Do you leave the spoon/stirrer in the cup?
@lordwarwizard (35747)
Singapore
December 5, 2007 11:37am CST
Put in the powder. Slap in the milk.
Pour some water. And then stir.
This discussion is not about stirring clockwise or counterclockwise. We are beyond that now lol. Instead, I want you to imagine yourself making a cup of beverage that requires stirring. Maybe coffee, tea, honey, ovaltine, whatever.
After you have stirred the mixture with a spoon or stirrer, what do you do with it? Do you take it out and leave it at the sink before proceeding to enjoy the beverage in your room? Or do you leave it there and wash it together with the cup when you are done?
I usually do the latter but I know someone who insists on having the spoon removed when the beverage is brought to him. He gets irritated when someone makes him something and leaves the spoon there. Don't ask me who he is as I have to protect the identity of this person lol.
Anyway, back to you. Do you take out the spoon or leave it in? If you cheat by stirring with your finger, confess to us fellow myLotters too. Do share your thoughts! :P
21 people like this
81 responses
@sigma77 (5383)
• United States
5 Dec 07
No spoon in cup, or no finger in cup. After stirring, I usually rinse off the spoon and save it to reuse (put it in a dishrack thingy). That way, I am not using 47 spoons everyday. And as for my finger, how do I know where that finger has been? lol.
2 people like this
@poohgal (6845)
• Singapore
5 Dec 07
I will leave my tiny spoon or stirrer inside the cup. By leaving it inside, it makes it easier for me to drink the tea or milo. My friends find me weird because I prefer drinking hot drinks using the tiny spoon or stirrer. =P
I will scoop the drink using my tiny spoon and then drink it. I look pretty much like I am drinking soup.
2 people like this
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
Tiny, eh?
Oh yah, swallow by mistake then not good.:P
1 person likes this
@patgalca (18180)
• Orangeville, Ontario
5 Dec 07
First, I have no reason to leave my spoon in the mug after I have mixed my beverage of choice. Second, it is my understanding that if you leave a stainless steel spoon in a hot beverage it cools the beverage down quicker - it pulls the heat from the drink.
I have two cups of tea in the morning so I leave my spoons on a spoon rest until I use them a second time. I use a separate spoon for my sweetener (don't want to get it or the sweetener wet). I save that spoon for my yogurt at lunch. I dirty as few dishes as possible, unlike my kids who need a different cup every time they get a drink.
I don't usually order tea from a restaurant or coffee shop as it tastes blah when it is in a cardboard or styrofoam cup.
2 people like this
@jillmalitz (5131)
• United States
5 Dec 07
When I make my husband a cup of coffee I put the sugar and cream in, stir then rinse the spoon off and put it on the counter for the next cup. I dont need anything in my coffee as a rule so I dont need a spoon.
2 people like this
@chargoans (939)
• United States
5 Dec 07
My hubby also drinks black coffee, and I prefer to drink no coffee, but I do like to sweeten my tea! Once I have stirred the sugar around, I simply place my spoon in the sink. I may later use it again after a thorough rinsing though. :-)
1 person likes this
@I_LUV_U (2519)
• India
5 Dec 07
No, I do not leave it in the cup. I do not keep anything that interferes with my drinking.
When I've stirred the coffee, it is definite that the spoon is soaked as well.
So, either I've to keep it in the saucer or in the cup if I take it with me to the room. I cannot keep it anywhere else, as it would dirty the room otherwise.
Since I do drink the coffee/tea using the saucer at times when it's too hot and I can't wait to taste it, I cannot put my spoon anywhere without messing it up.
And, I do not feed myself the drink by spoon as babies either:p
2 people like this
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
Is it that bad? A spoon will spoil your drinking experience? :P
1 person likes this
@I_LUV_U (2519)
• India
8 Dec 07
Oh yes, mainly when you are multi-tasking, when you are not looking at it. If you are multi-tasking, for instance if you are reading a book or working on the computer, and also having your cup of coffee, it's certain that you are concentrated in your book/computer and not looking at your coffee. In such instances, the stirrer can be an obstacle. Or even, as someone has said already, it might poke you in the eye.
2 people like this
@makatas (1098)
• Greece
6 Dec 07
i dont have warm drinks often, so i wont say my opinion on the formality of serving a visitor or something.I just wanna say that when drink is too warm, i personally drink low amounts from the spoon :) So if it was for me i wouldnt take it out.Though later it might be nuisance when i try to sip the drink.I understand that at formal servings it must be taken out.But maybe you should give them a clean one? I am not sure lol
2 people like this
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
But why not? I heard warms drinks are usually better than cold ones.
@keminem001 (779)
• Saint Lucia
5 Dec 07
i'm not trying to be racist but you really sound like an english dude. you leave your stirrer wherever you want to. your choice your decision.
1 person likes this
@keminem001 (779)
• Saint Lucia
6 Dec 07
because english people drink alot of tea. i apologize if i said anything bad to u dude.
1 person likes this
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
Hmm... may I ask why you think this way?
I am not English, and I have in fact been writing in American English typically. :P
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
9 Dec 07
Nah no worries. But hey, I was talking more about coffee! :P
@saigonwarrior (1331)
• United States
5 Dec 07
I have a saucer by the coffee pot that I rest the spoon in. We all share the spoon for stirring.
The saucer stops the drink from getting on the counter.
When coffee time is over and the dishes are to be washed, the spoon and saucer are then washed at that time.
I stir counter clockwise, btw..lol
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
SAUCER?
Oh mine, I thought we only use that in restaurants. I wouldn't want to wash an extra plate just to drink a coffee. :P
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (63235)
• United States
6 Dec 07
I promise you this - a lot more people drink iced tea in the south than hot, even in the winter. And hot drinks tend to be nursed rather than left toward the middle of the table and, finally, some places take a cold drink away to refill rather than bring the jug or pot to you like with coffee.
1 person likes this
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
5 Dec 07
Oh yea, I know a big group of people who feels that stirring while drinking is part of the whole pleasure.:P
1 person likes this
@xleslieanne (692)
• United States
5 Dec 07
hmm...i don't make drinks with powders very often anymore. i used to make hot cocoa from a packet and cauppuchinos at home by having hot water in a mug and adding the powder. and it seems as though i always stir and then remove the spoon.
2 people like this
@smwilliams (647)
• United States
5 Dec 07
This is a funny discussion. I guess I never thought about the little habits we all have. I drink out of huge coffee cups...And when I say huge I mean my 12 cup coffee pot is only a 3 1/2 cupper. I learned early that you cant leave the spoon in while drinking from these coffee cups because the spoon has a tendency to move and whack you in the face. No one would want that first thing in the morning when all you want to do is go back to bed. So personally I remove it and set it on a napkin and reuse it when I fill my cup again. And I drink coffee almost all day long so the spoon gets good use!
1 person likes this
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
I normally hold the spoon and the handle simultaneously so that I won't get hit.
*smug*
@smwilliams (647)
• United States
6 Dec 07
Yeah but what if your in a hurry and you grapb your coffee real quick just to take a dip before you have to oh sa run out the door...LOL...A spoon is in your cup and swings around cause you grabbed the cup so fast and wham...you get poked in the eye! lol...Sorry Im just kidding...Good for you and your spoon!! : )
1 person likes this
@xreesex (114)
• United States
5 Dec 07
I don't like to leave the spoon in, mostly because the metal retains the heat, and I prefer my drinks to be lukewarm. It also tends to get in the way haha. I take the spoon out but keep it with me in case I need to stir some more. I usually drink hot coco though, so it requires extra stirring sometimes.
2 people like this
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
5 Dec 07
Maybe you can add a greater portion of hot water? :P
1 person likes this
@shelagh77 (3643)
•
15 Dec 07
I take the spoon out. I am very clumsy and if I leave the spoon in the cup you can bet your bottom dollar I shall catch the spoon with my arm and have the entire drink all over the place lol.
1 person likes this
@Sissygrl (10912)
• Canada
13 Dec 07
I drink tea, and i leave the bag in, so i leave the spoon in after i add the sugar and milk so that i can continue stirring as my tea steaps!
If i am drinking coffee on the odd occassion that i do, I do not leave the stirrer in, i'm not sure why you would need to continue to stir your coffee! Unless you got one of those flavored spoons you can buy that adds flavor to your coffee.. now those are good :)
@jeb083079 (839)
• Philippines
18 Dec 07
For me, it depends on the location. If I am inside a fastfood store like Chowking wherein breakfast there is really good especially with hot coffee, I take out the tiny spoon. LOL it really is tiny, a tiny plastic spoon just like in Mcdonald's. Anyway, if I am at my place, I usually leave it in the cup of coffee or choco. If ever I serve someone with coffee or any hot drinks, I take out the coffee. It is the proper way of serving somebody, it is included in the proper table manners. In short, if it's just me, I leave it and if I'm with someone else, I leave it.
@sumofalltears (3988)
• United States
5 Dec 07
If I have a beverage that requires stirring I will remove the stirrer. I drink coffee black so no stirrer required, but sometimes I have hot chocolate or tea and that does require a stirrer and it gets removed.
Raking a stirrer out makes you less apt to spill the beverage, I have more than once knocked over something just by catching the stirrer or having it get caught in my sleeve or something. So in the long run it does minimize the aggravation a lot if you take it out.
1 person likes this
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
6 Dec 07
Ok... maybe the stirrer may unbalance things a bit.:P
1 person likes this
@sumofalltears (3988)
• United States
5 Dec 07
I probably should add that I don't leave the stirrer in the cup so as to avoid poking myself in the eye with it when I take a drink. And yes I learned the hard way.
1 person likes this
@jarves (814)
• Philippines
15 Dec 07
Well, yeah I leave the spoon or stirrer if you might call it in the cup. That is because I do not have saucer under the cup. But even so, I am not used to placing the spoon or stirrer on the cup. I would just rather leave it there on the cup. Even when I drink I never get the spoon or stirrer out of the cup.
@squaretile (3778)
• Singapore
14 Dec 07
i don't think I've ever stirred with my fingers cos my drink is usually too hot.
I don't really care whether the spoon is inside or out. guess for a mug, i usually leave the spoon in. but if it's a teacup, like those that come with saucers, I tend to take out the spoon. something to do with the size of the cup.
when the spoon is inside it tends to hit your nose. not very neat. :)
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
14 Dec 07
Not to mention stirring with the finger might not be most hygienic unless you wash it clean first.:P
