Just some quick renders, the only reason I am posting is because I really want to put some steam coming out of the mug, but I can think of the best way how. I tried smoke sim but couldnt get that nice steam as opposed to smoke feeling.
Any ideas greatly appreciated
First off, this is a really nice render 
double thumbs up :D. About the “steam” issue…
have you tried decreasing the amount or smoke particles and using the compositor? You might have to use some compositing magic to get it to look like steam instead of smoke, because i don’t think the settings in the smoke simulation can be altered to make it look how u want.
nice render! for smoke u can tweak the material settings (play around with ramp) to make it look it like steam. spoons look a bit light u might want to darken the material a lil to give that steel feel. and u can also change the title to “Cup of Chai Anyone?” 
Despite my best efforts i cannot get the smoke to look remotely like steam, need help!
I would add the steam in post pro. In PS, you basically you make a selection, render some clouds using 50% grey and white, use motion blur filter and distort-wave filter, then set it to screen and adjust opacity. I’m sure this could be done in the gimp as well.
See attached quick attempt at demonstrating this effect.
Cups aren’t reflective enough IMO. Usually the glass gives quite a reflection. Also the “platters” are a little thin. Other then that it’s very good. Reminds me of my recent render.
