McVitie's Tasties Bourbon Creams - 300g

In the British biscuit tin, the bourbon is the dependable middle child. Not as posh as a chocolate digestive, not as plain as a rich tea, and somehow always gone before the custard creams.

Ask someone who grew up in Britain what they miss and, after the tea and the crisps, the bourbon comes up surprisingly fast. It is the biscuit of break time, school trips and the gran who kept the packet open on the side. You search for it because you want that exact one, not a near guess.

A 300g packet is a good long run of biscuits, rolled tight in the wrapper. Once it is open, fold the end over or tip them into a tin and they keep happily in the cupboard. Dunking is allowed, briefly: the cream gives up long before the biscuit does.

McVitie's is the name behind the digestive, the Hobnob and the Jaffa Cake, so the bourbon keeps good company. Most people put a packet next to a box of proper tea, plus something with oats for the one person who claims not to like chocolate.