Tea leaves: where the handle points

The tradition

Reading tea leaves — tasseography — spread through Britain and Ireland in the 1700s with the tea habit, and by the Victorian era it was parlour entertainment with printed guides. It is the direct cousin of Turkish coffee reading: same idea, different cup, different symbol list.

Preparing the cup

1. 1Use loose-leaf tea, no strainer. Bags make no shapes.
2. 2Drink until a spoonful is left. Hold the question in mind while you drink.
3. 3Swirl three times, turn the cup onto the saucer, wait a moment, turn it back.
4. 4Look with the handle at the bottom of your view. Shoot the inside in good light, handle in frame.

Reading shapes

Shapes are read as symbols with traditional meanings: an anchor for steadiness, a bird for news, a ring for a promise, a snake for a warning, a tree for growth, a key for a door opening. Two rules keep it honest. First, only read what is actually there — a reader who "sees" a perfect ship in three specks is telling a story, not reading. Second, location changes meaning: a ring by the rim is a promise soon; a ring at the bottom is an old one.