Tasseography: How to Read Coffee Grounds and Tea Leaves

At the bottom of a cup of tea or coffee, the leaves and grounds draw shapes. For those who know how to read them, they speak of love, work and the roads ahead: this is tasseography.

Sun, heart, key, bird or snake: here is how to read your future in tea and coffee, and the meaning of the most common symbols.

✦

Tasseography: the meaning of the symbols

Start with the simple shapes, then learn to recognize the symbols:

Geometric shapes (5 shapes)

The triangle

Luck

One triangle announces luck; three in a row, great happiness.

The square

Protection

Protection and comfort; stretched into a rectangle, it may signal a quarrel.

The circle

A cycle

A cycle coming to an end; when there are many, circles also speak of money.

Lines

Projects

Straight or dotted, they announce projects and journeys; winding, a detour.

The cross

A choice

Trials and choices: a crossroads lies ahead.

The most common symbols (24 symbols)

The sun

Great joy

Success, clarity and new beginnings: great joy is on its way.

The moon

Intuition

Emotions, dreams and intuition: listen to what you feel.

The star

Luck

Hope and success; bright and clear, success comes quickly.

The tree

Prosperity

Luck, growth and a goal achieved; it also speaks of family and roots.

The flower

Love

Happiness and love: a gentle period begins.

The heart

Love

Love and confidences; clear, a strong love; blurred, feelings still confused.

The ring

Commitment

Union, marriage or an important agreement: a cycle comes full circle.

The key

An opportunity

A door opens: a new chance or a mystery solved.

The house

Home

Security, family, home life: a project linked to the house.

The bird

News

A message is coming; in flight, the news is close.

The dog

Friendship

Loyalty and friendship: a trusted ally at your side.

The cat

Mystery

Independence and intuition, sometimes a betrayal to thwart.

The horse

Freedom

Success, travel and freedom; galloping, success is near.

The fish

Abundance

Money coming in or an unexpected gain; big fish, big gain.

The snake

Caution

A rival, a deception or a temptation: stay alert.

The anchor

Harbor

A journey ending, stability regained.

The candle

An idea

Innovation and light: a new idea lights your way.

The broom

A clean sweep

The end of a problem: a clean slate for what comes next.

The mushroom

A setback

Complications, especially in business: be patient.

The mountain

A challenge

An obstacle to overcome, or a great goal to reach.

The bridge

A passage

A transition, a turning point; sturdy, the passage will be smooth.

The boat

A journey

A departure, an adventure; with full sails, it is near.

The butterfly

Transformation

A happy change: you leave the old behind.

Numbers and letters

A marker

Numbers give time frames or dates, letters the initials of important people.

✦ ✦

What is tasseography?

Tasseography, from the French tasse, cup, and the Greek graphein, to write, is the art of reading the future in the remains of a drink. It originated in China under the Tang dynasty (618-907), with tea. In the West it developed in the 17th century, especially in England, as tea became everyone’s drink.

In the Middle East and the Ottoman Empire, coffee took over: Turkish coffee, boiled with its grounds, gave birth to a tradition still very much alive, from Turkey to Greece. Tea or coffee, the principle is the same: shapes to recognize and interpret.

✦

How to read tea leaves

Use a white or plain cup and saucer, with no pattern to disturb the reading, and loose-leaf tea brewed without a strainer. Then:

• Put two teaspoons of tea at the bottom of the cup and pour in boiling water.
• Drink the tea while thinking about your question.
• Leave a little tea at the bottom, hold the handle and swirl the cup three times clockwise.
• Place the saucer upside down on the cup and turn both over, carefully.
• Tap the bottom of the cup three times so the symbols form on the sides.

The cup reads like a timeline: the rim represents the present or near future; the closer you get to the bottom, the further back into the past you go.

✦ ✦

How to read coffee grounds

For coffee, use very finely ground coffee, boiled with water and, if you like, a little sugar, like Turkish or Greek coffee:

• Serve without filtering and let the grounds settle at the bottom of the cup, without stirring.
• Drink, leaving a little of the grounds, and make a wish.
• Cover the cup with its saucer and turn it over towards you.
• Wait a few minutes for the grounds to cool and dry, then read the patterns.

In the Turkish tradition, each part of the cup has a meaning:

• The handle represents the person and their inner circle.
• The bottom speaks of the past.
• The upper part announces the future.
• The saucer tells of material matters and outside influences.

✦

Tips for reading your cup

Start with the geometric shapes, easier to spot, before looking for complex figures. Look at how clear they are too: a sharp symbol announces an event soon, a blurred one a situation you are not yet aware of. Size matters: a large symbol weighs more than a small one.

Above all, let your intuition speak: the same pattern can take on a different meaning depending on your question. As with runes, the cup lights the way without drawing it for you.

✦ ✦