Why did European drinkers pour coffee into the saucer?

The saucer's original role was not to hold a spoon. In Europe before the 17th century, cups and plates were scarce, so people brewed coffee in large pots and ladled it into clay bowls. Chinese porcelain arriving through Zheng He's voyages prompted imitations of teapots and teacups, producing the cup-and-saucer set.

Those early coffee cups were expensive and limited to the nobility, while commoners kept using bowls. Aristocrats poured coffee into the saucer to cool it before drinking, a habit that later spread to Indonesia and evolved into the upside-down coffee style served with a straw, an unusual chapter in coffee history in europe.

Coffee cups and saucers—have you ever wondered what they're actually for? The average person thinks the saucer is for resting a spoon, Cantonese people joke that it's for holding bones, and coffee connoisseurs believe the saucer is for drinking coffee from. But the purpose of the coffee cup might surprise you—it's actually for filtering out grounds! This article takes you back to how Europeans transitioned from clay bowls to porcelain cup-and-saucer sets before the 17th century, why aristocrats poured coffee into the saucer to cool it, and how this drinking method spread to Indonesia, evolving into the unique upside-down coffee, complete with a straw for easy drinking. Along the way, we'll also touch on brands like Front Street Coffee, presenting an interesting chapter in the cultural history of coffee utensils.

Let's ask again: what exactly are coffee cups and saucers for?

The average person: for resting the spoon you use to stir coffee, of course.

Cantonese people: I've always felt it's for holding bones!

Long-time fans of Coffee Workshop: I've got this one! It's obviously for drinking coffee!

Impressive! Everyone's right!

So if the coffee saucer is for drinking coffee, what's the coffee cup for?

The average person: You're not playing by the rules! I use it to hold water for rinsing my mouth...

Cantonese people: For dunking the coffee saucer!

Long-time fans of Coffee Workshop: First pour the brewed coffee into the cup, then pour it into the saucer to cool before drinking!

Oh dear—wrong answer! The purpose of the coffee cup is actually to filter out the grounds! (Long-time fan: You said exactly that in an earlier article!) That's right, the writer did share this fun fact with everyone in a previous article!

In Europe before the 17th century, spoons, cups, and plates were all considered rare items, let alone cups made specifically for drinking coffee. So whether aristocrat or commoner, people brewed a big pot of coffee and ladled it into clay bowls to drink. It wasn't until Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas brought Chinese porcelain to Europe that people began imitating Chinese teapots, teacups, and tea bowls, creating cup-and-saucer sets for elegantly drinking coffee. Although dedicated coffee cups existed, they were expensive and scarce, affordable only to the nobility, while commoners continued drinking from bowls.

Porcelain is beautiful, and its heat conductivity is first-rate too. European aristocrats, accustomed to clay vessels, found porcelain lovely but truly scalding to hold (and to the lips!). Every time they drank coffee, they'd fumble about, not elegant at all! So they came up with the idea of pouring the coffee into the saucer to cool it, then sipping it in small mouthfuls. That's why in many famous European paintings, we can see figures holding the cup in their right hand and the saucer in their left as they drink coffee...

This practice quickly spread to the common people—they too began imitating the aristocracy, drinking coffee from the saucer. Although by the mid-18th century, European craftsmen started making vessels with handles, and materials were no longer limited to pure porcelain or glazed porcelain, making both price and material accessible to ordinary people, and more coffee cups entered everyday life. But the habit of drinking coffee from the saucer was still retained by the public, and even spread beyond Europe along with migration.

When it reached Indonesia, although people there also had the habit of drinking coffee from a saucer, pouring it back and forth every time was too troublesome and time-consuming! And no matter how you poured it, there were still grounds in the coffee, which really ruined the taste! So to make it more convenient, avoid scalding hands and lips, and keep the coffee warm—so they could drink coffee that wasn't too hot and had no grounds—the locals pushed the advantages of the coffee cup and saucer to the extreme!

That is, drinking it upside down! This way, you don't have to hold a scalding cup, and it also prevents insects and dust from falling into the coffee. The coffee in the cup stays warm, the grounds don't escape, and the seeping coffee cools down! It's like killing five birds with one stone!

The method is simple: put roughly crushed beans into a coffee cup, then add milk, condensed milk, or sugar according to the customer's request, then scoop in a ladle of boiling hot water, cover with a saucer, and flip it over! As long as your technique is right, there won't be a large gap between the cup and saucer, and the coffee liquid will slowly seep out~

When the seeping coffee rises to a certain level, it stops rising further. But when this method was first invented, it really tested one's coffee-drinking skills. Because you had to press the top of the coffee cup firmly with your hand, or you'd spill it all over yourself... Later, the coffee stall owners who invented this drinking method decided to provide straws!

First, you don't have to worry about your hand losing control while pressing the cup when you pick it up to drink, spilling coffee all over yourself; Second, drinking this way is a bit easier and more elegant. After the method of drinking upside-down coffee with a straw appeared, locals said it was totally 🉑️! So more and more coffee stall owners started serving upside-down coffee, and it became one of Indonesia's unique local coffee specialties.

Watching the coffee shop owner's practiced moves, the writer's mind echoed with Tao Dayu singing: "Come, turn the earth upside down!" And then I sigh: in the process of drinking coffee, the coffee cup's situation is really awkward, hahahaha!

Image source: Internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.