How to Highlight Text in Yellow Using Apple Mail

Is it possible to highlight text in yellow (or another color) using OS X Apple Mail? There does not appear to be a simple way to do this.

How do I change the highlight color in Apple Mail?

In the Mail app on your Mac, select one or more messages in the message list. Choose Format > Show Colors, then select a color.

In macOS High Sierra (version 10.13) this is now quite easy. In Mail.app:

First bring up the tool bar, if you already don't have it enabled. This can be enabled by clicking the Tool bar that has the letter "A" on the top right corner of the composing window. Once you do this you can:

Select the text you want highlighted
Click on the 'Text Background Color' icon. This is shown as a small letter 'a' with a red diagonal line through it.
Select a highlight color.

That's all there is to it really.