If you've ever picked up a brightly patterned placemat and wondered what it's actually made of , or whether melamine is safe to eat off, you're asking a fair question. It's one we get a lot.
Melamine has been in British kitchens since the 1950s. It's light, tough, wipes clean in seconds and holds colour beautifully, which is exactly why we use it for our placemats, coasters and serving boards. It's also a material with a complicated reputation, thanks to a food-adulteration scandal in the 2000s that had nothing whatsoever to do with tableware.
So here's the honest version: what melamine is, why we chose it, what it can and can't do, and how to look after it.
What is melamine, in plain English?
Melamine is an organic compound, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen, chemical formula C₃H₆N₆. On its own it's a white crystalline powder. It was first synthesised back in 1834 by the German chemist Justus von Liebig, though it took another century for anyone to find a good use for it.
That use turned out to be surfaces. Melamine forms a hard, glossy, heat-resistant layer that bonds tightly to a base material. In our products, that base is a eucalyptus wood core, with the melamine layer carrying the printed design on top.
This is worth understanding, because it explains most of the care instructions further down. Our placemats and boards aren't solid plastic, they're a wood product with a melamine surface. Treat them like good wooden boards and they'll last for years.
Why we use melamine for our tableware
It's genuinely heatproof. Our placemats, coasters and trivets withstand temperatures up to 160°C, so a hot casserole dish or a fresh pot of tea won't mark your table.
Colour comes out extraordinarily vivid. This one matters to us more than most. Michelle's designs live or die on saturated colour, and a baked melamine surface reproduces her illustrations with a punch that fabric and paper simply can't match. If you've seen the Wild Cat or Vivid Garden Blooms designs in person, that's melamine doing its job.
It resists stains and scratches. The surface is non-porous, so red wine, turmeric and beetroot sit on top rather than soaking in. A damp cloth deals with almost everything.
It's light and shatter-resistant. Drop a melamine coaster and you pick it up. Drop a ceramic one and you fetch the dustpan.
It lasts. Melamine isn't easy to recycle, we'll come back to that, but a set of placemats that survives fifteen years of family dinners is doing more environmental good than something you replace every eighteen months.
Is melamine safe for food?
Yes, when it's manufactured and used properly. Two things determine that: who made it, and how you use it.
Who made it. Our melamine products are made in the UK by a family-run manufacturer certified to ISO 9001, and members of the BPMA, PSI, BRIMAN and the FSB. The eucalyptus hardboard core and cork backing are FSC certified, and the finished products meet UK food-safety standards. UK and EU regulations on melamine in food-contact materials are among the strictest in the world, and being able to point at a factory in Britain rather than an anonymous supply chain is a large part of why we manufacture here.
How you use it. Melamine is safe for food contact at normal temperatures. It should never go in the microwave, and it isn't designed for prolonged contact with very hot, very acidic foods. This isn't unique to melamine or cause for alarm, it's simply the material's limit, in the same way you wouldn't put a wooden board in a dishwasher.
Caring for your melamine tableware
Short version: treat it like a wooden board.
- Wipe clean with a damp cloth, that's genuinely all it needs
- Don't soak it in the sink
- Don't put it in the dishwasher, the wood core won't thank you
- Never microwave it
- Store flat in a dry place to keep it from warping
Follow those five and your placemats will outlast several dining tables.
Our melamine range
Placemats : round and rectangular, heatproof to 160°C, in every design in the collection.
Coasters : round or square, with a cork backing to protect your surfaces. Buy any four and we'll send them in a Bean and Bemble foiled gift box, which makes them one of our most-bought presents. Browse the ready-made coaster sets if you'd rather we did the choosing.
Serving and cheese boards : melamine-coated eucalyptus, ideal for cheese, charcuterie and grazing boards.
Trivets : the same heat resistance, sized for pans and serving dishes.
Prefer glass? Our glass worktop savers are non-slip, fully dishwasher safe and knife-friendly: a better choice if you want something to actually chop on.
Building a table setting
Melamine mixes well. Pair placemats with matching coasters, add a bone china mug and a tea towel in the same design, and you've a coordinated table without it looking like a matching set from a catalogue. Every design runs across the range, so you can build it up gradually.
They make good gifts, too, weddings, housewarmings, birthdays, Christmas. Practical enough to be used, pretty enough to be enjoyed. We offer a gift wrapping service if you'd like it sent ready to give.
Frequently asked questions
Is melamine safe for food? Yes, when properly manufactured and used as intended. Our melamine products are UK-made to ISO 9001 standards with an FSC-certified eucalyptus core and cork backing, and meet UK food-safety requirements. Don't microwave them, and avoid prolonged contact with very hot acidic foods.
Can melamine go in the dishwasher? Ours can't. Because our placemats, coasters and boards have a natural eucalyptus wood core, dishwashing will damage them. Wipe clean with a damp cloth instead.
Can melamine go in the microwave? No. Melamine should never be microwaved, whoever makes it.
What was the 2008 melamine scandal? In the 2000s, melamine powder was criminally added to milk products in China to inflate apparent protein readings, causing serious illness and deaths. This was food adulteration and fraud, it had nothing to do with melamine tableware, which doesn't transfer melamine into food in any meaningful way. It did, however, lead to much tighter global regulation, which is no bad thing.
How heat resistant is melamine? Our products withstand up to 160°C, comfortably enough for hot plates, pans and teapots.
Can melamine be recycled? Not easily, it's a thermoset, meaning it can't be melted down and reformed. We're upfront about that. What we'd say is that a well-made melamine placemat looked after properly will serve you for many years, and longevity is its own form of sustainability.
Does melamine break easily? No. It's shatter-resistant and considerably tougher than ceramic or glass, one of the reasons it's popular with families.
Where is your melamine made? In the UK, by a family-run manufacturer we've worked with for years.