M&S Malted Biscuits - 200g

In the British biscuit pecking order, the malted biscuit sits in the everyday ranks with the rich tea and the digestive. It is not the one you put out when the vicar visits. It is the one you actually eat, standing at the counter, waiting for the tea to brew.

Ask anyone who has left Britain what they miss and an M&S food hall comes up surprisingly fast. A packet of their biscuits is a small, very specific piece of home, and that is usually what sends people searching from a kitchen in Canada.

This one is a 200g packet, which is roughly one good week or one bad afternoon. Once it is open, clip the bag or tip them into a tin so they stay crisp in the cupboard. They dunk well, sit happily in a lunchbox and make a reasonable excuse for another cup.

Naturally they want a proper British cuppa alongside, so it is worth putting some UK tea bags in the same order. A packet of these and a box of tea also makes a tidy little parcel for someone who has been away from Britain a while.