Hobnail Cast Iron Tea Cup

I was super excited for these cups. I hand washed the inside and used them 2x then I noticed the paint on the outside was chipping off in black flakes. : ( it was so bad I could write black streaks on a dish towel by wipping the brim of the cup with cloth, had to be returned.

I bought two cups and saucers for my husband for our tenth wedding anniversary. I went to the store to shop after viewing the online inventory and I knew that I wanted cast iron.
I purchased the hobnail teapot and he loved it.
I tried several of the cast iron teacups and found that the hobnail cup design has a nice grip on it with the raised bumps. I have a tendency to drop things and was very happy with the feel of this cup. It can also pass for a masculine style, which I thought my husband would like as well.
He was very surprised and happy with the gift.

My husband and I received 8 of these tea cups for our wedding. A woman at my shower told me she didn't like metal tea cups because they get too hot to handle when you pour hot tea in them. That's certainly true; you will need to set the tea cup on a surface while you wait for it to cool. But here's the great part: unlike with ceramic tea cups, you won't be able to handle a metal tea cup until it's cool enough that you won't burn your tongue. So, if you can touch your cup, you know you're safe. Since using these cups, I have never once burned my tongue on hot tea. Amazing product.

I bought 2 of these on a recent vacation and I have to say they are very nice. They keep the tea hot long enough to drink its contents, but be careful - if your tea is nicely hot, the tea cup will be too! I had to let my first cup of tea sit for a little while until the cup cooled enough that I could drink from it and even then I had to hold it by the top edges with both thumbs and pointer-fingers as it was very warm! The tea I had in it was nicely flavorful, although if I put my bottom lip too far down the outside of the cup to take a sip of tea, I got a strange nasty sour/metallic flavor that overpowered the tea. I'll have to do some experimentation to see if that was some residual stuff left over from manufacturing or if a good round or two in the dishwasher will take care of it.
Overall, its a very nice tea cup that keeps tea hot and won't shatter if you drop it.