Note: This review is an edited version of a review that I posted previously in one of my Tumblr accounts.
I added: Nothing.
Smell (dry): A bit bitter and a touch of something sweet, like maple syrup.
Smell (brewed): Hint of something flowery.
Color (brewed): Almost a maple syrup golden-red color.
Taste: It tastes like a nice black tea to me, with hints of other flavors. When made properly, there is little to no bitterness to the taste.
I remember it as tasting like maple syrup the first few times I tried it, but I don’t taste any of that now. I’m not sure if my memory is at fault or if it’s just had a few months to be past its prime in flavor. I probably also added honey to it, which certainly would have given it a different body.
Since I’d already written about my current impressions of the taste, I went ahead and added a spoonful of honey to the cup and it brought out more of the flowery taste I could smell from the aroma. So I would certainly recommend adding honey to the tea if you just taste the black tea rather than the marigold and other flavors they added to this blend. Try it first without the honey and then add just a bit to bring out the other flavors.
Other comments: This isn’t the first time I’ve had this particular tea. I bought it a few months ago because the flavor sounded nothing short of wonderful. I mean, look at the photo on the package. Can’t you just taste the warm, buttery, bready pancake flavor? It honestly was not at all like I expected it to taste, which was a bit of a disappointment, but once I got over that, it was pretty nice for what it actually was. I’m just saying: do not expect it to taste like it looks as if it would.
Tonight when I made the tea, I added too much water to the first cup. You’ll still taste “something” more than just hot water if you add too much water (of course), but it’ll be a very bland sort of generic tea. You might taste the marigold or the maple as a note in the background, but more likely you’ll just have something bitter along with standard tea-ness. (When I say “standard tea-ness” I’m trying to describe something very generic and forgettable and sort of… well, to put it as I see it in my head, it’s sort of a desaturated brown taste.)
I’m a little disappointed I didn’t think to review teas earlier. I would have liked to have been able to describe the flavor as I originally tasted it rather than from memory of it.
Would I buy it again?: There are a lot of interesting flavors on 52Teas and at the moment, Pancake Breakfast isn’t a “favorite” enough to buy it on my next shipment after this packet runs out. It’s certainly a “maybe” though.
Would I recommend it?: As long as you’re perfectly aware that it will not taste like buttered pancakes and the thought of black tea with marigolds sounds nice to you, by all means try it! I recommend only opening the packet if you’re prepared to drink nothing but that tea until it’s all out, though – just in case the flavor goes “dead” like mine seems to have.
