When was tea leaf reading first invented?

Tassology, or tea leaf (coffee grounds) readings have been around as long as humankind has poured heated water on natural materials and ingested the infusion.

It is a common thing for the human mind to find patterns and images in naturally occurring materials.

Watch children lying on their backs and pointing out images they see in the clouds. It is sometimes very easy to see images in tea leaves. birds, fish, dogs, hats, umbrellas, even angels. I will admit it may take a bit of imagination to see the more complex things, but as long as your mind sees them it is then a short hop to wanting to interpret those images.

It doesn't take much of a leap to predict a trip if you see a boat or plane, however, many of the symbols have interpretation that go back much further than our current understanding. Which iswhy different cultures see different meanings for the same symbol. Like a black cat, which is a bad omen in North America and a good one in Britain.