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)

Being a woman of the people I went to McDonald’s for lunch the other day and had a cheeseburger, some chips and a Diet Coke. It was 600 cal and £4.49. What the fuck are you buying for 50 quid?

I love a good afternoon tea. At a lovely London hotel.
Happy to pay £50+ for a beautiful setting, someone playing piano and a good couple of hours chatting to a dear friend or two and trying delicious different leaf teas. Not to mention someone else making ME a yummy sandwich for a change and scones with cream and jam. It's such a treat. On a par with a West End theatre ticket and about the same price.
I'd only go for a good one though, not a crappy one. And consequently only do it once every couple of years.

I agree with this - the customer service is always amazing.

the staff know it’s a treat and so they are very attentive. I went with my elderly mother and they really made a fuss.

i took my 2 DC to McDonalds and spent about £50- I hardly ate anything!

£50 in McDonald’s? What the hell did you order?

Anyone else confused about why the OP keeps going on about "giggling" and "oooh"? [Confused]

I’ve just been traumatised by watching a load of women eat them at a garden centre, so I am in a kind of PTSD state

This thread is moving fast, I'll add my own experience, not that anyone will care.

Afternoon tea at Claridges Hotel (highly recommend, very special) I was talking about Chris Martin who I'd see on TV the month before. Was never a Cold Play fan but the intimate concert on TV I saw changed my mind, Cold Play absolutely brilliant blah, blah. 10 minutes later Chris Martin walks by our table, chats to the concierge & sprints up the stairs! He was having Afternoon Tea, so not just for the womenz!

Why don’t you start one op?

Prefersbly near a football ground - I reckon you’d be onto a winner there!

I agree OP. I got pissed off with all the shops I went in for Mother's Day that were selling a load of things for moms all themed around tea, flowers, cake and the colour pink, as if all moms are the same and we all like this stuff....

Maybe some people, male or female, do love tea and little cakes and dainty sandwiches and all that jizz. They must do I suppose. But why the assumption that this is what all women want?

It's not what I want. I don't even drink any more. But I would still much rather be in a pub with a Person Zero and a lasagne, watching the snooker on a big screen - i would be massively uncomfortable in a posh hotel drawing room eating a miniscule fondant fancy and not knowing what to do with a tea strainer.

Yet because I am a woman, people in the past have often made the mistake of assuming that afternoon tea was what I wanted. Afternoon tea has NEVER been what I wanted.

For me, the Chris Martin aspect emphasises my point

My American friend always wants me to take her to afternoon tea. She is invariably disappointed every year. Just as she is disappointed to see everyone in London in athleisure rather than tweed and hats.

I would rather take her to Brick Lane, frankly.

Happy to pay £20 to eat nice little sandwiches, lots of different tiny cakes and drink tea from pretty china in a local cafe or pay a bit more in a smart hotel. Afternoon tea is one of life's pleasures imo, right up there with fish and chips on the seafront and cocktails at sundown.

@theworldie cow pie

I quite like an afternoon tea especially if I’m away and have had a cooked breakfast. Skip lunch, have afternoon tea and then just have olives/ cheese/ wine/ leftovers in the evening. I don’t think I’ve paid more than 25 quid a head though in smaller places rather than posh hotels. I always get a little box of leftovers to take home too.

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
Add you own to this

I do recognise the some men do and some women don't argumrnts but you gotta admit spending money on frivolous shit is predominantly female hobby

I’m not a great fan of afternoon tea, or rather I wasn’t, until my friend took me to The Ritz at Christmas. It was bloody gorgeous. Loads of food, champagne, candlelight, and a choir.

And, her husband paid for us, so neither of us were ripped off!

Chips and gravy are British too but you wouldn’t expect them to be served for afternoon tea.

Afternoon tea is about dainty tea sandwiches with light filling, cucumber and cream cheese, smoked salmon, ham and mustard.

If you want a bacon sarnie get to your local greasy spoon. I’d be clutching my pearls if I was served a bacon & sausage sarnie for afternoon tea!

We did afternoon tea at the Ritz for my brother's 60th birthday (his suggestion). It was about 50/50 men and women in there (and it was bloody AMAZING).

Yes, it is very Chris Martin. All feeble and beige and anaemic.
😗 Though I think I would like to go for the robust Jamaican afternoon tea I saw advertised recently. At somewhere posh.

I’m pretty sure she’s teasing about the bacon and sausage sandwich mate

She’s on a windup that’s what!

I know! I couldn’t believe it either! It was 40 something quid, but basically very little change from £50.

kids are older and swim a lot so they were hungry.

have just looked at menu- burgers £6 then fries and drink. Also had sides, then dessert. It all adds up. I had a coffee in addition to my meal drink.

£50 - is about £16 a head

It’s not my cup of tea. 🤣 If people want to waste their hard earned cash, it’s up to them. Like everything else!

Tell that to my DH who loves an afternoon tea more than me 😂 however YANBU about it generally bring a rip off. Where I live there is a Betty’s and it’s about £30 for afternoon tea. Whilst it’s lovely and the brand is prestigious, £30 for a couple of cups of tea, cucumber sandwiches, a scone and a macaroon made me feel like the waitress should have been wearing a mask and a striped jumper.

I agree OP. I go out for steak and chips and a bottle of good wine with my mates. But lots of women enjoy afternoon tea and all the beautifully handcrafted cakes.