Drinking Coffee From A Saucer is an Old Tradition Your Grandparents Probably Did

Sure, coffee saucers serve a purpose by acting as a place to place our coffee cup or teacup. But did you know back in the day people used to slurp their hot tea, coffee or hot beverage from a saucer plate? It's true! While it is not clear where the practice was invented. Some say Sweden, where they purposely overfilled their cup so they could drink from the saucer. They would hold a lump of sugar in their front teeth and sip the hot beverage through it in a tradition called "dricka på bit" or "drink with a lump." It was a practice in polite society to drink coffee from a shallow bowl or saucer. It was even a verb: "saucering".

It eventually made its way to the United States. In the 18th century when Thomas Jefferson returned to the United States he asked George Washington why the delegates created two houses of Congress. "Why did you pour that tea into your saucer?" asked George Washington. "To cool it," said Jefferson. "Even so," responded Washington, "we pour legislation into the senatorial saucer to cool it."

Drinking coffee is an old tradition your great grandfather probably partook in to cool his coffee on a large and shallow surface area. Would it be weird to see it happen now-a-days? Probably.