☕️
Hot Beverage
hot BEV-rij
Definitions
1
Food & Drink · Beverage
Very Common
Represents a hot drink, typically coffee or tea, served in a mug or cup, often used to indicate morning routines, coffee breaks, or café culture.
Used to express needing caffeine, taking a break, or suggesting a meetup at a café.
Need my morning ☕️ before I can function today!
Social media status update
Fancy grabbing a ☕️ after work?
Messaging app invitation
Working from home today ☕️ 💻
Work chat status
Symbolizes both productivity and relaxation across cultures, with coffee and tea serving as global social lubricants and work facilitators.
2
Slang · Gossip
Common
Metaphorically represents gossip, drama, or juicy information being 'spilled' or shared, often used when discussing celebrity news or personal drama.
Frequently used on social media to indicate sharing or consuming gossip.
Let me spill the ☕️ about what happened at the party last night...
Social media or messaging
That's the ☕️ sis!
Comment on gossip content
Emerged from Black and LGBTQ+ digital culture, referencing 'spilling the tea' or sharing gossip, before spreading to mainstream usage.
Evolution Timeline
2010
Initially introduced as a literal hot beverage symbol in early emoji sets, primarily representing coffee.
Growing global café culture and social media food photography trends
2016
Began to acquire secondary meaning as 'tea' in the gossip sense, particularly in LGBTQ+ and Black online communities.
Popularization of phrases like 'spill the tea' and 'that's the tea' in digital culture
2018
Mainstream adoption of the gossip meaning across platforms, particularly Twitter and Instagram.
Celebrity drama accounts and reality TV commentary popularized the metaphorical usage
Cultural Context
Coffee and tea serve as universal social lubricants across cultures, with the emoji representing both the beverages and their associated social rituals of connection.
The dual meaning of 'tea' as both beverage and gossip represents linguistic evolution in digital spaces, particularly from AAVE (African American Vernacular English).
Hot beverages have historically signified both luxury and necessity across cultures, with coffee and tea trade shaping colonial histories and economic systems.
While older generations use this emoji literally, younger users often employ it metaphorically for drama and gossip, showing semantic evolution in digital communication.
Regional Variations
United Kingdom
More commonly represents tea in British contexts, reflecting the cultural importance of tea drinking as a social ritual and comfort.
India
Typically represents chai (spiced tea) in Indian contexts, often associated with family gatherings and street food culture.
United States
Predominantly represents coffee in American usage, reflecting the country's strong coffee culture and preference for coffee over tea.
Generational Usage
Gen_X: Primarily used literally to reference coffee breaks, morning routines, or suggesting meetups at cafés.
Gen_Z: Frequently used for gossip contexts ('spilling the tea') and aesthetic café posts. Often combined with other emojis in complex sequences.
Older: Used sparingly and almost exclusively in literal context to represent actual coffee or tea consumption.
Millennials: Used both literally for coffee culture and work-life balance posts, and metaphorically for commentary on social media drama.
Common Combinations
☕️😌
Enjoying a peaceful, relaxing moment with a hot drink.
Represents self-care and mindfulness in modern wellness culture.
☕️💻
Working while enjoying coffee, often remote work or studying.
Symbol of modern work culture, especially during the rise of remote work.
☕️🍰
Coffee and cake, afternoon tea, or café visit.
Represents treat culture and social meetups over refreshments.
☕️👀
Observing drama or gossip without getting involved.
References 'sipping tea' while watching drama unfold, popular in meme culture.
☕️🐸
Referencing the 'Kermit sipping tea' meme about gossip or judgment.
Based on a popular meme showing Kermit the Frog drinking tea while making judgmental comments.
Related Emojis
🍵
Green tea cup, often used interchangeably but specifically for tea varieties.
🫖
Teapot, used in conjunction with hot beverage for British tea culture.
🥤
Cold drink alternative, often contrasted with hot beverages.
👀
Often paired for gossip contexts ('sipping tea while watching drama').
🐸
Kermit the Frog meme connection to 'sipping tea' and making judgments.