Reading Tea leaves or Coffee grounds

Can anybody read tea leaves and coffee grounds?

The answer to this is that you can if you want to, because all it takes is the ability to see shapes made by tea and coffee leavings. My book shows you how to go about it and it contains a dictionary of symbols for interpretation purposes.

Tea leaf reading was once very popular in Britain, Ireland and the countries that were settled by Irish and British people. It has gone out of fashion in latter years, partly due to the invention of the teabag, but probably much more due to the invention of the television, which brought an end to so many home-based pastimes. Once upon a time, everyone had an aunt or grandma who read the leaves and the skill was passed down from one generation to the next. Anyone who had a touch of psychic ability learned to give readings to their friends and relatives and this ability was so prevalent that it remained an amateur skill rather than a professional matter. This form of reading is not difficult and it doesn't depend upon special calculations or even basic literacy, so cup reading has always been open to anyone who wanted to learn it.

Coffee ground reading is practically unheard of in the UK or Ireland but it is well known in the Middle East, Mediterranean countries, Latin America and in countries to which Latin or Middle Eastern people gravitated. Coffee-ground reading is still going strong in less developed and industrialized countries and it still works very well, so there is no reason why you shouldn't learn to do it for yourself.

The fancy name for this kind of reading is tasseography. This comes from the French tasse meaning cup and the ancient Greek root graphos, which relates to writing or drawing. Therefore, tasseography means being able to read the pictures that form in a cup.

If you are interested in the dramatically fascinating story of how the cultivation and sale of tea and coffee spread around the world, take a look at the next two short chapters that outline the history of these heartwarming beverages.