Teacup

A teacup is a cup, with or without a handle, generally a small one that may be grasped with the thumb and one or two fingers. In some lands it is custom to raise the last finger on the hand, or "pinkie" when drinking from a tea cup. It is typically made of a ceramic material. It is usually part of a set, composed of a cup and a matching saucer or a trio that includes a small cake or sandwich plate. These in turn may be part of a tea set in combination with a teapot, cream jug, covered sugar bowl and slop bowl en suite. Teacups are often wider and shorter than coffee cups. Cups for morning tea are conventionally larger than cups for afternoon tea.

Better teacups typically are of fine white translucent porcelain and decorated with patterns that may be en suite with extensive dinner services. Some collectors acquire numerous one-of-a-kind cups with matching saucers. Such decorative cabinet cups may be souvenirs of a location, person, or event. Such collectors may also accumulate silver teaspoons with a decorated enamel insert in the handle, with similar themes.

In the culture of China teacups are very small, normally holding no more than 30ml of liquid. They are designed to be used with Yixing teapots or Gaiwan. Countries in the Horn of Africa like Eritrea also use the handleless cups to drink boon which is traditional coffee there. In Russian-speaking cultures and West Asian cultures influenced by the Ottoman Empire tea is often served in a glass held in a separate metal container with a handle, called a zarf. or in Russian a podstakannik.

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Wikipedia