National Afternoon Tea Week is putting a British classic - some might even say an English classic - in the spotlight, and offering a chance to recognise the contribution it makes to keeping cafe furniture occupied in the daytime.
Afternoon tea is the classic combination of crustless sandwiches, scones and pastries, with plenty of tea - often Earl Grey - and quite often the choice to go back for second helpings, too.
The week of August 8th-14th is celebrating this national institution, and to coincide with this, consumer analysts Mintel have published the results of their research into the levels of demand for afternoon tea, and for tea in its own right as a hot drink.
Mintel found four in five Britons eat cake, and 51% of those consider it a mid-afternoon snack, with 28% eating it after dinner and 25% tucking in mid-morning - 6% even said they eat cake for breakfast.
Healthy options are desirable, with 70-80% welcoming natural sweeteners like honey and agave syrup in place of refined sugars, and a similar proportion saying they would like to try zero-calorie sweeteners, or coconut oil in place of butter.
But it is clear that there is still plenty of demand for afternoon tea which, as a shared experience, usually brings at least two customers at a time, and often groups of four or more - helping to keep cafe furniture filled in the mid-afternoon period between lunch and dinner.
What's more, there are signs that the tradition could help put bums on seats in pub furniture throughout the afternoon too.
Mintel found 29% of people have been to a pub solely for a hot drink, and 9% have done so for afternoon tea, or coffee and cakes.
"That few pubs have made a point of developing or marketing an afternoon tea offering is no doubt a key factor in low usage of afternoon teas compared with hot drinks only," said Mintel senior food and drink analyst Richard Caines.
"This nonetheless suggests scope for more pubs to build revenues by encouraging people to have something with their hot drink."