Food trend: afternoon tea is back!

Our love of the drink itself is seeing no decline since the British first began brewing it more than 350 years ago - according to the British Nutrition Foundation, it's the most commonly consumed beverage in the world, after water - and glamorous venues such as London's The Ritz have a three-to-five month waiting list for their fashionable, formal afternoon tea. Yet more ordinary, down-to-earth, at-home teatime has fallen by the wayside.

If your instant - and understandable - reaction is, "But I haven't got time for afternoon tea!", think again. While it's a ritual steeped in tradition, teatime is a great solution for busy modern lives. It doesn't involve the hours of preparation and entertaining that a dinner party demands, nor does it consume the best part of your day as a Sunday roast might. Inviting friends and family for a light meal of sandwiches, scones and tea requires very little effort from you - and at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, you'll have had the rest of the day to devote to other activities. Plus, you needn't even break out the flour - there are three different tiers to our stand on cake: bake it, buy it or eat it out. Choose to visit a tearoom and you'll have even more free time.

Meet the neighbours

Afternoon tea could also be a passport into your local community, as Catherine Gazzoli, head of the UK Slow Food movement suggests: "Slow Food is all about sharing and communicating through good, clean and fair food and drink. Teatime is the epitome of this kind of conviviality, bringing together friends and family as well as providing us with a great excuse to meet new neighbours." So, if you'd like to get to know the people who live next door better, but you're hesitant about committing to a full evening's entertainment, afternoon tea provides the ideal opportunity. Its popularity also bridges the divide between young and old. Everyone from small children to grandparents enjoys teatime fare, whether a dainty sandwich or a toasted tea cake, and there is something to suit all tastes and ages. And, because you can prepare all the food beforehand, you'll have time to catch up with family and friends. "Reviving the tradition of teatime with the joys of home baking allows the different generations to spend 'slow' time together," says Catherine Gazzoli.

Boost the spirits

The benefits aren't just restricted to the home and weekends, either. Few organisations and companies today observe a break for tea, though both morning and afternoon are punctuated by tea at the Civil Service and the British Library. Why not introduce teatime to your workplace? Its restorative qualities may even boost performance. At around 3pm, we suffer a dip in energy levels that is a circadian rhythm (biological processes that occur at roughly 24-hour intervals), coupled with lowering glucose, which accounts for the commonly experienced feeling of lethargy in the afternoon. So, a sweet something is just what workers need to carry them through the remains of the day. Similarly, research suggests that a moderate intake of caffeine (up to 300mg per day, the equivalent of six cups of tea) may be beneficial in terms of alertness, concentration, improved performance and decreased fatigue. Hurrah! Tea and cake really is the answer! The added bonus is that by reviving teatime in the workplace, you'll be able to draw on an officeful of baking talent to provide sustenance.

Tearoom treats

You needn't be a born baker to help us Bring Back Teatime: we're inviting you to take part on any level, whether at work, at a tearoom or in your own home. By visiting a countryside tearoom, you'll be supporting a small rural business. Or serve locally produced treats at home and in doing so, help artisan bakers and cottage industries in your area. But if you're never happier than with mixing bowl in hand, source flours and other ingredients from your region (find them at www.bigbarn.co.uk) and revive local and traditional recipes. Whatever suits, you'll be helping our campaign by investing in rural Britain - and all by simply luxuriating in a time-honoured ritual.

Inspired to put the kettle on? Visit www.bakingmad.com for ideas to make and bake. Whether your efforts to Bring Back Teatime involve a pretty table laid with fine china, dainty sandwiches and scones, an impromptu gathering of friends with slabs of cake and mugs of tea, or an outing to a local tearoom, we want to hear from you. Click here to upload your pictures, your favourite recipes and tales of your gatherings.

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