Tipnut Mailbag: Help! Fine China Cracks When Pouring Tea

Sharon emailed me with this question and I have a couple tips for this problem, but if you know of any more–please share them!

And PS: Do you put milk in first before pouring tea or do you do so last? I had no idea there was such a debate about it!

Help Prevent Fine China From Cracking When Pouring Tea

I have an extremely sentimental set of bone china.

Recently, I made my self a hot cup of tea. The cup “cracked” loudly and split in half.

Is there a way to enjoy my beautiful china without having the cups break when pouring hot liquids?

I am heartbroken. My Mother gave me this set and she is gone now.

Thank you,
Sharon

Sharon gave me permission to publish her question on Tipnut, thanks Sharon!

Here’s some info I have:

• Pouring milk or cream into the teacup first helps moderate the heat of the tea as it’s being poured into the teacup. This is what I grew up with and I also prefer the taste of the milk being “scalded”–but–there’s some dispute how “proper” this is (see notes below).
• If you’re a tea drinker who doesn’t enjoy milk or cream with your tea, another method is to put your teaspoon into the cup and then pour the hot tea over the spoon–this helps moderate the heat as well.

I decided to do a little investigating and found a page on Canada’s Globe and Mail website: Tea Time With Globe And Mail, quite a debate going! A few quotes:

I have found in my research that the milk went in first to save the fine china from cracking with the heat of the tea alone. Pouring the hot tea on a spoon in the cup should accomplish this too.

And another note:

Growing up in England, I was taught to put the milk into the teacup before the tea. This was so that the fine bone china would not be cracked or stained by the hot tea. Since English homes were kept cooler in the past, the cups were likely to be cool too. If you didn’t put the milk in first, you were supposed to stand a silver spoon in the cup while you were pouring the tea to diffuse the heat. Today the houses are warmer, as are the cups, and it makes more sense to put the milk in after the tea so that you get just the right balance of tea and milk. Even the queen does it this way today.

And one more quote:

There are often two reasons given for putting the milk in first. One is that if a smaller quantity of milk is poured into the much larger and much hotter volume of tea, it will be scalded, or “cooked,” and this will affect the taste. However, I have never been able to see such a difference myself. The second reason given is that fine china can be cracked if very hot liquid is poured into it. The cold milk at the bottom will moderate the thermal shock. As we tend to drink tea in mugs, a la George Orwell, this is not a consideration!

When using regular every-day teacups, pouring milk in first or last is by personal preference since the pottery or glass will probably not be so delicate and hold up just fine, but if you’re trying to protect your pieces of old fine china, I think milk should definitely be poured first.

Any thoughts or more tips? The temptation may be to pack away the fine china and admire the pieces from afar, but when they’re sentimental (like in Sharon’s case), it really would be nice to actually use them and enjoy the memories that the china brings.

More tips for tea and caring for fine china: How To Clean Stains From Teapots, How To Wash & Care For Fine China Dishes and Tea Tips & Tea Essence Recipes.

This is the newest addition to the Tipnut Mailbag section. I realize this was a reader question instead of a tip submitted, but I think it was a great question that others would find helpful.

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