and inflame the beau; While one white finger and a thumb conspire, To lift the cup and make the world admire. – Sacramento Daily Union, 1899

 

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia©Etiquette Encyclopedia 

Etiquette and Tea Tables

Mrs. Beeton's Lovely Tea Table

To return to the tea-table ...

Unless you are positively sure, when you have a visiter, that she drinks the same tea that is used in your own family, you should have both black and green on the table. Either sort is often extremely disagreeable to persons who take the other.

Drinkers of green tea, for instance, have generally an unconquerable aversion to black, as tasting like hay, herbs, etc., and they find in it no refreshing or exhilarating property. In some, it produces nausea. Few, on the other hand, dislike the taste of good green tea, but they assign as a reason for not drinking it, that it is supposed from its enlivening qualities to affect the nerves.

Judge Bushrod Washington, who always drank green, and avoided black, said that, “he took tea as a beverage, not as a medicine.” And there are a vast number of sensible people in the same category. If your guest is a votary of green tea, have it made for her, in time for the essence of the leaves to be well drawn forth. It is no compliment to give her green tea that is weak and washy. 

And do not, at your own table, be so rude as to lecture her upon the superior wholesomeness of black tea. For more than a century, green tea was universally drunk in every house, and there was then less talk of nervous diseases than during the reign of Souchong,—which, by-the-bye, is nearly exploded in the best European society.

In pouring out, do not fill the cups to the brim. Always send the cream and sugar round, that each person may use those articles according to their own taste. Also, send round a small pot of hot water, that those who like their tea weak may conveniently dilute it. If tea is handed, a servant should, at the last, carry round a water-pitcher and glasses.

Whether at dinner or tea, if yourself and family are in the habit of eating fast, (which, by the way, is a very bad and unwholesome one, and justly cited against us by our English cousins,) and you see that your visiter takes her food deliberately, endeavour (for that time at least) to check the rapidity of your own mastication, so as not to finish before she has done, and thus compel her to hurry herself uncomfortably, or be left alone while every one round her is sitting unoccupied and impatient. Or rather, let the family eat a little more than usual, or seem to do so, out of politeness to their guest.

When refreshments are brought in after tea, let them be placed on the centre-table, and handed round from thence by the gentlemen to the ladies. If there are only four or five persons present, it may be more convenient for all to sit round the table—which should not be cleared till after all the visiters have gone, that the things may again be offered before the departure of the guests.

If a friend makes an afternoon call, and you wish her to stay and take tea, invite her to do so at once, as soon as she has sat down; and do not wait till she has risen to depart. If she consents to stay, there will then be ample time to make any additional preparation for tea that may be expedient; and she will also know, at once, that you have no engagement for the evening, and that she is not intruding on your time, or preventing you from going out. If you are intimate friends, and your guest is disposed to have a long chat, she will do well to ask you, at the beginning, if you are disengaged, or design going out that afternoon.

We knew a very sensible and agreeable lady in Philadelphia, who liking better to have company at home than to go out herself, made a rule of inviting every day, half a dozen friends (not more) to take tea with her—just as many as could sit round the table, "with ample room and verge enough." These friends she assorted judiciously. And therefore she never asked a whole family at once; those who were left out understanding that they would be invited another time.

In pouring out, do not fill the cups to the brim. Always send the cream and sugar round, that each person may use those articles according to their own taste. Also, send round a small pot of hot water, that those who like their tea weak may conveniently dilute it. 

For instance, she would send a note for the father and mother only—to meet another father and mother or two. A few weeks after, a billet would come for the young people only. But if there were several young people, some were delayed—thus—"I wish James and Eliza to take tea with me this evening, to meet so-and-so. Another time I promise myself the pleasure of Edward's company, and Mary's."

This distribution of invitations never gave offence. Those who were honoured with the acquaintance of such a lady were not likely to be displeased at so sensible a mode of receiving them. These little tea-drinkings were always pleasant, and often delightful. The hostess was well qualified to make them so.

Though the refreshments were of the best kind, and in sufficient abundance, and the fires, lights, etc. all as they should be, there was no ostentatious display, and the ladies were dressed no more than if they were spending a quiet evening at home—party-finery being interdicted—also, such needle-work as required constant attention to every stitch.

If you have a friend who is in somewhat precarious health, and who is afraid of being out in the night air, or who lives in a distant part of the town, invite her to dinner, or to pass the day, rather than to tea. She will then be able to get home before twilight.

There is in Boston a very fashionable and very distinguished lady, who, since her return from Europe, has relinquished the custom of giving large parties; and now entertains her friends by, almost every day, having two or three to dine with her,—by invitation. These dinners are charming. The hour is according to the season—earlier in winter, later in summer—the guests departing before dark, and the lady always having the evening to herself.

We know a gentleman in Philadelphia, who every Monday has a family-dinner at his house, for all his children and grandchildren, who there meet and enjoy themselves before the eyes of the father and mother—a friend or two being also invited. Nothing can be more pleasant than to see them all there together, none staying away,—for parents, children, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, are all at peace, and all meeting in friendship—unhappily, a rare case, where there is a large connection, and considerable wealth.

We wish that social intercourse was more frequently conducted on the plan of the few examples above cited.

Should chance-visiters come in before the family have gone to tea, let them at once be invited to partake of that repast; which they will of course decline, if they have had tea already. In a well-provided house, there can be no difficulty in adding something to the family tea-table, which, in genteel life, should never be discreditably parsimonious.

It is a very mean practice, for the members of the family to slip out of the parlour, one by one at a time, and steal away into the eating-room, to avoid inviting their visiter to accompany them. The truth is always suspected by these separate exits, and the length of absence from the parlour—and is frequently betrayed by the rattle of china, and the pervading fumes of hot cakes. How much better to meet the inconvenience (and it cannot be a great one) by decently conducting your accidental guest to the table, unless he says he has already taken tea, and will amuse himself with a book while the family are at theirs.

Casual evening visiters should avoid staying too late. Ten o'clock, in our country, is the usual time to depart, or at least to begin departing. If the visit is unduly prolonged, there may be evident signs of irrepressible drowsiness in the heads of the family, which, when perceived, will annoy the guest, who must then feel that he has stayed too long—and without being able to excuse himself with any approach to the elegance of William Spencer's apology to the charming Lady Anne Hamilton.

Too late I stay'd—forgive the crime; Unheeded flew the hours,For noiseless falls the foot of Time That only treads on flowers. Ah! who with clear account remarksThe ebbing of the glass,When all its sands are diamond sparks,That dazzle as they pass!– From The Ladies Guide to True Politeness and Perfect Manners, by Miss Leslie, 1864

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette and Pinky Fingers

Please keep your “pinky” curled, and we'll offer you some of these yummy treats.  

Many people mistakenly think, and actually still teach others, that one’s pinky finger should be extended when one is drinking tea from a cup. This is not considered proper by any trusted etiquette authorities. It is what is commonly known as an “affectation” that has been promoted by television and the media for some time now, just as women eating and drinking while wearing gloves, has been promoted in period dramas and films. As Judith Martin put it, these little nuances help with what “is evidently intended to add a touch of what passes for ‘class.’” However, they are absolutely incorrect.

Curl your fingers as much as you can.

Many anthropologists and sociologists believe this habit was acquired hundreds of years ago, when the poor servants of the wealthy landowners and royalty in Europe, watched how their “Lords and Ladies” dined. They believe the servants picked up the habit of keeping a finger extended while drinking and dining.

And look, we don't thrust our pinky fingers out to pour the tea, either...

Only the wealthy could afford to purchase salt and exotic spices, like nutmeg, at their tables. Foods were eaten with one’s hands and a knife. Utensils were not used at many tables then. When dining, these wealthy people would keep the “pinky” finger extended when scooping up foods so that they could keep grease off of that finger. The finger could then be dipped into the salt or spices needed to season their foods. This kept grease and food particles out of the dishes holding the spices.
                          

Pinky fingers are perfect for “pinky rings,” not for sticking out while drinking tea.

Others think it started when tea and handle-less cups from China became popular in Europe. They believe tea drinkers would keep the pinky out because the cup was too hot to hold. However, the Chinese have never extended fingers in that manner, nor have the Japanese when drinking tea from cups without handles, so why would the British? 

The traditional cups that the Chinese use, still do not have handles to this day. These cups are held in the palm of the hand. Old artwork from the time, proves this as well. Perhaps the size of the hand holding the cup affected whether or not a pinky finger was left dangling in the air with some tea drinkers?

Old artwork can be very helpful in showing a period as it truly was lived.

Coffee houses, at which hot coffee was served, were very fashionable in England prior to tea drinking becoming the trend. There is no debate though on how to drink coffee from a cup with regard to pinky fingers being ridiculously thrust out. The only debate with coffee, is that in many countries, it is still socially acceptable for one to pour his or her hot coffee into the saucer, in order for it to cool down to a drinkable temperature more quickly. Pouring one's coffee into the saucer to drink, has not been socially acceptable in many other countries, since the early to mid-1800s. 

Hot chocolate was also drunk in similar, but oftentimes taller, cups. Saucers with deeper wells or “cages” were the norm for many years with these sets for hot chocolate. Also called “trembleuse” in France or “mancerina” in Spain, the saucers were designed to protect the cups from the “trembling” hands of elderly hot chocolate drinkers. Again, pinky fingers were seemingly not an issue.

Here are two etiquette violations in one image~ Drinking with gloves on and sticking the pinky finger out.

Today, most all etiquette authorities agree; The proper way to hold a tea cup is with one or two fingers of the right hand put through the hole of the cup handle, while balancing the cup with your thumb on the top of the handle. Some etiquette consultants recommend “pinching” the tea cup handles to hold the cup. Either way, your other fingers should be curled beneath the handle. — By Maura J. Graber, The RSVP Institute of Etiquette, 2005

🍽️Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber of The RSVP Institute of Etiquette, is the Site Editor for Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette and Tea Styles

High Tea is also sometimes confused with the teas that King Edward VII hosted during his reign from 1901-1910. Edward had so many meals in his daily schedule he had to change everyone else’s schedules. Famous for his huge appetite, Edward ate no less than 12 courses at dinner and is responsible for adding “appetizers” to the dinner menus of British society.

Just Some of the Different Styles Of “Teas” Held, or Given, for the Enjoyment of this Popular Beverage

Around 1800, when tea was very expensive and kept in locked containers called "tea caddy boxes," special tea caddy spoons were designed and kept with the tea. Tea caddy spoons were popular gifts and often engraved for special events. 

·The High Tea:  In the past, "High Tea" was considered the tea of the working-class rather than the tea of the elite. This tea was a hearty affair. Meat pies, rarebit, shepherd's pies, slices of roast, sausage, vegetables, casseroles, puddings, and heavy desserts and other dinner time staples usually made with leftovers were commonly served.  

The term “High” came about because the tea meal was taken at a high dining table, or with high back chairs all around a table. This was to distinguish the meal from the Afternoon Tea that was taken at low tables.  

In recent years, High Tea has become a term for elaborate Afternoon Tea, though this is an American usage and mainly unrecognized in Britain (with the exception of some London hotels, catering to tourists.) It is usually served between 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm.  

High Tea is also sometimes confused with the teas that King Edward VII hosted during his reign from 1901-1910. Edward had so many meals in his daily schedule he had to change everyone else’s schedules. His dinner time was pushed forward another hour or so to 8:30 pm or 9:00 pm. High Tea could now be held even later in the afternoon.

Known for his huge appetite, the King ate no less than 12 courses at dinner and is responsible for adding “appetizers” to the dinner menus of British society. This change brought it closer in line to what most Americans think of as a dinner time (around 5:00 pm). 

·The Formal Afternoon Tea: A "Formal Afternoon Tea" is an elaborate affair with white linens, silver, hats and gloves, bone china, and several different types of tea. Darjeeling and Ceylon varieties are suggested for this teatime. Tea fare consists of scones, at least four varieties of savories, and beautiful finger desserts or petits fours, presented on three-tiered racks, often buffet style. 

Traditional service time is 4:00 pm, however any time between 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm is appropriate. (Please remember that proper etiquette dictates one remove those gloves before eating or drinking anything!) 

Tea fare consists of scones, at least four varieties of savories, and beautiful finger desserts or petits fours, presented on three-tiered racks, often buffet style. 

·The Afternoon Tea or The Low Tea: An Afternoon Tea or "Low Tea" is designed to enhance social skills and usually is served in fine fashion and in several courses. Some believe the term “Low Tea” may come from the fact that hotels have traditionally used low tables in their lobbies to hold the foods and tea service presented at afternoon teas. 

This full-tea service includes scones, savories, and a variety of petits fours. It is traditionally served at 4:00 pm, however, any time between 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm is appropriate.

·The Special Event and/or The Seasonal Tea: These teas are designed for a season, occasion, or personal style for the hostess or honored guest. Although these teas require more planning, they also provide an opportunity for creativity in themes, menus, table settings, favors and invitations. Examples include; bridal teas, sweetheart teas, Christmas teas, harvest teas, baby shower teas, business teas, retirement teas, graduation teas, garden teas, and benefit teas.

·The Cream Tea: These Cream Teas are fondly known as afternoon "sweet-tooth teas" in some circles. They feature heavy, clotted cream from Devonshire, that is slathered on scones, rather than any cream added to the tea. 

Cream is much too rich to accompany tea, as it will curdle; milk is the preferred addition. Besides scones, this tea includes fresh fruits, berries in season, and cake. Cream Teas are traditionally served from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
                          

No pinky finger thrust out here. Perfectly lovely!

·The Brunch Tea: A hearty tea, Brunch Tea is a wonderful way to start the day. A Brunch Tea usually offers an egg dish, fresh fruit, or pasties which are light on sugar content. This is the perfect time to seek a hearty breakfast tea, since the traditional time is from10:00 am to 1:00 pm.

·The Teddy Bear Tea: This special tea, (in actuality, it is hot chocolate), was prepared by nannies for their young charges. The children would scurry off to their quarters to play with their favorite dolls or bears and sip hot chocolate while munching on goodies from the adults’ tea table.

·The “Elevenses”: The term “Elevenses” is a British version of the American office "coffee break," between 10am and 11am in the morning. The coffee break originated from the old "Second Breakfast" of European immigrants to the United States. In Britain, a tea cart with tea, crumpets, scones, or cinnamon toast is wheeled in for the break.

A post script: Remember...  one drinks tea. One does not take tea. During the Victorian era, the term to take tea was used by the under classes and considered a vulgar expression by the upper classes.

Contributor Bernadette Petrotta is the Director and founder of The Polite Society School of Etiquette. Her newest book is "The Art and Proper Etiquette of Afternoon Tea." 

 🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber of The RSVP Institute of Etiquette, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Tea Table Etiquette

Patented design for a tea service in 1873

Quaint Customs Once Observed by British Dames

Tea drinking has become very fashionable among us of late years, almost as much as it was in England a century ago, but the prevailing customs at the table are different. The “teacup times of hood and hoop” had their own etiquette, of a sort not likely to be revived. What should we think now of a fashionable lady who cooled her tea with her breath? 

Yet Young says of a certain bewildering Lady Betty:
Her two red lips affected zephyrs blow
To cool the Bohea and inflame the beau.
While one white finger and a thumb conspire
To lift the cup and make the world admire.

Again a passage in contemporary literature shows that it was a lack of good manners to take much cream or sugar in one's tea. Says a lady of quality to her daughter: “I must further advise you, Harriet, not to heap such mountains of sugar into your tea, nor to pour such a deluge of cream in. People will certainly take you for the daughter of a dairymaid.” 

Pinky fingers should not be thrust out– A pinky finger held out and up in the air, was never a quaint English custom! ~ Not a real “Dame,” and not the “daughter of a dairymaid,” either, Etiquipedia doubts that the cross-dressing, comedian “Dame Edna,” is what the writer of this article had in mind. 

Certain other customs may be remembered in this country among us who had grandmothers trained in the ceremonies of a later day. One of them consisted in putting the spoon in the cup to show that no more tea was desired; another was that of turning over the cup in the saucer for the same purpose.

Etiquette also demanded that the tea should be tasted from the spoon, and that the hostess should then inquire, “Is your tea agreeable?” Certain scrupulous old ladies ask that now, and the question savors of a more sedate and gentle day than this. — From The St. Louis Republic, 1899

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Etiquette for Properly Making Tea

Tea is an extremely delicate article!

A CUP OF TEA

How To Make It Properly, and How to Spoil It ...  from The London Telegraph, 1889

"It seems a simple thing enough; yet of the millions who use this refreshing and agreeable beverage a very small proportion understand bow to prepare it. But if not properly made, tea is deprived of a great deal of its value, and sometimes rendered absolutely injurious. The water to be used should boil, and it should be poured on the tea immediately it boils; if allowed to overboil the peculiar property of boiling water which acts upon tea evaporates and eventually disappears. Tea should not be a decoction, but an infusion. If allowed to stew, it becomes little better than a decoction of tannic acid. Tea that is overdrawn is hurtful to the nerves and to the digestion. As to the precise number of minutes which should be devoted to the process of drawing, some people will say five minutes, some seven, some will perhaps go as far as ten, but our experience is in favor of six; this suffices to bring out the flavor, quality and strength.
        

The replenishing of the teapot with fresh hot water is very objectionable.

Just as much tea as is wanted should be made — no more. Make fresh tea as often as it is required. The replenishing of the teapot with fresh hot water is very objectionable. As the thorough heating of the receptacle is of the first importance, the teapot should be made thoroughly hot before the tea is put into it. The earthenware teapot is preferred to all others by many connoisseurs, and it is superfluous to say that whatever utensil is used for this purpose should be immaculately clean.
                                    

Reading the tea leaves, do you see a better cup of tea in your future?

Tea is an extremely delicate article. Its susceptibility to the odors of commodities near it is a source of danger and deterioration, as it readily takes up the smell of coffee, cocoa, spices, cheese, bacon, or other articles of pronounced odor. The complaints sometimes made about tea would probably not arise if always kept in places free from such contagion. Tea should be stored in a warm, dry place; unnecessary exposure to the air should be avoided. Even when securely packed in the leaden chests in which it arrives in England, the change from the glowing lights of Eastern skies to the damp and humid atmosphere of this climate deprives tea of much of its beautiful fragrance.         

No burnt hands! No lifting the pot! No aching arms! No soiled clothes! It turns the drudgery of pouring a cup of tea into a pleasure! How fragile were American women? ~ An American made self-pouring tea pot from 1888

Tea of much better quality than is generally dispensed at our railway stations and refreshment rooms can be bought at 2s per' pound. A pound of tea would make 128 cups. This is "considerably less than a farthing per cup. You may well ask why is it that we should be still charged 4d and 6d "for a little hot milk and water slightly flavored with undesirable tannin."

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Moderator for Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

Both Sugar and Slavery Shunned

 

Sugar in novelist Jane Austen’s England: Sugar chests with locks were popular in 18th century Regency Era home furnishings of the wealthy. ~ Above, image of an antique sugar chest from Pinterest.

Because it was so costly, sugar was kept locked up in the 18th century. It was sold in many grades, from the highly refined, pure white sugar that only the well-off could afford, down to the darkest of brown sugars used by the poor. Granulated sugar had been only recently invented and was not yet widely available. Sugar was molded into large, cone-shaped loaves weighing several pounds each that had to be broken up or grated before the sugar could be used. Sugar cubes would not be invented until 1843 – if people wanted sugar for tea, they had to first break it into irregular lumps with special tools called ‘sugar nippers,’ from which practices comes the traditional question “One lump or two?” ~ Bernadette Petrotta, Polite Society School

Sugar scuttles, servers and a cone of sugar ~ Sugar was molded into large, cone-shaped loaves weighing several pounds each that had to be broken up or grated before the sugar could be used.

Regency Era "tea time” varied according to the time of day and type of foods to accompany one's tea.  The High Tea, or “meat tea,” was more of an early evening meal. It would have been accompanied by hot dishes like cottage pie, shepherd’s pie, or baked fish or other savory dishes with  root vegetables. The Afternoon Tea, or “low tea,” did not become the fashion until the early 1840s.  

Concerned Regency Era women like Barbara Spooner Wilberforce, (depicted by Romola Garai in the movie Amazing Grace), boycotted sugar in an attempt to end the British slave trade.

For a time however, sugar in one's tea, or anything else for that matter, became very unfashionable across every segment of society. In Britain, women were very influential in the anti-slavery movement. Many authors in this time period emphasized the connection between British daily life and that of slaves. Famous poet, Robert Southey, spoke of tea as “the blood-sweetened beverage,” and Sir William Fox urged the tea drinker to “As he sweetens his tea, let him…say as he truly may, this lump cost the poor slave a groan, and this a bloody stroke with a cartwhip.” 

At a time when many citizens could not vote, the sugar boycott provided the underrepresented with a chance to act when Parliament had yet to do so. Isaac Cruikshank’s “The gradual abolition of the slave trade: or leaving of sugar by degrees in 1792” embodies the outcry against the consumption of slave-produced sugar in England

By 1791, according to Thomas Clarkson, an English abolitionist and leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire, no fewer than 300,000 Britons had abandoned the use of slave-produced sugar in the West Indies. As Clarkson conducted his travels, he reported that there was no town through which he passed in which there was not one person who had stopped using sugar.

Quakers were at the forefront of the movement to boycott goods produced by slave labour in not only England, but the U.S. In 1824 Elizabeth Heyrick from Leicester in England wrote a pamphlet entitled “Immediate, not Gradual Abolition or An Inquiry Into the Shortest, Safest, and Most Effectual Means of Getting Rid of West Indian Slavery” which sold thousands of copies in Britain and the USA. She and many other women, many of whom were Quakers, believed that a boycott of sugar, one of Britain’s major imports, would help to make people aware of the suffering of slaves.

Some people used sugar from East India during this period. There were sugar bowls and other items produced which stated that the sugar a hostess or host was serving, had not been produced by slave labour. It seems that those who forsook sugar came from all classes and age groups within society. 

Inspired by her, women’s societies put out boycott pamphlets and started to compile a national list of all those who had given up West Indian sugar. Conditions in the plantations in which the slaves worked to produce sugar were appalling. Together with Susannah Watts she canvassed large areas of Leicester and promoted a boycott of sugar produced in the West Indies. By the following June almost a quarter of the town’s population had given up sugar. A few people used sugar from East India and there were sugar bowls and other items produced which stated that the sugar had not been produced by slave labour. It seems that those who forsook sugar came from all classes and age groups within society. – Compiled by Bernadette M. Petrotta and Maura J. Graber

 🍽Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber of The RSVP Institute of Etiquette, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia