Printed Paper Tea Cups for Every Tea Occasion

Who orders printed tea cups

Tea is still the drink most of the UK reaches for first, yet most printed cups are designed around coffee. Tea cups fill that gap for anyone whose guests mainly want a cuppa.

We see orders from tea rooms selling takeaway tea, event planners running garden parties and wedding receptions, and church and village halls that serve tea after every service or meeting. Offices with a tea round order them too.

Tea brands use small handled cups for tastings at shows and in shops. A neat cup with the blend name printed on it makes a sample feel like a proper serving rather than a thimble.

• Tea rooms and tea shops
• Wedding and garden party planners
• Church and village halls
• Office kitchens and meeting rooms
• Fêtes, open days and bake sales
• Tea brands handing out samples

Why a tea cup is smaller than a coffee cup

A standard mug of tea is smaller than most takeaway lattes. A 7oz or 8oz cup holds a generous cup of tea with milk, while a 12oz cup suits people who like a big mug.

Smaller cups also cool to drinking temperature faster, which matters when guests are standing and chatting. At an afternoon tea, a 6oz cup feels closest to a china teacup.

Ordering a smaller cup also stretches a tea urn further. A hall that pours 7oz cups instead of 12oz serves noticeably more guests from each fill.

If you are unsure, our page on 6oz paper cups shows how that small size looks next to a hand.

The handle question

A card handle makes a paper cup feel like a teacup and keeps fingers off a hot single wall. It suits seated events and stand-up receptions where people hold a cup by the handle while chatting.

For takeaway tea that leaves the building, a handle is less useful because the cup goes into a carrier or a bag. Double wall without a handle, plus a lid, is a better choice there.

We go into the handle itself in more detail on our page for paper cups with handles, including how it affects the print area.

Handled cups also suit older guests at hall teas and care settings, who may find a narrow handle easier to hold than a hot round wall.

Offices often skip the handle for everyday tea rounds and keep handled cups for client meetings, where the cup is part of the welcome.

Leave space for milk and the bag

Tea is often brewed in the cup with the bag left in. The string and tag hang over the rim, so do not fill to the brim and avoid lids for tea brewed this way.

Milk goes in last, after the bag comes out. A cup filled to about three quarters with water leaves room for milk without spilling over the edge.

Volunteers at a busy hall will follow whatever routine is pinned up by the urn. A short card with these steps saves overfilled cups and scalded fingers.

1. Put a tea bag in each cup
2. Pour hot water to about three quarters full
3. Leave it to brew for the time on the pack
4. Lift the bag out with a spoon
5. Add milk and sugar to taste

Designs that suit tea

Tea invites gentler designs than coffee. Florals, polka dots, ditsy prints and vintage patterns all look at home on a tea cup, especially at weddings and afternoon teas where the cups sit on a laid table.

Soft pinks and pastels are a popular choice, and our pink paper cups show how a single colour can carry a whole table. For a corporate tea round, a clean logo on one side is usually enough.

We print in full colour CMYK or matched Pantone, on one side, both sides or all the way round. Send AI, PDF, EPS, SVG, PNG or JPG artwork, or let our designers create a pattern for you at no charge.

Tea rooms with a signature blend can name it on the cup. It reminds customers what they enjoyed and gives them the name to ask for next time.

Weddings and one-off events

Wedding tea cups often carry the couple's names and the date. Because the cups are only used once, a design can be as personal as you like.

Order a few more than your guest count, as people put cups down and pick up fresh ones. Count back from the big day, allowing for proofing, printing and delivery, so the boxes land with a week or so to spare.

Free design help is useful here, since most couples do not have print-ready artwork. Try a few ideas yourself on the Design Your Cups page first if you prefer.

Wall options for tea cups

Handled tea cups are usually single wall, because the handle already keeps fingers away from the heat. That also keeps them light and easy to stack on a serving table.

For takeaway tea without a handle, choose double or ripple wall so the cup can be held comfortably on the walk home. Add a lid with a sip opening once the bag is out.

Brown kraft board is worth a look for rustic weddings and farm teas. Florals in deep greens and burgundy sit well on the brown, while pastels show more clearly on white board.

Common mistakes with paper tea cups

Tea cups trip people up in ways coffee cups do not. Here are the slips that come up most, usually from buyers ordering tea cups for the first time.

• Buying coffee-sized cups that leave tea going cold
• Filling to the brim with the bag still in
• Putting a lid on tea that is still brewing
• Choosing handles for tea that is taken away
• Ordering exactly one cup per wedding guest
• Printing dates on cups meant for regular use

Price, proof and delivery

Paper tea cups start from £0.25 per cup, and your written quote gives the exact price, including any handle. The proof and design help are free, and changes are made until you approve.

Production takes 4 to 6 working days after approval, followed by tracked delivery in 2 to 3 working days. There is no delivery charge to the UK.

If any cups arrive misprinted or damaged, send photos within 10 days to have them reprinted or refunded. You can read more about The Paper Cups and how we work.

Tea cups or hot drink cups?

If you serve tea alongside plenty of coffee and hot chocolate, one range of hot drink paper cups may suit you better. Those are planned around a mixed menu.

Tea cups are the right pick when tea is the main event. They are smaller, often handled and designed to feel like a proper cuppa.

Some venues order both, with handled tea cups for the seated tea room and lidded hot drink cups for the takeaway hatch. The same artwork can run across the two so they still look like a set.