Who doesn’t love a good slice of warm Banana Bread right out of the oven? I recently made a loaf and added pecans instead of walnuts and it was delicious. It’s a labor of love that I return to every so often, I just get a craving for this sweet treat. The entire process is intoxicating, from smashing up the bananas to baking it in the oven. After about 10 minutes, my entire kitchen is filled with the aroma of warm cinnamon and bananas and I’m salivating waiting for the loaf to finish baking. Over the years, I’ve made several versions of Banana Bread - with or without nuts, even getting creative and adding raisins or dried blueberries. These days, I stick to a simple recipe and add pecans but I’m not above experimenting with hazelnuts in the future...hmmmm. I’ve always enjoyed my Mom’s banana bread and would have a slice for breakfast with a cup of tea. To this day, all I have to do is look at a slice of banana bread and I get visions of baking a loaf in my oven, accompanied by a cup of tea, of course. Which brings me to my latest tea discovery, Banana Bread Coffee Pu Erh by Old Barrel Tea Company. The tea is a Pu erh tea, which brews up a strong cup of tea that is packed with intense aroma and flavor. I stumbled upon this tea while looking for an entirely different type of tea, the name alone had me intrigued. Suffice to say, they had me at “Banana Bread”.
The tea has coffee beans in it and you do smell coffee in this tea BUT there is also the sweet aroma of the banana, as well. This is a very earthy tea with strong notes of wood, vanilla and spice, I can even detect notes of walnuts in the tea too. The scent reminds me of being out in nature, surrounded by beautiful, tall, majestic trees and my bare feet soaking up the soft feel of the dirt on my soles on a sunny day - it even smells warm!
The tea gets even better once you brew it, truly a treat for the senses. The smell of warm banana and wood is intensified once you brew the tea. Like baking a loaf of banana bread, the aroma fills the room and the tea starts looking like a loaf of banana bread. Much like the crusted ends of a banana bread loaf, the tea turns a dark shade of brown very quickly. I like my banana bread sweet, so I typically add some sugar and cream to this brew to compliment the earthy flavors of spice and wood. The cream lightens the color and brings out more of the banana color and flavor. The tea tastes just like a slice of banana bread with some coffee on the side. No other tea captures a slice of banana bread AND a cup of coffee all in one cup!
The next time you get a craving for banana bread and want a taste before baking a loaf of your own, brew a cup of this tea. You don’t always need to bake a loaf to enjoy the smell and flavor of this sweet recipe. It won’t be long before you are dreaming about biting into a warm slice of banana bread and feeling the happiness it brings to your heart and soul.
A good cup of tea mirrors the pace of life, we must slow down and enjoy the small wonders that surround us, one cup at a time.
Website: https://oldbarreltea.com/products/banana-bread-coffee-pu-erh-1
Set Your Pinky Free,
Fairy Teamother
I love banana bread so much. I never thought about adding things like dried blueberries, great idea. I'm going to have to try this coffee for sure, thanks for the tip! Maybe you could write a post about your five favorite tea companies. I would love to hear your expertise!