is tea or coffee a course?

banjobongo

I was at a function lately where a 3 course meal was to be served. In my book, a 3 course meal is, or used to be, a starter, main course and a desert. At the function I was at there was a main course, a desert and a tea or coffee. I woudl classify this as a two course meal.
Am I right or am I wrong?

jungleman

banjobongo wrote: »

I was at a function lately where a 3 course meal was to be served. In my book, a 3 course meal is, or used to be, a starter, main course and a desert. At the function I was at there was a main course, a desert and a tea or coffee. I woudl classify this as a two course meal.
Am I right or am I wrong?

Generally tea/coffee is served as the third course in a three course menu. Especially if it's an early-bird menu. Some places might still have dessert as an option for the third course, but a lot of menus don't anymore.

Frynge

You'll have a breakdown if you go for the six course meal i went for years ago. Sorbet, which is just watery ice-cream, in a shot glass, tea or coffee and a mint.

Seriously a mint. How in the love of all things fluffy can a mint be considered a course.

The Hill Billy

A four-course meal would generally be starter, main course, dessert, & tea or coffee. So, a three course meal would most likely be the above - less the starter or tea/coffee.

Westernyelp

Go way with yer aul tea and coffee, Starter main and Dessert is a three course.

the beer revolu

I was always taught that tea or coffee were NOT a course. Tea of coffee with petit fours, I think can be considered a course. Sorbet can certainly be considered a course.

Main, dessert and tea or coffee is a two course meal with tea or coffee!

Problem is that people change the meaning of words and phrases by misusing them and the new meaning becomes accepted over time so it is arguable that tea or coffee is now considered to be a course due to it's mislabelling as such.

Muahahaha

Anytime I buy any vouchers from Groupon for a three course meal I'm immediately suspicious if the third course is tea/coffee. If it is then to me it represents nothing more than the restaurant version of a three card trick. To me a three course meal means you are going to eat three courses.

rubadub

Frynge wrote: »

You'll have a breakdown if you go for the six course meal i went for years ago.

I doubt the OP would. I would be thinking along the same lines as him, and would not be surprised about what you mentioned. I would be laughing about it but would have gone in not expecting to get 6 substantial rounds of food. Now if i twas a bowl of soup, a proper dinner, and then the remaining 4 "courses" were an after eight, a shot glass of sorbet, a tea, and then a coffee I would be pissed off alright.

The Hill Billy wrote: »

A four-course meal would generally be starter, main course, dessert, & tea or coffee. So, a three course meal would most likely be the above - less the starter or tea/coffee.

That would be my thinking. If they are calling a teabag a course on 3 courses then its a con, a proper trick of confidence. Though as the poster said, if it was on groupon I would not be overly surprised. Especially seeing as groupon typically take 50% of the voucher price.

Carawaystick

How about a glass of tapwater before your starter for a splendid 4 course meal.

the beer revolu

Carawaystick wrote: »

How about a glass of tapwater before your starter for a splendid 4 course meal.

Anyone remembe a small glass of orange juice regularly served as a starter??

The Hill Billy

Those were the days...

Carawaystick

I remember getting apeel in a jug in a guesthouse back in the day