Tea Caddy

Tea caddy is the name for a small box made to hold tea leaves. In the eighteenth century, tea was very expensive and it was stored under lock and key. The first tea caddies were made with locks. By the nineteenth century, tea was more plentiful and the tea caddy was larger. Often there were two sections, one for green tea, one for black tea. Tea caddies were made of porcelain, silver, or, for the less well-to-do, painted tin. For more information, explore our identification guides for tea caddies, tea services and other silver, pottery and porcelain, and tin.