In praise of the tea light

It would have been the mid-1970s when I first came across the small candle known as a tea light. My parents had bought a filter coffee making set from the Ideal Home Exhibition, and shortly afterwards a metal warming stand was purchased to help keep the coffee warm. Heating was provided by a single tea light. It did the job -- but I suspect that tea lights weren't as readily available or as reasonably priced then as they are today -- so use was for special occasions only! I remember being intrigued by the way that the wax completely liquified and was contained by the foil cup, as well as how the wick was anchored to the bottom of the cup.

Many years later I wanted a source of room candle light, and all the local supermarket had available was a pack of tea lights. Not the box of household candles that I might have found three decades earlier. All right, I needed to use two tea lights where I would have used a single candle, but it was fine. (Household candles are still available if you know where to get them -- yes, I remember the UK power cuts of the 1970s and the shortage of candles...) In general tea lights are easier to use, safer and cleaner. And of course they are now more widely available, including scented varieties if that's your thing.

The classic tea light has a cup made out of thin aluminium containing unscented white wax -- which becomes transparent when molten. The cup is normally around one and a half inches in diameter (37 millimetres). The wick is fixed to the bottom of the cup using a metal (steel?) "tag ": a collar gripping the wick attached to a circular base. This should burn continuously for at least four hours, and then self-extinguish when the pool of melted wax runs out. The empty cup can then be (safely) disposed of, or even recycled?

My internet searches have not yet come up with who first developed the tea light as we know it today, and when. I suspect it might have been as far back as the 1960s and in the U.S., but I would be delighted to be corrected. (The diameter suggests that it would be somewhere using Imperial measurement units?)

As well as the original design, tea lights are also available in longer-burning versions (sometimes referred to as night lights), and in larger diameters. Another variation is the replacement of the standard foil cup with a transparent hard plastic version, which is especially useful when the tea light is used for illumination. (These appear to be harder to find in shops, and more expensive.)

Tea lights have come into their own as dining table candles when placed in decorative tea light holders -- mostly made from glass or transparent material. They have especially become a common feature of restaurants and at wedding receptions in the UK. A holder fulfills at least two functions. It helps protect the tea light from being accidentally knocked over or touched, and it (usually) enhances the light from the flame. There are now dozens of different designs of tea light holder available, so there should be something to suit everyone.

A tea light in a good holder can be lit and enjoyed for as little as half an hour without showing signs of candle funnelling -- so it is ideal if you don't have the time to do a larger diameter candle justice. If you find the light of a single tea light to be a bit feeble, two or more can be clustered together to compensate for the smaller flames. Candles in general are now considered to be luxury items (with some prices to match), but the wide availability and reasonable price of tea lights -- especially when bought in bulk -- means that you don't need to pay luxury prices to enjoy them!