In fact, the teacup wasn't the first location of the said storm, nor was the teapot. The phrase probably derives from the writing of Cicero, in De Legibus, circa 52BC. The translation of his "Excitabat fluctus in simpulo" is often given as "He was stirring up billows in a ladle". Other cultires have versions of the phrase in their own languages. The translation of the Netherlands version is 'a sotrm in a glass of water', and the Hungarian 'tempest in a potty'.