Complex sentence: The tea was often too hot and was poured into a saucer to cool it before consumption, as the cups at the time had no handles, so to drink the tea from saucers required two hands which made it necessary to put down the cup.
Split into simpler sentences: The tea was often too hot and was poured into a saucer to cool before consumption. In order to drink the tea from the saucer two hands were required which made it necessary to put down the cup.