When Taco Bell began testing its newest breakfast items last year, the move raised many questions.
Why would Taco Bell — often known as a late-night destination for undiscriminating, penny-pinching gourmands — start opening its doors in the early-morning hours? How would the retailer bring its Americanized spirit to Mexican-inspired breakfast cuisine? Would the absurd Waffle Taco be available nationwide?
Yes, indeed. Customers can now get their hands on this greasy goodness, as well as Taco Bell's other breakfast-menu items, starting on March 27.
See also: 8 Wines to Pair With Your Fast Food
The 15-item launch is the company's largest menu addition since its opening in 1962. New breakfast items include the AM Crunchwrap, Waffle Tacos, orange juice, as well as hot and iced coffee. The menu will also feature Cinnabon Delights, which are already available nationwide on Taco Bell's dessert menu.
Breakfast will be available from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., which means most stores will now open two hours earlier than usual. And with an 11 a.m. end time, Taco Bell will compete with McDonald's and Burger King, whose breakfast service ends at 10:30 a.m. As for how much these items will set you back — both in price and in calories — the company is waiting until the menu's official launch date to release that information.
It's not surprising that Taco Bell is expanding its morning service; in 2013, the restaurant industry saw a 3% rise in breakfast visits, while visits during others parts of the day fell. Taco Bell's breakfast menu launches shortly after Starbucks debuted its new line of breakfast sandwiches earlier this month.
Taco Bell first introduced select breakfast items in 10 western states in January 2012, before testing the entire menu in Fresno, Calif., Omaha, Neb. and Chattanooga, Tenn. in August 2013. On Wednesday, the retailer previewed select items in New York, and Mashable was to get a taste. Here's what we thought:

The greasy, cheesy wonder that is a Taco Bell Waffle Taco.
Image: Mashable, Laura Vitto
The taco features a sausage patty, scrambled eggs and shredded cheese enveloped in a soft waffle shell. It also comes with a small pack of syrup to pour over the top. Admittedly, the Waffle Taco is pretty gimmicky — an unusual food item that creates buzz, and gets people in the door.
The taco itself isn't bad if you don't mind some grease. Because this thing is greasy. But when it comes down to it, there's nothing not to like about sausage (or bacon, if you choose), egg and cheese on a waffle — even if that waffle is a little bit oily. What's more, the syrup adds a nice sweetness to counteract the taco's saltiness.

The AM Crunchwrap
Image: Mashable, Laura Vitto
This is Taco Bell's closest attempt at emulating the success of McDonald's Egg McMuffin. The grilled wrap features scrambled eggs, cheese, a choice of sausage, steak or bacon, and a hashbrown patty tucked into a tortilla. It also comes with the company's new slightly spicy Salsa De Sol picante sauce.
The AM Crunchwrap is not nearly as oily as the Waffle Taco. It was tasty, though salty, and it gets bonus points for staying relatively mess-free throughout the meal.

The Cinnabon Delights.
Image: Mashable, Laura Vitto
This is Taco Bell's first partnership with Cinnabon, and its "Delights" are already available nationwide. They are one of the few breakfast items that will remain available throughout the day as a dessert.
These small doughnut holes are covered in cinnamon sugar, and filled with — as one Mashable co-worker remarked — "an explosion of frosting." The frosting center is indeed a bit jarring when you first bite into one of these pastries. While the doughnut itself is fresh and fluffy, the soft center is far too sweet.

Image: Mashable, Laura Vitto
Taco Bell uses unbranded premium Rainforest Alliance-certified coffee, and for now, there are no plans to add flavoring options to the drink menu. The drink itself is pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a fast-food retailer: It's not the best coffee we've had, but it gets the job done.
Would we actually sit down for breakfast at Taco Bell on a regular basis? Probably not. While we enjoyed the company's new offerings, we can't imagine ourselves comfortably reading the morning paper while sitting in an orange, fluorescent-lit restaurant. We would, however, stop in for a mess-free AM Crunchwrap to eat on our commute to work. And if Taco Bell's coffee is priced at $1, as it is at Wendy's and McDonald's, then we could see ourselves grabbing a cup to go.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.