eading tea leaves or coffee grounds has traditionally been practised in many countries by the women in the family, typically at gatherings of family and friends. Tea leaf reading’s are also referred to as tasseomancy, tasseography or teomancy. Coffee reading is known as cafeomancy. Tea leaf reading is a mystical art which has been practiced since ancient times. Since people first began drinking tea, they have been fascinated by the shapes left at the bottom of their tea cup. The early Greeks practiced a variation of tea leaf reading, using wine instead of tea. They called this technique "Kottovos." If you consulted a Greek seer, he would throw wine into a metal bowl and observe the shape of the resulting splash and the formation of the sediment at the bottom of the bowl. Depending on the image, future events would be forecast which could be interpreted as positive, negative, or simply unclear. In the Middle East, it was more common to read coffee grounds, especially with the thick and syrupy Turkish coffee. Professional coffee grounds readers are common throughout Asia even today. The Europeans seem to have adopted tea leaf reading around the mid-1600's, possibly due to the influence of Romany gypsies who practiced the art as they travelled from town to town. The gypsies specialized in dramatic proclamations about a future clouded in gloom, but if you crossed their palm with an extra sovereign or two, they would try to remove the curse from you. Their style of tea leaf reading, while entertaining in its shock value, often discouraged sincere seekers who were hoping for genuine guidance and enlightenment from their tea leaf reading.
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YIf any tea leaves are floating on the surface, then visitors are imminent. The number of leaves shows how many days away they are. YIf two teaspoons are accidentally placed on a saucer, then you can expect news of twins soon. YIf a teaspoon is placed upside down onto a saucer then you will hear news of the ill-health of a close relative. Finish your tea leaving a small amount of liquid in the bottom of cup of the cup. Holding the cup in your left hand, swirl the tea leaves round three times in a clockwise direction. Make sure that the remaining tea swirls around the whole of the cup. Then, up-end the cup on the saucer and let the liquid drain away. Coffee drinkers can use the same method with the remains of their coffee, or they can pour the remains across a plate and interpret the patterns that are left on the plate. Now you can examine the cup and the patterns of the tea leaves inside. As a general first impression, just a scattering of leaves inside the cup indicates a tidy mind and disciplined life. A lot of leaves indicates a rich, full, busy life. To learn to read your own tea leaves, you will need loose tea leaves which are somewhat large. It is best to use a teapot with a wide spout so that when you pour the tea out of it and into your cup, the leaves can easily pass through. Some tea leaf readers recommend using only the highest grade teas and your best china, and all readers advise against using a mug, which makes it hard to look at the leaves sitting at the bottom of your cup. The person wanting their tea leaves read should concentrate on a question or area of their life that they would like insight into. Drink the tea quietly until about a half of a teaspoon's worth of tea is left in the cup. Swirl the tea leaves at the bottom of the cup three times while thinking of your question. You can ask a question about yourself, about the past, about the future, or even about someone else in your life. Turn your cup over onto a saucer and let the moisture drain out for about two or thr