On this wonderfully stormy night I am sipping A Quarter to Tea’s Banana Nut Pancakes, a surprise sample from Equusfell! The aroma of the brewed tea is spot on and rather delicious. Those inspiration banana walnut pancakes may be on the menu tomorrow!
My first few sips of a new-to-me tea are always straight, even though adding sweetener is pretty standard for me when it comes to dessert teas. Even when I enjoy a dessert tea or otherwise flavored tea straight, I usually find that to my tastebuds, I prefer it when the flavors have been awakened by a bit of sweetener, and often cream or (nondairy) milk as well. Straight, even the best flavored teas I’ve tried are not nearly as compelling to me as unflavored teas. So when I play with flavored tea, I do it up.
As I am with this tea. A spoonful of simple syrup coaxed the delightful aroma into the brewed cup. Simple syrup is convenient since it blends into the tea more evenly than sugar, but sometimes (perhaps when I’ve added too much) I can taste the simple syrup itself, which I don’t love. I found myself thinking, hmm, honey would be nice, and took it one step further, my friends, to the obvious(ly brilliant) conclusion of maple syrup!
Which brings us up to this very sip: real maple, a 4 min steep (this is the 4th steep, and it’s still flavorful), a touch of cream, and wow: this is dessert in a cup.
