Purchasing Tea At A Cafe. Where Common Sense And Capitalism Clash.

I completely understand the concept of charging more for the enjoyment of more. Tea is an interesting category though. If you order it at most any cafe you are presented with a choice paradox. On the one hand they charge more for each increasing size. I suppose the idea is you’re getting more of that beverage which you enjoy. So the cost justifies the action. But on the other, you still only need one tea bag for every size there is and water is essentially free. It may cost a fraction of a cent but no company charges for a glass of water.

So the company charging increasing amounts for increasing volumes pays the exact same amount no matter the size. It’s possible that larger cups cost slightly more but I can’t imagine its much. Why isn’t this cost transferred to the guest? All we should pay is the one tea bag fee and whatever minimal cost for the cup and water.

As a matter of fact it should just be one fee no matter the size. Yet here we are paying nearly a dollar more for a few extra ounces of hot water. It’s a conundrum that as a consumer I can’t quite wrap my head around. But as a business owner it makes perfect sense. Maybe I’ll find a cafe that charges this way and only frequent that place. Than again maybe there are not many because they don’t make as much money as the rest.