Pancake Breakfast Black Tea

I messed this up.

I will postpone rating this tea until I sprout a brain….

…it might be a while.

For your entertainment, here is my 34 step process of how to destroy this tea:
1. Get up ridiculously early
2. Stumble into the kitchen – eyes barely open, drunk with sleep
3. Overfill kettle and put to boil, spilling water everywhere in the process
4. Try reading the instructions, but because you’re so tired the words don’t make sense and may as well be hieroglyphics. Instead, stare at package and eventually exclaim “oooh pwitty!”
5. Proceed by guess
6. Tear open the bag and enjoy the aroma….mmmm…pancakes. Try not to eat it (I’ll let you guess what I did)
7. Enjoy the aroma for so long that your brain wakes up enough to realize that you have to pee…like right now!
8. Ignore brain – cross legs instead
9. Scoop overly generous teaspoonfuls of tea into your teapot
10. Spill a little extra in for good measure
11. Realize that wasn’t a teaspoon, it was a tablespoon
12. Shrug and carry on
13. Wait for water to boil
14. Realize that you can go pee while you wait
15. Walk into the wall on your way to the bathroom
16. Walk into the wall on your way back from the bathroom
17. Slip on some water on the kitchen floor and curse whoever spilled it without cleaning it up
18. Realize you’re the one who spilled it. Clean it up.
19. Forget that you already put tea into the teapot
20. Put in another spoonful without looking
21. Realize that there was already tea in there, and AGAIN that is not a friggin teaspoon! It’s a tablespoon!
22. Shrug
23. Now that the water is boiled start pouring it over the tea
24. Catch the edge of the strainer at the perfect angle so that it shoots everywhere, including on you. Mutter obscenities because it burns, but don’t stop pouring – that’s far too logical
25. Leave it to brew while you go to brush your teeth
26. Walk into the wall again on your way to the bathroom
27. Forget tea brewing and proceed to brush teeth, have shower, and start to get dressed
28. Realize the tea is brewing, wrap a towel around you and rush to the kitchen
29. On your way there, say to the wall “haha! Missed me this time” because you didn’t walk into it
30. While you are trash talking at the wall, walk into the cupboard door which you apparently left open earlier – mutter obscenities of your choice
31. Slip on the water that had shot everywhere in step 24 – drop towel that you are wearing
31. Cover up. Start cleaning up the water.
32. Realize the tea is still brewing
33. Pour tea which is now so black it could be mistaken for tar
34. Burn tongue on hot tea

TAA-DAA!!!

Wow. It really is pancake-y. After having that maple tea a few days ago I thought I knew what I was in for with this, but I was SO WRONG.

It has a maple flavour but a lot of what I’m getting is butter and pancake/pastry. How do they do this?

My bf walked by so I got him to take a sip and asked if he thought it was pancake-y. NOPE, he says, but he also said that if I want he’ll take me out for pancakes somewhere. So… YES PLEASE. Off we go!

(And maybe if we hit a mall I will buy that gongfu pot from DavidsTea? Maybe? IDK. Gaiwans can be so pretty too though, but if I get the little glass pot I can look at the leaves…)

Yeah, I chose a bad time to brew up four new-to-me black teas from 52teas, since I brought them upstairs and promptly fell asleep for who knows how long. And I’m being a terrible grad student writing these notes up, because I have a TON of work to do on my poster, and am showing it to my advisor tomorrow… eeks! Anyways, this is another from CHAroma!

The aroma of this one is definitely mapley and good, and upon sniffing, I was brought to memories of maple syrup-laden pancakes, so there must be a pancake element in there that I’m also picking up (I’m not actually a pancake fan, so maple syrup doesn’t typically evoke such memories).

… I’m pretty impressed, to be honest. I’m getting enough maple to know it’s there (but nothing like Oh Canada! from DavidsTea, which is fine), and a bit of pancakiness, which I have NO idea how Frank did. And also? No real astringency. A pleasure to drink. I’m enjoying the base tea here, even though it’s not the fabulous new base everyone’s raving about. CHAroma – I’m not sure if you didn’t like this one or what, since you sent me the leftovers from your packet, but I’m kind of thrilled to have more than two cups of this one. I don’t think it’s one I’d buy, but I’m really enjoying it for what it is right now! And did I mention, this one’s also cold?? :P

Also, does anyone know if marigold petals/cornflower petals do anything other than make the dry tea pretty, and get hopelessly clogged in one’s infuser? I definitely love the look of them, and am just fine with them in blends in spite of the clogging thing, but I almost feel like I like (black) teas that contain them more than teas that don’t… but maybe that’s just coincidence.

I’m a little disappointed with this one, not gonna lie! Maybe because I hyped it up in my head too much. For some reason or another, it’s just not what I was hoping for or expecting.

The dry smell was pure maple for me, which was nice but a little off putting. I was expecting a buttery, bakey scent but all I could pick up was sweet maple.

Brewed up, I taste black tea and maple. Still a really enjoyable cup, but not the true pancake flavour that everyone else seems to rave about.

I think next time I’ll try a shorter steep and see if that helps bring out more of the flavouring. I’m actually sipping this as I type, and the pancake comes out a bit more as it cools. This is one I think I’d have to be in the mood for, though.

what whaaaaaaat!!
this tastes like pancakes!!!!!!! so good. I was worried it would be buttery in the way that buttered rum from DTs is, but no this is buttery in just the right way! It’s like liquid pancake, with butter on top (and not butter with a dab of pancake like I had feared!)
And the “pancake” flavour, well there is no way to describe it other than that… how they managed to get the flavour into a tea is beyond me, especially since it isn’t super sweet, but just right.
The bit of astringency in the finish is nice to, reminding me that this is a tea and not some delicious breakfast in a cup!
This is my first 52teas cuppa, so I’m kinda in novelty shock here :)
Any other day this might get a lower rating, but I am in just he right mood for it today, and since it’s the first time I am trying it, well it’s just perfect in this moment!
Thanks a million to PoliticalMachine for sending me this sample! I’m very impressed.

Thank you again Amanda for including this in your tea sample sale! I’m so excited I get to try so many 52Teas since I know they are sold fast! I LOVE pancakes. Pancakes are my favorite breakfasty food. I especially love putting yogurt and fruit on top. But this tea is of the syrupy variety! I like the black tea that 52Teas uses, since it isn’t so strong of a black tea that you can’t taste the amazing flavors that is the specialty of 52Teas. I usually like super flavored black teas, but I can go without the strong black tea for 52Teas! I was wishing for more flavor here than there is, but there is definitely a buttery bakey syrupy flavor. Also, it tasted better after drinking it with the sugary oatmeal I was eating for breakfast. I think I’ll have to start putting in just a tiny bit of sugar in each cup because it really brings out the flavor. But I feel like I already eat so much sugar. I don’t know. The flavor reminded me of the Zoomdweebie’s Maple Blueberry black tea which somehow I’m the ONLY person to write a tasting note for that one? How is that possible? That one is my favorite Zoomdweebies (of the few I’ve tried)! But the flavor here is delicious, I just wish there was more.

Today has been very good to me for these reasons:
1.) It marks the end of one of the most stressful weeks in my whole schooling career
2.) My winter vacation is now officially starting
3.) I got home from [another] very long day and I checked my mailbox to find that my samples from the wonderful Bonnie and my big box o’ samples from LiberTEAS were in there! Hooray! I now have enough tea to last me a lifetime (I counted and I received 65 samples!)

I was at a loss for which tea to try and I’ve been eyeing this tea for quite a while (Bonnie so graciously included it), so I decided to dig in and make myself a cup.

Side note, not only is this my first taste of THIS tea, it’s also my first tea EVER from 52teas…. Needless to say I’m excited!

The dry leaf smells a lot like (who would have guessed) maple syrup….. That is nice, but I’m hoping that I can tell that this is a pancake tea, not a maple tea. Anywho, I steeped with boiling water for 5 minutes and 30 seconds. The liquor/wet leaf smell is (again) maple syrup-y, and the liquor itself looks like (wait for it)…… maple syrup.

I read some reviews, and after trying the first few sips plain (more black tea than flavored black tea), I decided to add some brown sugar.

HOLY HUNK OF BURNING HEAVEN THIS IS GOOD! It does taste more like pancakes than maple syrup! Like when you have the perfect ratio of pancake to syrup and the pancake absorbs some! There’s a somewhat grainy note and a slight astringency towards the swallow that makes it taste like a pancake! It also has a nice little shock of sweetness that cuts through.

Yes yes yes yes yes. I definitely have to try more teas from Frank (there’s some in my other samples!) and this is going on my “Buy ASAP Or I Might Die” list (unfortunately it’s a pretty big list…..). Thank GOODNESS this is in the permanent collection now, because next time I order my cupboard will never be without some of this!

Azzrian Thanks so much for sending me a cups-worth of this one! I’m so grateful!

I don’t know if it’s tricks of the mind or the actual flavoring but I can taste bready-pancake, sweet notes of maple syrup, and the lovely buttery goodness that goes with it.

Now…if I could just find a solid Vegan EZ Pancake Recipe that doesn’t suck.

YUMS to this tea!

About falling asleep in my chair ATM. Another great tea from the 12 days of Christmas swap! Tanks to tattooed tea as I’ve been interested in trying this for a while now. It’s maple….it’s batter…it’s pancake….even cold this reminds me of breakfast… So fait accomplis!

Finally trying the second scariest tea from last year’s 12 Teas of Christmas – Pancake Black. (That leaves me with Buttered Popcorn. Shudder). The dry aroma has something sweet about it, but it’s more brown sugar than maple. I know it’ll be bitter because that’s how the old tea base was and I swear I can smell that in the dry leaf. I’m not picking up on much more than those two notes, at the mo.

After a 2.5 minute steep, I have a bitter smelling brew. I still get a sense of that sweetness but the bitterness is dominating the aroma. I am willing to sweeten this if necessary, but I don’t like to sweeten my tea if I can help it. The tea should stand on it’s own, ideally. Nothing saying pancake in the aroma, but this IS an old sample and there is properly a lack of quality from the time and storage.

First sips are not bad. There is a sweetness right off the bat that is more like Aunt Jemima’s butter syrup than maple syrup but it’s actually pretty nice. I am not picking up on the bitterness like I expected and that sweetness is really lingering. Still no pancake, but I’m digging the ‘butter flavoured syrup’ vibe. My grandmother’s table always has that stuff and real maple syrup so I’ve become pretty clear on the difference. When I want syrup, I want the real stuff but there is a fond place in my heart for the fake. Especially if you pair it with boxed pancake mix – pancakes from scratch need strawberry jam or real syrup but I love the lazy stuff too!

Basically, this tea makes me want pancakes now… Thumbs up for sweetness, down for lack of pancake flavour. I’ll give this a solid middle of the road rating – it wasn’t nearly as scary as it seemed! I’m not sweetening it, but if I had steeped it any longer I would have had to. Whew!

I’ve got a bunch of unopened 52 Teas cause I bought a bunch a while back where there were sales. Recently, someone asked for some of this one is a swap so I ripped it open and took a big whiff. Mmmm…maple syrup. Decided to have a cup this morning. So tasty. Syrupy sweet. Like there’s actual maple in there! Yummy!

A second steep yielded less flavor. Tasted like just a regular tea with a bit of sweet flavor.

I don’t detect much in the way of butter or pancakes, but I did not think too much about the flavor while I was drinking because I was taking care of my husband who’s sick with a chest cold. Lots of ginger and lemon tea for that guy. I’m gonna have lots of vitamin C now so I don’t catch his cough.

I was so excited to get this one. Last night I tried to make it but I did mess it up a little… Too little leaf, low water temp, and oddly.. super low steeping time. I don’t know what I was thinking. The flavor was just black tea. BUT this morning I decided to try it again. I made a pot of this and did some morning yoga. As I let it cool it made my yoga room smell like breakfast :] Ahhh it was nice. The flavor turned out much better today. Much more pancake like. I can catch hints of warm butter, slight maple syrup, and actual pancakes. I feel like I’m drinking a hot pancake. The black tea base is still present but it just adds to the blend. MMmmMmmmMMM :]

This was from the traveling tea box and I was excited to see it because I’ve been curious about it. I’ve been making my own breakfast-like maple blend, so I had to see if this was better.
Had a cup of it this morning and I definitely enjoy my own “black maple” tea infinitely better than this one. I didn’t get much flavor out of the cup and had to add a good amount of honey for it to taste ok.
I’m very happy to have tried it though and now I appreciate my own blend even more. Thank you momo!

Thank you Amanda for this sample!!

This tea smells amazing. I am definitely getting the maple syrup smell. I was so eager to try this, that it was WAY too hot on my first sip…. waiting….waiting…ok here we go….YUMMY! This tea is sweet on its own with definite maple syrup goodness. I am not getting pancakes exactly, but it is for sure a bake-y taste.

I am glad that I still have one more cup of this because I tried this when I was a little rushed, so I would like to sit down and enjoy this tea next time.

This is a tea we got from the grab bag. I was pretty impressed with the what was chosen for us. There wasn’t one that I was disinterested in.

This is pancakes with a bit of butter and maple syrup. I was really surprised at how close it actually is. I think I could have a granola bar in the morning for breakfast and fool myself with this. Any who I’m pleased with this one. :D

Alysha was kind enough to send me some of this tea.

Dry, it smelled mostly of black tea, with hints of a mapley nature. Once brewed the maple notes stand out more, as does a buttery aspect.

Taste-wise, I pick up a stronger black tea aspect than the smell would point to, which is interesting. Luckily it isn’t bitter! That combined with the subtle buttery flavors as well as the light maple notes makes for a pretty good breakfast tea. I don’t think I’m getting a big pancake vibe, as the aspects are a little too subtle to combine that way, but it is tasty. It’s slightly sweet and surprisingly smooth.

Overall, I’m glad I got to try this one. I’m also glad I still have enough for two more cups! Might have some for “breakfast” tomorrow.

NOTE: I like this one better cooled off a bit – the buttery aspects come through a bit stronger that way. When it’s too hot, all I get is black tea.

Again it seems everyone and their mother has tried this, but not me. And thanks to tattooed_tea for including this in wee cute present box full of breakfast inspired teas she gave us for Day 6 of the 12 Days of Christmas swap. I tried this earlier in the day, after the bacon. Tis yummy, though I think I should have steeped it a bit stronger. I also used the wet leaves from this and Maple Bacon and brewed them together with a pinch of salt and sugar. They go well together, but I think I would prefer them without the additives.

dry – smells like butter and syrup
while brewing – that bready note comes in and really does remind me of pancakes on the griddle :-)
steeped – gorgeous color like dark maple syrup, and still smells like pancakes! Can smell the black tea base too. Surprisingly, I’m getting a bit of bitterness like it’s overbrewed at only 3 min :( It does remind me a bit of the crispy edges of a slightly overdone pancake. I added 1/4 tsp pure maple syrup, which toned down the bitter note, but overshadowed the flavors a bit. Then I added 1tsp milk which seemed to smooth things out.
I will have to try less time/lower temp and see what that does. Overall it’s not a bad morning cuppa and I think I’ll grow to love it.

One more on this day, because were had missed a day earlier.

I knew this one would be in here. It has been so popular and so raved about that there was just no way it could not be in here. Welcome to Bizarroland.

In spite of all the ravings about it, I have only had a small fleeting interest in it myself, and I’ve always got over it fairly quickly again. I just prefer fruit blends, and while I think it’s all sorts of fun that these blends are being made, I’m not really that interested in purchasing them. Whenever I’ve seen someone post about this blend, it has always inspired me to want pancakes, but only as a food, not as a beverage.

Now I get a chance to try it anyway, though, so here we go.

In our house we always have pancakes on saturday mornings, so it feels really weird for me to try this one on a wednesday evening… I tried to make the boyfriend guess what it could be, but when I told him that he wasn’t think bizarre enough with his guesses of caramel (although he’s close to something there), he got too bizarre. Frank, please don’t ever make a blend flavoured with iguana steak and electrocuted marshmallows.

He was right about it smelling caramel-y. Knowing that it’s maple syrup, I can recognise it as such, but if I hadn’t known, caramel would have been my guess as well. I can also pick up some notes of warm butter, but not really the actual pancake.

The flavour has an initial burst of warm butter as well, followed by tea and something batter-y side by side. The batter-y note has that sort of flour-y texture to it like real batter, so while I wouldn’t say I’m finding it spot on pancake, it’s definitely something in that direction. The maple syrup shows up on the swallow and in the aftertaste and while it tastes more like regular caramel than maple syrup to me, it does leave that same sort of feeling in the mouth afterwards that maple syrup does. A bit like it’s opening the palate a little bit. Regular caramel doesn’t give me that sensation.

I’m finding it a quite pleasant blend. It’s still not one where I will join the hordes in singing its praises, the horde is doing that quite well without me, but I am rather surprised to find myself enjoying the cup. It’s very well done, but me, I prefer something fruity and I still prefer to have my pancakes as solid food.

(Had I had more than just for one pot, I would probably have tried mixing it with my apple flavoured black, since we prefer our pancakes with apple chunks in. I can’t test that, though.)

Yesterday was an epic tea arrival day – several swaps arrived. I had to add all the tea swaps to my cupboard to keep track of what I already have samples of! haha. A serious sipdown is in order this Easter weekend.

This is the first one I’m trying from my awesome swap with Jackie T. This tea is such a treat! You can taste the maple, buttery and bakery flavors. I’ve only had one other 52Teas (Gooey ButterCake) and I like this one a lot more. It is more sincere to the name. I did a nice long steep with this and it did not become bitter at all. I added a little sugar, couldn’t help myself. Yum! Thanks again Jackie :-)