Mercy Health Center, in Fort Scott, Kansas, set a new record on Saturday, September 26th, 2009, with the world’s largest cup of tea at its Mercy Day observation.
The cup held 700 gallons of tea. The tea alone weighed more than two and a half tons, and served almost 15,000 servings. The teacup, created by J.D. and Ed Webster, is 9.5 feet wide at the rim, has a three foot handle, and stands 5.5 feet tall. The reason for the teacup goes back to the Sisters of Mercy’s foundress, Sister Catherine McAuley, who on her deathbed in 1841, asked her caretakers to “see that the Sisters have a comfortable cup of tea when I am gone.”
The other reason for the teacup is as a fundraiser for Mercy’s cancer center. Right now, the facility has four chemotherapy beds. The event serves in part as a chance to raise money for a potential expansion of the cancer center in six months to a year.
Do you have a favourite tea cup?
