Clay is the main ingredient used in the making of different kinds of ceramics including ceramic cups.

Water is added to the clay material to make it workable enough to mould into the required shape of the cup.

The cup 🍵 can be moulded by hand only, hand and spinning wheel or industrially. Industrial moulding gives the best finish followed by the hand and spinning wheel method.

After moulding, the cup is left to dry after which it is engraved, painted/glazed. Glazing is very important, apart from giving it it’s aesthetic look, the cup will  be impervious to water and have a smooth finish. Another method used after drying the cup is to oven dry to remove most of the moisture before paint/glazing.

The final stage is the oven drying of the cup. The cup is subjected to temperatures of over 1200 °C. This process will remove all the moisture inside of the cup and  give the cup it’s characteristic hardness. The heating and then cooling process can take up to half a day.