Saturday's "Simple Pleasure"

Tea. Not Lipton. British. Smooth. Fragrant. Slightly sweet without adding sugar. Sipped hot and steaming from my favorite cups. Pleasure personified.

I adore Taylors of Harrogate Teas (established 1886), packed in Harrogate, England. I usually drink their decaffeinated tea, but on Sundays I allow myself a cup of their extra smooth and fragrant Scottish Breakfast as a special treat. Their tea isn't cheap ($7.50 for 50 teabags), but as it's the only thing I drink besides water, it's an indulgence that I don't feel terribly guilty about.



I buy my tea at a cute little shop in La Mesa called "All Things Bright and British," where the cheery gray-haired women working behind the counter speak with lovely British accents and always call B "love" as they offer him a shortbread "biscuit." I have a very difficult time resisting Walker's Shortbread in its distinctive red plaid wrapper; I usually buy just two small cookies for 99 cents and reluctantly walk away from the large tins.

So tea and "biscuits" straight from Britain: one of my favorite Simple Pleasures.