A coffee service is a matching set of vessels for serving coffee. In ceramics it typically comprises a tall coffee pot, cups or small cans with saucers, a cream or milk jug and a sugar bowl, while silver and electroplated services usually consist of a coffee pot, milk or cream jug and sugar basin, sometimes accompanied by a tray.
Coffee drinking spread through Britain from the mid-seventeenth century, encouraged by the coffee houses of London, and silver coffee pots were made from the late seventeenth century onwards, distinguished from teapots by their tall form and side or rear handle. Matching services became more common in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, often as part of larger tea and coffee sets. The small straight-sided coffee can was a feature of Georgian porcelain, and in the twentieth century the after-dinner coffee set of small demitasse cups became fashionable, with notable Art Deco designs by Clarice Cliff, Susie Cooper and Shelley. Collectors look for completeness, consistent marks and patterns, and good condition, especially to spouts, handles, gilding and silver hinges. A boxed coffee set makes an elegant display.
