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A caddy spoon is a
In the early period of the tea trade, the chests with tea included scoops made of sea shells in order to take a sample for tasting. This inspired shell-shaped bowls typical for the caddy spoons.
Caddy spoon, with its shallow bowl and a fanciful stubby handle, resembles a
spoon
A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a table setting, place setting, it is used ...
used for measuring out tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...
in the form of dried tea leaves
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...
. Traditionally made of silver, they became very popular at the end of the 18th century, when this relatively inexpensive utensil can be found in practically any middle class household. Tea was sometimes stored in elaborate boxes or containers called tea caddies, and these spoons were made to be used with such containers. The caddy spoons went out of fashion in the early 20th century.
Design
In the early period of the tea trade, the chests with tea included scoops made of sea shells in order to take a sample for tasting. This inspired shell-shaped bowls typical for the caddy spoons.
Caddy spoon, with its shallow bowl and a fanciful stubby handle, resembles a scoop
Scoop, Scoops or The scoop may refer to:
Objects
* Scoop (tool), a shovel-like tool, particularly one deep and curved, used in digging
* Scoop (machine part), a component of machinery to carry things
* Scoop stretcher, a device used for casualty ...
more than it does the other spoons. The silver caddy spoons can also be found in a variety of other designs, with bowls shaped like leaves, whimsical patterns, or made to resemble odd things like a huntsman's cup or a coal box
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed whe ...
, with almost all of them bearing silver hallmarks
A silver object that is to be sold commercially is, in most countries, stamped with one or more silver hallmarks indicating the purity of the silver, the mark of the manufacturer or silversmith, and other (optional) markings to indicate date o ...
.
The earliest caddy spoons made in Sheffield
Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...
had shell-shaped bowls inspired by the shell scoops included with the tea containers shipped from Asia. The early Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
spoons used a jockey-cap-shaped bowl.
See also
*Tea caddy
A tea caddy is a box, jar, canister, or other receptacle used to store tea. When first introduced to Europe from Asia, tea was extremely expensive, and kept under lock and key. The containers used were often expensive and decorative, to fit in w ...
* Teaspoon
A teaspoon (tsp.) is an item of cutlery. It is a small spoon that can be used to stir a cup of tea or coffee, or as a tool for measuring volume. The size of teaspoons ranges from about . For cooking purposes and dosing of medicine, a teaspoonf ...
References
Bibliography
* John Norie, ''Caddy Spoons: An Illustrated Guide'', John Murray Publishers Ltd, 1988 * * * * Spoons Teaware {{Cooking-tool-stub