How to Photograph the Cup

Turn the cup over, let it cool, then hold it level and shoot straight down into it. Daylight works best; an overhead lamp throws shadow into the cup and the grounds patterns disappear. Skip the flash, it glares off the residue and swallows the shapes.

Get the whole inner surface in frame. The upload takes a single photo, so shooting three times from slightly different angles and picking the sharpest beats one blurry attempt by a wide margin. Take care not to disturb the grounds while turning the cup; a pattern that has slid apart cannot be read.

What Each Zone of the Cup Means

The cup is read as four zones. The handle side covers home, family and the person themselves; the rim covers the next two to four weeks; the base holds the past and long-rooted feelings; the saucer points further ahead and to doors opening outward.

The same symbol shifts meaning with its zone. A bird on the rim reads as news arriving soon; the same bird at the base points to something already left behind. This is why memorising a symbol list on its own never gets you very far.

After Your Reading

Once the interpretation arrives you can ask a follow-up on it. When several symbols show up in one cup, asking which of them speaks to your actual question is faster than rereading the whole interpretation.

Back-to-back coffee readings are not the tradition. Waiting a few days before a second cup on the same subject lets the difference between the two readings mean something.

Frequently Asked Questions