Thanks A-Latte!

I am a coffee drinker. Black, espresso, lattes, cappuccinos, hot or cold, flavored or otherwise -- I enjoy it all. My favorite caffeinated beverage is a skim super foamy cappuccino, and by that I mean that I want just shots topped by about sixteen ounces of foam which I then proceed to eat with a spoon. Yum!

Recently, however, I have been drinking more super foamy lattes instead, which is about half foam and half milk and espresso, in order to get some more calcium in my diet. Plus, they're just plain tasty, especially with a little almond or caramel flavor. If I get a flavored latte, I tend to stick with those flavors as I don't really feel sure about some of the others, like coconut or raspberry. They just don't sound appealing when mixed with coffee.

Last week, while I was ordering my morning latte, a curious new addition to the coffee shop's flavor list caught my eye -- sugar-free pancake. Pancake? In a latte?

Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good stack of Saturday morning blueberry pancakes, sticky with syrup. But a pancake-flavored coffee? It sounds as improbable as the peanut butter coffee syrup that has been languishing in the kitchen at one of my workplaces for over a year now, virtually untapped.

Simultaneously captivated and vaguely disturbed by the idea of a pancake latte, I decided to ask one of the baristas. How could I not? Well, apparently the barista who added the special flavor to the list did not mean that it tastes like actual pancakes. Instead, he or she meant to convey a brand-new maple addition to the menu.

Remember how I mentioned my healthy love of maple syrup-doused pancakes? As a Vermont maple syrup fanatic and lover of all things maple flavored and scented, this revelation found me soon sipping a super foamy "pancake" latte. (Incidentally, it occurs to me that maple muffins might taste divine! I will have to explore this matter in the future. It is obviously a burden that I must shoulder for the good of society. Obviously.)

The latte tasted pretty good, especially for a sugar-free flavor. Also, I only ordered half a shot of flavor as I'm not too fond of aspartame and the related death that the sweetener seems to encourage. Sugar-free cancer? No, thank you. But I will partake of a pancake, a.k.a. maple, latte with pleasure. Yes, please!