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Move over, maple. There’s a new pancake flavoring in town!

Japan is more likely to think of pancakes as a dessert than a breakfast staple, so perhaps it was only a matter of time until one of the nation’s hotcake mix makers decided it was time to produce a version with one of Japan’s favorite flavors for sweets: matcha green tea.

Showa Sangyo, which bills itself as Japan’s market share leader in pancake mixes, has just unveiled its Wa Hotcake Mix (Wa being a Japanese word referring to Japan itself). Each 300-gram (10.6-ounce), 400-yen (US$3.35) package comes with two 20-gram containers of matcha mitsu green tea syrup, made with Uji matcha, one of Japan’s most highly prized varieties of green tea.

Mixing a portion of the matcha mitsu into the batter before cooking will impart the pancakes with an elegant matcha flavor and aroma, as well as a light green color. It can also be drizzled on cooked pancakes in place of maple syrup for those who want a double-dose of green tea.

For even more decadence, Showa Sangyo recommends topping the pancakes with a dollop of whipped cream or anko (sweet red beans) on top. Having enhanced our own version of matcha pancakes with anko, we heartily second the suggestion to anyone buying the Wa Hotcake Mix when it’s released in Japan on March 1.

Follow Casey on Twitter, where it’s only a matter of time until he talks about matcha again.

Source: Entabe
Image: Showa Sangyo (edited by RocketNews24)