This is an innovative concept in the extreme: a deck of cards (and book to go with it) that takes the place of traditional tea leaf reading!  I have to admit, I was intrigued when I first heard of this deck, interestingly enough, because Laura Jackson submitted a guest review on the deck.  Of course I had to investigate it for myself.  The result is you now have two opinions to consider in regards to these cards!
 
Reading tea leaves is a discipline which is totally different from, and yet totally complimentary to, tarot reading.  I've always thought it would be completely lovely to have a cup of tea while doing a tarot reading, and at the end of the reading, having the client turn his or her cup of tea over and reading the leaves for them as a final, parting bit of advice.  However, I have a few things that hold me back from performing this ritual:  I hate tea, and I don't have anywhere in my office to heat water.  So these cards present an even more interesting possibility in light of these facts.  Tea leaf reading, without the tea!
 
Since this is not a tarot deck, there are no Major or Minor Arcana, no suits as it were, although there is definitely a distinct sectioning of the deck into various categories which I will explain.  There are no court cards.  There are, however, a total of 200 cards in this deck, making it one of the largest (and most cumbersome) decks to handle and shuffle that I've ever encountered.  I'd have to suggest breaking it into sections to shuffle, or else putting everything in a large bag and mixing them up.  Otherwise there are just too many for most people to hold.  Additionally, the cards are round, which, while cute, makes them more difficult to keep a hold of while shuffling.
 
The cards are broken down into three sections; the first section, called "Astral House," contains six cards which cover the various themes around which a client might seek a reading.  These have specific use within certain spreads, and are titled as follows:  Love, Happiness, Success, Marriage, Wealth, and Career.  I know there have been many times when I wish the tarot cards had something like this!  It helps to pin down which tea leaf symbols cover which aspect of the client's life, etc, somewhat like when a person gets their astrological chart cast and certain things come up in certain houses.  Very handy, indeed!
 
The second section of cards is called the "Months of the Year" and hardly needs explaining.  One card for each month of the year, used to help define *when* something will happen and bring additional focus to timing.  Again, something you often find yourself wishing for during a tarot reading!
 
The remaining 182 cards in the deck are "Tea Leaf" cards and represent the actual symbols the tea leaves might form in patterns as they cling to the bottom of the teacup when being read.  Typically, the person getting the tea leaf reading drinks the tea, and when it's almost down to the bottom of the cup, swirls the tea around to scatter the leaves around on the bottom, and overturns the cup onto the saucer so that only the wet sticky leaves remain in the cup.  Then the reader looks at the cup and interprets the symbols that are formed, like little pictures.  This is similar to seeing objects and images in cloud formations and is highly subjective, since everyone may see something different in the same pattern.
 
With the tea leaf cards, there is no mistaking each symbol, since it is clearly drawn and further labeled so you can't miss what it is.  You then have only to look up the meaning within the enclosed book to know what the symbolism of the card represents.  I have always thought this was very close to dream symbol interpretation, and indeed when tea leaf reading, one can use a dictionary of dream symbols for the meanings as well as anything else.  The book which comes with this set has a very good set of definitions for the symbols, but this divinatory tool is a lot more subjective in general than the tarot and so even the meanings found here may be considered a starting point rather than a definitive last answer as to what each symbol means.  The reader is encouraged to rely on instinct and intuition heavily when using this method.
 
I was pleasantly surprised to discover the book for this set has a lot of information on tea leaf reading in general, and not just instructions for using this set.  It is almost as though the author herself is encouraging you to eventually break away from these cards and actually use real tea leaves for readings.  You don't have to do this, however, as this set would probably suffice for as long as you wanted.  A lot of history of tasseomancy (tea leaf reading) is given, as well as several different spreads, and a lot of meanings for the cards.  Many sample readings are also given, since it is much easier to illustrate the how-to's of this set when using examples.
 
The cards themselves are about three inches in diameter, round (as stated above), and printed on a very thin and flexible cardstock.  The edges have a "cut" feel to them instead of a "polished" feel.  I think shuffling and handling this trick is a challenge, but then it is definitely worth it for the end result.  The back design is the same for all three sections of the deck, except it is a different color; purple for the "Months of the Year" cards, green for the "Astral House" cards, and red for the "Tea Leaf" cards.  The type of card that each one is gets named in a black title box across the center of the back of the card.  There is no little white booklet with this set since it comes with a regular book.

This deck is so different and enjoyable to use for a change of pace that I recommend it for just about everyone.  Since it's not a tarot, there is no difference whether anyone has tarot experience previously or not.  Many people who do read tarot already may want to buy this deck to incorporate the extra touch into their reading sessions; it also proves to be an interesting and entertaining game to play with family and friends on its own.  It's not too expensive, and lots of fun!
 
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Review Copyright 2001 by Gina M. Pace

Tea Leaf Fortune Cards by Rae Hepburn, 2000
published by Journey Editions, Boston, MA
ISBN 1-885203-76-4