Nestle After Eight - 199g

In Britain, After Eight is the mint that turns an ordinary meal into a dinner party. Plates are cleared, the kettle goes on, the box comes out, and everyone sits up a little straighter.

People in Canada go looking for it because it is part of how a British evening ends. Meals finish in all sorts of ways, but if you grew up with that slim box going round the table, the evening never feels quite done without it.

The 199g box holds plenty for a table of guests, or one determined household over a week. The sleeves keep each mint separate and tidy. Keep the box somewhere cool and dry, well away from the radiator, or the mints will go soft on you. Hand it round with the coffee, or bring it along when someone has you over for dinner.

It tends to go home with other British things for the end of a meal: a box of proper tea, a packet of biscuits for the morning after, and whatever else from home has been missing from the cupboard.