Tea Cup Tales

Tea Cup Tales, Tales of tea and how to read tea leaves by Margaret Lange McWhorter, was published in 1984 by Ransom Hill Press. The Table of Contents include tea cups secrets, setting the state, the equipment, brewing the tea, reading the cup, symbols and sources, predictions, rules, and more!

With regard to selecting the tea, according to the author, black teas are usually the easiest to read. It must be black tea though. Green tea is difficult to read as the leaves are so large they fill the cup. A tea bag broken open is one of the worst choices as the leaves are fine and powdery thus causing the symbols to be blurry. Herb teas can be read the same as other teas, however, if the leaves are very large, it is suggested you crumble them between your fingers before brewing.

The author provides 9 sample cups that you can use to practice your interpretation. She confirms that you might not see what she sees, but reinforces that the idea is to see something and then interpret what you see. The reading must come from within you.

The second booklet, the magic in tea leaves, or how to read the future in tea leaves by Amber McCarroll was first published by the Tea Council in Great Britain in 2004 and is dedicated to all children who love tea parties. The contents include preparing the cup, reading tea bags, tea tray for a reading, ritual of tea trays, types of tea trays, symbols and their meanings, and flower-lore.

This is the first book that actually uses tea-bag tea and incorporates it into the procedure. This is the first book that incorporates flowers and flower lore into the book. She suggests adding the flowers in a stem vase and placing them on the tea tray as they are such an important part of the pleasure of the tea ceremony.