Tea Cups & Tea Sets

Tea cups and tea sets in ceramic, porcelain and bone china — including yunomi, kung fu cups, sake sets and full services with pots.

Why are tea cups so small?

Because tea is meant to be drunk hot and, in the Chinese and Japanese traditions, in several short infusions rather than one long one. A small cup is emptied before it cools, and each infusion of a good oolong or pu'er tastes different from the last — which a 300 ml mug averages into one flavour.

Handle or no handle?

A yunomi and a kung fu cup have no handle by design: the cup is held in both hands around the body, which tells you the tea's temperature before you drink it. Tea served too hot is a fault in those traditions, and the cup is the instrument that reports it. A handled cup is the European convention and suits tea with milk.

What makes a set rather than cups?

A pot whose capacity matches the cups. Tea is poured from one pot into several cups in sequence, so a pot bought separately is almost always the wrong size for the cups it ends up with. That is the main argument for buying a service rather than assembling one.