Tea reading or Tasseography is the art of identifying symbols and interpreting messages found in the shapes and configurations of tea leaves. Also known as Tasseomancy or Tassology. The terms derive from the French word tasse (cup) and the Greek suffixes -graph (writing), -logy (study of), and -mancy (divination).
It was likely that tea leaf reading began soon after the discovery of tea by Chinese Emporer Shen Nun in 2737 BC.
Tea leaf reading began to grow in popularity during the 1800s as a means of telling one's fortune spread by gypsies throughout Europe. Subsequently, tea reading became popular in the Victorian era in the UK after tea was brought to England from China.