Description Silver late 1800’s Mote Spoon that was used to skim tea leaves from a teacup. Measures 13cm in length. The bowl width is 2cm. By pouring tea from the teapot through the spoon, no stray leaves ended up in the cup. The spoon acted as a sieve or strainer. The word Mote is an old English word that describes an obstruction which is in a place it shouldn’t be. In the case of the Mote spoon, the terminal of the spoon is pointed. If tea leaves were obstructing the teapot spout, the spoon is required to remove the mote and release the flow of tea once more. A mote spoon also doubled up as a caddy spoon with which to add tea to the teapot.
