Afternoon tea is a rip off largely aimed at ripping women off

[Coddy]

Somebody suggested this to me and I’ve never thought of it that way.

You don’t get very men going for afternoon tea do you? The Mark up on afternoon tea is absolutely enormous aside from staffing and cost of the building and stuff- it must be money for old rope for the businesses concerned. Specially the ones that charge over 50 quid ahead.

Are we being conned by the whole afternoon tea debacle?

(yes cake is nice I get that)

I love a posh afternoon tea- not necessarily for the food but the chance to sit somewhere nice for an hour and listen to a pianist or harpist, have a glass of something nice and go at the cakes. Some teas are a bit mediocre but I do really love a nice one. I thought the ritz was too blingy and flashy when we we went but I loved the Dorchester and palm court in London. I’d rather pay an extra £20-30 to get that experience than some of the more mediocre hotel ones that I’ve been too for £30 quid a head.

Noooo one digs a harpist

Probably completely off topic but I remember the first time I had a cream tea. Was 30 years ago on my honeymoon in Cornwall. I grew up in Belfast and we didn’t have such fancy things… that cream tea in Bude has never left me. It was marvellous

An afternoon tea is supposed to be a massive treat. You must have known how much it cost before you bought it. If you think you've been robbed....it is daylight robbery, don't buy it again. Not enough sarnie and too much cake!

These examples don't work. Yes of course there are very expensive things marketed at men as well. But this is talking about when you have two products which are identical (eg razor, pen, shampoo, tea and sandwiches), with one marketed primarily at women and the other at men, the so-called women's products are always more expensive, AND usually worse quality

I read a piece on the Lanesborough London on their Afternoon tea which they said was superb.

Can't find any prices though

Noooo! It's my DH's favourite thing so
we have tried most of them in a 20 mile radius

This is the content I came for. Every afternoon tea I’ve been to I have not liked and paid a fortune for and it has been linked to being female- hen dos, 40ths, 50ths, girls weekends away and I felt I had to go, certainly did not want to rock the boat.

The only man I have ever seen eating afternoon day was Michael Gove sitting at next table. Seriously that says it all.

It was my partner who's a man that suggested we went for the afternoon tea. We wanted to experience the 5 star hotel with a Michelin star, but didn't want a whole meal. I think where we had the afternoon tea looked nicer than the Michelin star restaurant.
We wanted to look around the hotel, spa and ground, before deciding if to go back for a meal, but decided we'd like to go back for another afternoon tea.

I trained as a hairdresser, and there's no way I could afford the prices some woman pay for colours, with cuts and blow dries. I go to a salon over the road who just cuts it, and then I go back home with it wet and dry myself with a hot air styler. I put on my own colour, but she said that she would put on a colour I bought in myself for £10. Not very glamorous, but saves lots of money. There's also a salon called Cellys where you can just turn up like a men's barber and have a cheap cut.

I'm always up for a pot of tea and a slice of cake in an independent cafe. Not only in the afternoon. I can do without dainty bits and bobs served on vintage cake stands and fizzy wine in a chintzy tea room.

😀that made me laugh but I really do. Maybe I’ve got old but I genuinely love it on the rare occasion we go. And as an added bonus my children are instantly better behaved if there’s a musician somewhere and that gives a moment of zen compared to when they’re in a pub squabbling.

There certainly are some afternoon teas that are rip offs, and if you don’t like sandwiches and/or cake then it’s not a great choice for you even if it the price were less than the cost of the ingredients. But good afternoon tea places provide exquisite patisserie which require exceptional skill to develop and create and they are often served in expensive environments. I don’t think those are a rip off, though that doesn’t mean they are what everyone would want to spend that sort of money on.

Afternoon teas often showcase a wide variety of different breads, fillings, cakes and other treats, made fresh, that you can’t really recreate at home, even if you have the baking skills, because you need just a little bit of each one. That isn’t practical to do for just a few people and could well be impossible in a small domestic kitchen.

There’s plenty of high priced stuff marketed at men to part them from their money - football, golf, whisky, steak - no reason women should be ignored.

What a lovely story!!
We all recall different things and your story is really nice - best wishes

Women ARE an easier target though. You wouldn't catch a man paying £50 for afternoon tea. You also don't find them paying:

£30 for quick hair trim

£30 to get their nails coloured in

£300 for a handbag

£50 for a pot of face cream

Nor would I. Nor most people I know.

"Best Afternoon Tea | Llandudno North Wales | Bodysgallen Hall" https://www.bodysgallen.com/wine-dine/afternoon-tea/

We treated a friend to a spa experience on her birthday. Eight of us then snuck in to surprise her with afternoon tea.

They put us in a private study, open fire, afternoon tea for nine, they kept the tea coming and there was prosecco. We were there for a couple of hours. It was lovely.

Weddings. Oh. A harpist

gr8

I went the other week to Brown's and there were men at every table.... I didn't know it was a "woman's thing". When you go for a really special one it's lovely. I had 4 different pots of tea, about 10 sandwichs, scones, 5 different stunning cakes. And a box to take home. I love going!

I'm not 'missing the point'.
I'm answering the question - which is about whether Afternoon Teas are a rip off or not.

If someone wants to start a post about why things that are essentially the same item, but then coloured pink or blue and put on shelves of 'women things' or 'men things' then that's a different question.

I buy razors, deodorants, and the like from the 'men shelf' when I need them. It is bizarre to me that everyone doesn't.

I have spent almost twice that in some London places. Like anything, if you appreciate it, it’s ’worth it’.

Ooh yes, good musical accompaniment really helps. I do like a harpist, if the room isn't too big or noisy, and not getting the opportunity to hear one live very often makes it more of a treat.

You still make me laugh after 20 yrs

I used to go to a salon in Swindon called Cellys and have a wash and cut for £11. The sign outside said everything is £11, so a blow dry would be another £11. I just looked to check the prices since the couple of years I last went, and the salon I thought of as cheap now charge £21 for just a wash and cut, so no longer cheap.

Maybe a sign of the times with the increased energy costs.

These examples don't work. Yes of course there are very expensive things marketed at men as well. But this is talking about when you have two products which are identical (eg razor, pen, shampoo, tea and sandwiches), with one marketed primarily at women and the other at men, the so-called women's products are always more expensive, AND usually worse quality

If anything it's the tea and sandwiches example that doesn't work. Both men and women drink tea and eat sandwiches. And, just like with other foods and drinks which both men and women consume in restaurantsand cafés, you pay a premium for ones in swanky places or which are served in a posh way, often regardless of quality.

Not the full afternoon tea, but was only talking with DH yesterday about how much a Cafè charge for a cup/pot of tea.

Having just purchased tea bags from a wholesalers, 720 for 12.99 most cafés we go to charge £2.25/2.50, and yes I know they do have overheads but that's an awful lot of profit for a tea bag and some hot water.

🤣🤣🤣