Tea & Pumpkin Pancakes

When I started this blog, I promised I would never do product reviews. (a) Food blogs should be about foods, not particular premade concoctions, and (b) I'm a shameless capitalist who doesn't feel like making money for someone else for free. However, I'm going to bend the rules today to review something not terribly diluted by manufacturers: tea.

I've been craving warm drinks at night, what with the 45° weather out there ("Fall? What fall? It's more efficient to jump straight into winter!" claims mother nature). But I can't drink my green teas if I want to sleep before 2am and I refuse to pay for "decaf," a.k.a. boiled, filtered, and otherwise mutilated. So on the last grocery shopping trip I stopped by the breakfast aisle to check out their herbals. Kroger is hardly a tea mogul, so the best options available were chamomile and peppermint. I decided to try the Twinings peppermint, since the only other brand on the shelves was cheap Bigalow. Bigalow and I don't have a happy history (warning: stay AWAY from the vanilla almond black).


When I cracked open my first bag, I was shocked by the powerful aroma. My first sip was incredible--like brushing my teeth with a single swish. The leaves were fresh and potent enough to provide two cups!

The next day I was excited to try another Twinings tea: Earl Grey. I love the Stash Earl Grey my boss never drank (and which mysteriously ended up in my mug every morning >.>) so I was really eager for this one. I whipped up some pumpkin pancakes by adding a 1/4 cup of puree and some cinnamon to a 1/3 cup of buckwheat mix, then adding enough soy milk to reach batter consistency. They turned out huge!


I'm used to pancakes 75% that size; it's amazing how much bulk vegetables have.


Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed by the Earl Grey. I think it had more bergamot added than the Americanized Stash, so it wasn't what I was expecting. However, I think I'll become accustomed to it over time. It is definitely more flavorful than your every-day black.