Used since the 1800s to serve tiny portions of strong black coffee, demitasse cups combine genteel sophistication with an air of timelessness, making an impact far greater than their diminutive size.
Demitasse cups are the jewels of the china closet. And while they’re less ubiquitous than they once were on the tables of stylish hostesses, demitasses are still de rigueur in certain Southern locales. “In Louisiana, out in the country and the Creole towns—if you’re invited into the house for a cup of coffee in the middle of the afternoon, the grande dames always serve it in small cups,” says Patrick Dunne, founder of Lucullus Antiques and Decorations Lucullus in New Orleans.
The story of the demitasse stretches back to the advent of coffee in 17th-century Europe. Coffeehouses flourished, but special drinkware lagged behind, and many drank the bitter beverage from tea bowls. By the 1800s, the French had popularized coffee cups with handles and the shape we know today. A breakfast cup was called a grande tasse, and its after-dinner counterpart was known as a demitasse—literally, “half cup.” The rule, Patrick explains, was that the height should equal the diameter of the mouth, about 2½ inches. Fashionable French hostesses used these fancies to serve strong Turkish coffee, and the trend spread.
Although demitasses fell out of vogue in recent decades as elegant entertaining gave way to more casual affairs, a new generation has begun to discover their versatile appeal. You might use them for tea, thick beverages such as sipping chocolate, rich soups like oyster bisque, sorbet between courses, or miniature desserts. Or fill them with cognac and float a little cream on top for a decadent nightcap.
Because demitasses are not part of a place setting but presented after a meal, they lend themselves to a bit of extra flair—bright colors, intricate patterns, and shapely handles have always been part of their allure. “They belong in the collection of anyone who enjoys entertaining and beautiful things,” Patrick says.
Find the full Keepsakes story in our March/April 2021 issue.
Text by Lisa Frederick
Styling by Sidney Bragiel
Photography by Stephanie Welbourne Steele
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