merton said

Typically, what size are teacups?

I am looking at picking up some teacups soon. These won’t be cups that I drink out of on a regular basis (I have a nice 10oz mug from DAVIDsTEA for that), these will be more for when I have friends and family over. I want to get some cool teacups that add to the experience of drinking and sharing tea.

I am not looking for dimensions of the cup, rather, how many oz do they typically hold. I see some at DAVIDsTEA that are 6oz (http://www.davidstea.com/bubble-teacup-white-en?&TF=&DEID=). Is this the typical size?

I know it is really up to me, I am just trying to think what would be best if I have 3 or 4 people over for tea. I have a 32oz pot.

Side note: I am not planning on buying these from DAVIDsTEA. I really like my mug from DAVIDs, I am just looking to pick up some unique cups for my set.

13 Replies
darby select said

If you’re wanting to share a pot from friends, I find something smaller is better – 4 to 6 oz. Something like this is what I use:
http://www.teavana.com/tea-products/tea-cups-mugs/ceramic-tea-cups/p/colorful-porcelain-tea-cup

If I want to make a cup for mom when she comes over then I usually go about 16oz for a single cup.

merton said

Thanks for the input. I was originally thinking something like 4oz, but then I saw the 6oz cups on DAVIDs and didn’t know if 4oz was too small or not.

darby select said

No, not really. The smaller cups are nice if you want to share a pot or if you’re going to try more than one kind. Not everyone can drink as much tea as we can! LOL

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Uniquity said

The bubble teacups you show above are probably the smallest cups I own other than my super tiny ones I use with my gaiwan – though my guests that drink tea tend to be tea fans so they tend to want 6 – 12 ounces of tea. I have a ridiculous collection of mugs actually. It probably should be a little embarassing how many people I can give tea to…I also have dinnerware for 12, despite being a two person household. Oh well! :)

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ashmanra said

I think most English tea set cups are around five ounces, Asian cups around four ounces, and gong fu cups between one and two ounces. Breakfast cups in western tea sets are larger. I like using my four and five ounce cups when having tea with guests. You can always refill, plus if you are enjoying trying several different kinds of tea, you won’t get too full from the first big cup! At tea time I usually serve three different types, so the smaller cup is great.

merton said

Thanks for the input!

I agree, Japanese yunomis are around four ounces, that’s what I use everyday. For drinking gyokuro the cups are even smaller.
About drinking several different kinds of tea, I suggest buying more than one teapot, smaller ones if you wish. That way you can brew different teas at once and since the teapots are smaller the tea won’t be there too long before the temperature drops.

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ne14t said

6-8 Oz is your standard English size that most people will use for tea measurements. Most Western coffee cups are 12-16 Oz. and then traditional style Asian cups are really really tiny holding maybe 2-3 oz if that. For the most part though most sets will comes with 6-8 oz cups.

merton said

Thank you for the detailed description!

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I have seen Japanese sushi Yunomi are about 6oz (mens) and a bit smaller for womens.
I use Yunomi if I don’t use my travel tumblers.
my gyokuro teaware is still on its way to me.

I measured my yunomi cups (to the rim) using a measuring cup and they where 4 to 5 oz, I must have bought them all for women, : )
Have fun with your gyokuro teaware!

LOL! I don’t know if there is a set standard, I tend towards the larger sizes myself. I have mainly seen this dynamic in pairs/sets.

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6 ounces

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