Teapoy

A teapoy is a small table, usually found in a living room, originally for serving tea. These small flat topped three-legged tables became popular as early as the 1800s as a solution for both storing and serving tea, which became popular as a beverage from around the 1700s.

The term originates from India, earlier around the 1600s, translated from the Hindu tn, meaning three, and the Persian word pi, which by the 1700s it was spelt 'tepoy'. It was not associated with the serving or storing of tea until 1800s, with designs of 'teapooys' or tea caddies often having a single post with three feet and a container or drawer for tea, which could be locked. Tea was an expensive luxury and these lockable items of furniture could secure the contents from servants and allow, the lady of the house to blend her tea in front of the guests.