Sugar Etiquette in Jane Austen’s Era

When entertaining guests with afternoon tea, sugar and milk are essential to the properly set tea table. — Socially conscious Georgian and Regency era tea drinkers would either refuse sugar in their brew or only drink their tea with non-slave trade, East India Sugar. — Above are Georgian era sugar tongs: “These early scissor-shaped sugar tongs resembled candle douters, with loop handles and scrolled stems, terminating in wide, flat, shell-shaped claws for holding the sugar.”

“The introduction of coffee, tea, and cocoa into Europe provided the well-off with an alternative to alcohol for the 1st time in history. Chocolate drinking, coffee houses, and afternoon tea all acquired a gentility far removed from ale house bawdiness, and became 1st a luxurious amenity, then by the 4th quarter of the 17th century a middle-class necessity. But all 3 were crude, often bitter, and unconsumable, it was said, without sugar. From about 1680 the fashion for these hot drinks became a potent factor in the surge in sugar demand and consequent increased production, which progressively raised the sugar trade to the point of importance which it had assumed by 1700.During the 2nd half of the 18th century the temperance cause developed into an important social movement, initiated by various Protestant denominations and therefore strongest in northern Europe, in countries such as Britain and the Netherlands. 

“Sugared tea became the respectable alternative to beer or wine long before water was safe to drink without boiling. These changes in social habits significantly increased the demand for sugar and were probably responsible for about half of the increased trade. Socially conscious tea drinkers would either refuse sugar in their brew or only drink East India Sugar. The ingenious wording of a certain English china ware-house’s advertisement for sugar basins in the early 1800s exploited the contemporary wave of liberal thinking: ‘East India Sugar not made by Slaves,’ the pots were printed, thus enabling the purchaser to display his conscience publicly. ‘A Family that uses 5lb of Sugar a Week,’ the advertisement continued, ‘will, by using East India instead of West India, for 21 Months, prevent the Slavery, or Murder, of one Fellow Creature! Eight such Families in 191⁄2 years will prevent the Slavery, or Murder of 100!’” — from “Sugar and the Slave Trade,” H. Hobhouse

In the Georgian era, lumps of sugar, cracked from the loaf with steel sugar nippers, were lifted from sugar bowl to tea cup, with the aid of sugar tongs. The earliest reference to this constituent of the silver tea-equipage appears in W. King's cookery book, published in 1708. These early scissor-shaped sugar tongs resembled candle douters, with loop handles and scrolled stems, terminating in wide, flat, shell-shaped claws for holding the sugar.

The scissor design long retained its popularity and, as with scissors themselves, included the stork design of the third quarter of the eighteenth century. In this the tongs resembled a long-beaked stork, consisting of two long has joined together by a rivet forming the bird's eyes and serving as a pivot the body was shaped and chased to resemble wing feathers and the legs ended in circular loops for the fingers. — “1500-1820: Three Centuries of English Domestic Silver,” by Bernard and Therle Hughs, 1952

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

Etiquette of Mote Spoon Use

Shown above, 3 Victorian era, hand painted, china tea strainers next to an Edwardian era, treen tea caddy, holding a sterling tea caddy spoon. Also shown are Regency era sugar tongs and a Georgian era mote spoon. Tea caddies are special containers used to store tea. When tea was first introduced to European market, tea was extremely expensive, and often kept under lock and key, under the watchful eyes of the mistress or master of the house.

Seventeenth century and 18th century “mote spoons” were originally known as “tea strainer spoons.” In that time period, a speck or tiny piece of something was called a “mote” – in this case, it would refer to a bit of tea leaf. back in the Georgian era, the loose tea leaves were added directly into the teapot and then the tea was poured into waiting cups. It was difficult to keep errant leaves from escaping into the tea cups, which would cause the tea to continue steeping, resulting in bitterness. By using the sharp, pointed end of the mote spoon, one could remove blockages from the inside of the spout of the tea pot, thus saving the intended flavor of the tea. This was one easy way to ‘de-mote’ one’s teapot. But what about one’s cup of tea?

According to ACSilver.co.uk.com, “The mote spoon’s short life began in the late 17th century, with the London Gazette describing these elegant and charming spoons as: ‘long or strainer spoons with narrow pointy ends’. Intended to be used to strain tea, the general public did not take especially well to the mote spoon, and they only remained as part of a tea-ware service until the end of the 18th century due to the arrival of the tea strainer.”

As with many other tea accoutrements, there is a debate in the overall tea community as to how the mote spoons’ pierced bowls were originally used. While the pierced bowl was perfect for skimming the tea poured into a cup, to remove any stray motes or bits of tea leaves, it also, as others believe, was correctly used for removing tea leaves from the tea caddy, allowing the dust or mote to drop through its pierced holes prior to use. This was presumably done by gently tapping the side of the spoon. Until more information is uncovered though, the debate will remain unresolved. – Information from a variety of sources, including TeaHappiness.com and MortonsAntiques.com

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