Tea Caddies are simply storage containers for loose tea leaves. At first they were made of pottery or porcelain resembling medicine bottles, shaped either round, square or flat-sided, with lids serving as measuring devices.
The tea box or “caddy” came later towards the end of the 18th century. The word “caddy” evolved from the Malay-Chinese word “kati,” a measure of 1-1/3 pounds of tea leaves to fill a single compartment wooden tea box.
Over time boxes evolved into tea chests fitted with multiple compartments inside, with ornate inlaid banding on the outside. Towards the end of the 19th century tea tins replaced wooden chests and were often decorated with vingnettes recalling special tea events, such as the Boston Tea Party, for example.
