Tea Treasures of Northern Georgia

Tea Treasures of Northern Georgia

Taste of Britain
73 S. Peachtree Street • Norcross, Georgia 30071
770-242-8585 • tasteofbritain.com

For more than three decades, Taste of Britain, a small novelty shop full of English wares and fare, has served the Historic Norcross Town Center as the perfect stop for Anglophiles. Since 1989, the quaint, red-painted storefront has seen three owners and many changes. But the store’s mission to bring British treats and goods to locals and travelers has endured.

Rukhsana Aguilar was born in South London and raised in the oldest recorded town in Britain, Colchester in Essex. So when she moved to the United States to be with her husband almost 30 years ago, she looked for a community that would allow her to maintain her British heritage and roots. She found that community in the Daughters of the British Empire in the United States of America, a nonprofit charitable organization that connects women and spouses of those of British birth or ancestry. Through this group, Rukhsana— also known as Roxy— met a kindred spirit and the second owner of Taste of Britain, Edna Berkshire.

“I was getting to the point where I wanted to do something a little less demanding,’ Rukhsana, who was working and traveling as a sales manager at the time, recalls. “I wanted to do something that was more satisfying.” After learning Edna was looking to sell Taste of Britain, Rukhsana saw the opportunity to shift careers and celebrate her heritage, so she purchased the business. For the past seven years, Rukhsana has ensured the store is stocked with new and unique items for customers to peruse and discover. Those who venture into Taste of Britain will find classic British delights, such as biscuits, meat pies, chocolate, jams and preserves, and, of course, a plethora of tea. The store’s inventory also includes giftware from teapots and tea sets to toys and British memorabilia.

Tea Treasures of Northern Georgia

“We appeal to the American public who have either visited England or who want to get to know England a bit better,” Rukhsana explains. “People have a romantic image of England in their heads. We have so many people who say, ‘I’ve never been, but I love British things.’ We have something for them as well, including travel books that will help them for the day they get to visit England.”

While Taste of Britain sells wares through its web store, a visit to the brick-and-mortar location is worth the trek, as Rukhsana reports that only about 40 percent of the store’s inventory is online. The rest of its wares and treasures can be viewed in the store, which is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

 

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