Afternoon Tea - how can anyone eat it all?

I've only whizzed through the replies and I see most have been covered, but have we had 'guzzling' and 'slurping' yet?

Some of the ones in the South West give you pasties as well!

People are different and some eat more than others 🤷🏻‍♀️

Can we see the photo to answer properly

Easily and then ask for seconds

I'm pretty greedy and have never managed to eat everything.

The portions are tiny. We got seconds when we went.

If I go for one now I book it as lunch, I see plenty of people do this.
To be honest I’d rather go for actual lunch, but have been given a couple . Small things but ask for a box if you’re full.

You haven't been going to the right places! I've been to 3 recently and they had 4 large finger sandwiches, 3 miniature savouries eg quiche, tartlet, then scone with cream and jam, then 3 patisserie cakes which weren't that small. I always eat everything apart from one or two cakes and they always give you a box to take the remainders home. If you're there for a few hours it's quite easy to eat it I find.

Christ this shit is so tedious.

You must know you'll get the "I could only manage a sandwich and cake as long as I skipped breakfast and lunch" type of replies, these threads always do.
I wonder how many MNers would faint over the idea of a bottomless brunch?!

If I was going to have a food related treat I'd rather have a slap up champagne breakfast or a nice evening meal followed by cocktails. Afternoon tea means you have to skip lunch and don't feel like eating in the evening so it messes up the day (for me anyway). It's a bit of something and nothing really.

An afternoon tea is only good value if you gorge on the sandwiches and snacks. Only ever go to a replenishable tea as well. Don't eat lunch and dinner. Bring a tupperware.
If you only nibble half a sandwich and two tiny cakes that's about a fivers worth!

Oh yes. I definitely can eat all of that in one sitting. Easily. I often do... 😭😭😭

Ps: I'm not overweight and quite fit, just a big eater.

Also if you are truly aghast at the thought of someone eating it all don’t go and ruin it for others in your company.

A group of us went for a spa day with afternoon tea at Easter and one member of the group kept commenting crap like ‘who can eat all this’ ‘they would think we are greedy piggies if we ate all this’ ‘I mean three cakes EACH!’ etc.
It consisted of (per person) 3 finger sandwiches, 2 mini savory canapé sized bites, 1 macron, 1 mini carrot cake and 1 bite sized lemon tart plus a scone and tea.

Most people had came a distance for a 10am start to catch up together and had coffee in the car on the way, they were naturally hungry.

Please may I be your friend? I like you already!

It's usually 4 finger sandwiches, 2 scones, 2-4 bite size cakes/desserts, sometimes other little savoury bite size treats.
It's usually fine eating it all, sometimes 2 scones is too much, depending on size.
Never, ever 4 full size cakes though.
It's really just a late lunch, so you'd be hungry from not having lunch, then have a late dinner /light dinner if you're not that hungry (if I had afternoon tea around 2pm/3pm, I'd easily have a normal dinner around 7/8pm)

The cakes are almost certainly tiny. As are the sandwiches. I love a good afternoon tea. One of my favourite things to do.

But as PPs have said, this thread will fill up with horrified reactions that anyone (read: any woman) could possibly eat more than a minute sliver of cake, half a finger sandwich, a quarter of a scone. . .

Any that I have ever had the cakes / scones are tiny, 2 bite sized. Probably not as much as a full slice of eg carrot or chocolate cake equivalent that you would get in a cafe for the 4 cakes.
The sandwiches usually have the crusts off and are literally 2, max 3 small bites each.
The whole thing probably isn't much more than a toastie with some salad followed by some cake.

The cakes arent full sized slices of cake you realsie that right?

Agreed about the sweet stuff to sandwiche ratio though! My aforementioned 6 foot rugby playing teens always ask if there's anymore and most places are always happy to bring them some more (yes MORE!) finger sandwiches.

We normally go on a weekend for mothers day or a faniky birthday though so they have always literally just come from a football or rugby match and havent had much to eat as Ive forced everyone not to have lunch because we're going for afternoon tea 😁

I reallly dont think it would make any difference though. Theyd happily have porridge, bacon sarnie aftrr the game, 1.5 x afternoon teas and a huge roast that evening. I think you do have to remember that it is not just delictae ladies who go for afternoon tea, as PP have said. I know what you mean personally though, i can only 'trough a whole one' with no other meals in the day.

At the ones I've been to, the cakes have been pretty big, at least the scones, some of the others have been smaller. I didn't know you could ask for more, if I go again I'll ask for more sandwiches.

It isn't 4 cakes. Each one will be 1-2 mouthfuls worth of cake.

This is going to shock you OP but most afternoon teas ask you if you another round, either the whole thing or just one section eg another plate of sandwiches or scones or cakes. And people do it. And then take stuff away too

I once ate a tray of 12 Krispy Kreme donuts so yeah. I’d manage just fine