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Songs have been written about it. Work schedules have been built around it. And dresses have been designed for it. Tea has been an important part of daily life in the United Kingdom for centuries.

The earliest record of its arrival in the UK from China is reported to be 1644, and an English merchant called Thomas Garway advertised it as a virtual health cure-all in 1660.

The UK's Tea Council quotes a broadsheet selling tea in which Garway claimed the beverage was "wholesome, preserving perfect health until extreme old age, good for clearing the sight", and that it was able to cure "gripping of the guts, cold, dropsy (oedema) and scurvy (vitamin deficiency disease)". It also claimed that it "could make the body active and lusty".

Modern scientists still suggest health benefits but rather different ones, including improved oral health (tea is a natural source of fluoride) and the possible reduction in the risk of heart disease and some cancers.

Tea drinking started to become popular in Garway's time and by 1700 was on sale in more than 500 coffee houses in London. The whole ritual of afternoon tea at home, with delicate china cups, dainty things to eat and polite conversation first came into vogue in the 1800s.

The story goes that the Duchess of Bedford had the idea of serving tea and light snacks at around four o'clock in the afternoon in order to satisfy pangs of hunger between lunch and dinner.

It was also around this time that tea-gowns - gorgeous creations in ultra-feminine styles and fabrics - first appeared. On the history of tea-drinking in the UK, Twinnings - one of the UK's longest-established and most successful tea and coffee companies said "Dressed in a soft, loose and comfortable tea-gown, a lady could indulge in as much tea and as many sandwiches and pastries as her appetite demanded - yet her appearance would remain always refined, feminine, elegant and fashionable."

For factory-workers, 10-minute tea breaks have been included in their work schedules for around 200 years. For some companies, where workers make an early start, these take place in the morning and the afternoon. At one time, certain industrialists tried to put a stop to them but there was such a storm of protest, that they quietly gave in and tea breaks remained.

Today, few people have the kind of life that allows formal afternoon tea, complete with cakes and sandwiches, as a daily ritual, but at weekends people still invite friends and relatives to their homes for tea.

Crumpets (made with flour and yeast which are toasted and buttered) may be on offer, as well as fruit buns or iced buns and large sliced cakes, all of which are on sale at supermarkets to save the busy hostess the effort of making them in her own kitchen.

Another popular weekend leisure activity in the UK involves driving into the countryside that surrounds the cities. Most small towns and villages have a tea shop where tea (and coffee) as well as fruit juices and soft drinks are on the menu, Together with home-made scones (doughy, slightly sweet cakes, usually served with butter and jam) and iced cakes.

In London and other main cities, afternoon tea takes on a much grander aspect. Many of the capital's best hotels open their lounges to customers so that they can enjoy a range of different types of tea and cakes, brought to them on a silver tray by a smartly dressed waiter.

Prices tend to range from around 20 Sterling Pounds but some hotels, such as the London Landmark, in Marylebone, also offer a very special, slightly more expensive, tea that includes not only sandwiches, freshly made scones with jam and cream, and French pastries, but also strawberries and cream, and champagne.

Other top hotels such as Claridge's, the Dorchester, the Ritz and the Lanesborough, serve tea from three in the afternoon until five or six.

The Savoy and the Waldorf Meridien are among those that also offer a tea dance on some days of the week. Music played on the piano or by a small band provides a nostalgic setting, allowing customers the chance to return to a gentler age when tea dances were highly fashionable.

Competition among hotels is quite fierce. Every year the Tea Council holds a competition to find "the finest afternoon tea in London". The Dorchester won the prize in August 2000, beating 18 finalists.

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