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Original poster

Afternoon Tea or High Tea?

116 replies

Sunshineismyfavourite · 24/02/2026 22:29

A hotel I visit sometimes is currently advertising a 'High Tea' for Mother's Day. The menu is sandwiches, quiche, scones and cakes. But that's not 'High Tea' is it? That is an 'Afternoon Tea'. A high tea where I come from is a late afternoon meal like a 'proper' dinner - meat, veg, potatoes etc. of some description.

The hotel do brand themselves as being a bit top tier. It irritates me that they are calling it a 'High Tea' as if they are being too posh to do an afternoon tea or something. And don't get me started on the whole 'cream tea' debacle!

YANBU - it's afternoon tea - they are unreasonable to call it a high tea.
YABU - it's a high tea/who cares what they are calling it!

OP posts:
Beekman · 24/02/2026 23:28

WhyamIinahandcartandwherearewegoing · 24/02/2026 23:08

No, it’s a different thing. High tea was the meal the factory/farm workers had after the working day, it’s a hot meal, not sandwiches.

patisserie-valerie.co.uk/blogs/recipes/what-s-the-difference-between-afternoon-tea-and-high-tea

Show quote history

Thanks, I never knew that!

Afternoon tea seems random these days. Too much emphasis and little cakes and that and not enough scones. Maybe a slice of scotch egg or even pork pie.

Eggybreadwithnuts · 24/02/2026 23:20

Anything goes now....afternoon tea isnt what it used to be.

WhyamIinahandcartandwherearewegoing · 24/02/2026 23:08

Beekman · 24/02/2026 22:36

Isn’t a High Tea basically an afternoon tea with a few savoury extras?

No, it’s a different thing. High tea was the meal the factory/farm workers had after the working day, it’s a hot meal, not sandwiches.

patisserie-valerie.co.uk/blogs/recipes/what-s-the-difference-between-afternoon-tea-and-high-tea

JuliettaCaeser · 24/02/2026 23:07

High tea just sounds really pretentious and wanky. I had never heard of it then saw it was what they called kids tea at a smart hotel

ReignOfError · 24/02/2026 23:04

Americans often call afternoon tea high tea (I think they think high society or some such) so hotels that cater to US tourists often do this bollocks misnaming.

JudgeJ · 24/02/2026 23:02

SupposedTo · 24/02/2026 22:49

High tea is a meat tea, a fairly substantial evening meal for people who have their dinner in the middle of the day. But the term is often misused by people who think it’s a grander version of afternoon tea.

It's not a case of being grander, it's a term used for two different things. Some places do High Tea which is a full meal but served earlier than dinner, other places use the same term for Afternoon tea with some savoury additions.

JudgeJ · 24/02/2026 22:59

Beekman · 24/02/2026 22:36

Isn’t a High Tea basically an afternoon tea with a few savoury extras?

Yes, the place we like to go does the usual Afternoon Tea and also High Tea, which is the AT with the addition of quiche and sausage rolls, you don't need to eat the following day at all!

freerangethighs · 24/02/2026 22:56

The hotel do brand themselves as being a bit top tier. It irritates me that they are calling it a 'High Tea' as if they are being too posh to do an afternoon tea or something.

This confuses me because I see it the other way around. Afternoon Tea is a kind of glorified/ritualised snack in the late afternoon and historically people who had it as an "occasion" were able to do so because they had leisure time during what would normally be the work day. It was often served away from the table, as it wasn't an essential meal. It was originally associated with aristocracy or at least people with money/means. High Tea - so called because it was served as a formal meal at the table and was eaten there, not lounging around - is an evening meal, after work and originally associated with the working class or at least professional jobholders.

SupposedTo · 24/02/2026 22:49

High tea is a meat tea, a fairly substantial evening meal for people who have their dinner in the middle of the day. But the term is often misused by people who think it’s a grander version of afternoon tea.

Lunde · 24/02/2026 22:48

High tea usually includes a hot meal plus bread, butter tea and cake. It's usually served later than afternoon tea.

MakeYourOwnSunshine · 24/02/2026 22:41

AlwaysRightISwear · 24/02/2026 22:32

It's high tea because of the quiche.

Afternoon tea is all sweet apart from the sandwiches.

Not always. There's a lovely cafe near me that does afternoon tea and they include other savoury things like sausage rolls, wee savoury tarts and so on.

StrawberrySquash · 24/02/2026 22:39

High tea should have generous slices of ham carved off the bone by a jolly farmer's wife in an Enid Blyton book. Doesn't need to be hot though.

PinkCatCushion · 24/02/2026 22:38

I’ve only ever heard of tea (as in your evening meal) or afternoon tea (little sandwiches and scones on a silver tray). Never heard of high tea.

Beekman · 24/02/2026 22:36

Isn’t a High Tea basically an afternoon tea with a few savoury extras?

gototogo · 24/02/2026 22:36

High tea was always hot in my experience perhaps cheese on toast, I suspect the quiche would count

AlwaysRightISwear · 24/02/2026 22:32

It's high tea because of the quiche.

Afternoon tea is all sweet apart from the sandwiches.