Tea cups

I have a great fondness for tea.  I love the history of it in Chinese culture, the richness of the tradition of proper brewing technique, (sometimes) the convenience of bagged tea, the warmth and the flavors.  It invokes thoughts of sitting by the window on a rainy day or early Saturday mornings of working on my latest projects.

Now and then I notice some pretty adorable tea cups as well.  Here I've collected images/links of some fun, modern teacups.

These are tea cups designs such that over time and repeated use, the stains from the tea would bring forth the hidden pattern in the tea cups, adding beauty and reversing the idea of wearing down a item's value.  (By Bethan Laura Wood.)

These mugs have hidden floral stamps on the bottom, and turns those pesky stain rings into lovely prints.  With just two different types of stamps, you can already do some pretty interesting things.  How fun!  (By Valeria Miglioli & Barnaby Barford)  You can order them here, but they are pricey!

In a similar vein, there's this maze-like saucer to trap coffee drips.

Here is a very modern and interesting take on the tea cup called The Skase.  (By Steve Watson) 

Here are some adorable hidden animal tea cups, which you can find on amazon.

I'll end this post with a modern, minimalistic cup by Molo Design.