Bone China Tea Sets
Fine English tea sets are often referred to as bone china tea sets with some of the best sets imported from the UK. These fine china tea sets range in price depending on the quality of the tea set and the number of pieces included in the set. Perfect to use when partaking of British tea culture and afternoon high tea, they also make lovely displays.
A very simple tea set will consist of only a teapot, a milk or cream pitcher and a sugar bowl with a lid. These are usually fairly reasonably priced, with some fine bone china sets costing around $100 for the better quality ones. A larger set will often consist of a teapot, two to four cups and saucers, two to four dessert plates, one sugar bowl, one cream pitcher and quite often a tray for setting the sugar bowl and pitcher on. Of course, the makeup of sets vary depending on the designer.
For a very elegant tea setting you should probably aim for buying the set that comes complete with matching cups. Some are very expensive, especially the fine bone china sets, with some costing as much as $500 per set or more. These more expensive tea sets make perfect family heirlooms, providing they are well taken care of.
When caring for a bone china tea set there are some things to watch out for. First of all, you should never place the fine china in a dishwasher; it should only be washed by hand and then carefully dried and set aside. When storing the tea set you may want to have it tucked away safely behind glass in a glass door cabinet. This will prevent it from getting bumped or picked up and looked at, and it will also help it not to get dusty. When displaying these items, you should not stack anything on top of anything else. In other words, do not stack the cups one on top of another as it is very easy to chip or crack them if you do this. Each should be displayed as if you were setting it on a table, with the larger items towards the back of the display, the cups placed on their saucers, and lids on the sugar bowl. Doing this will ensure that they not only look great while on display, but that they are protected from damage as well.