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A repeat from yesterday. I left a bag of this in my purse so another cup of Earl Grey Black it is.

I have been trying so hard to like Teavana’s Earl Grey White but everything I try still results in a bitter tea. I really wanted something good today, something creamy, so I settled on this. It’s sweet and warm and completely reliable. I taste a lot of the bergamot today, maybe because I steeped with a little less water than usual. I also steeped it a little longer than the suggested time.

This is one of three teas I ordered from Satori and the first I’ve had the opportunity to try. I brewed a full pot over the weekend to share with my brother who was over for a visit. He loved it and drank over half the pot on his own, but my husband didn’t really care for it. I thought it was really something special.

Aside from the tea itself, the dry mix includes bits of fruit and brightly colored pieces that look much like saffron. Red, orange, yellow – almost neon in color and very beautiful. The final cup is sweet and floral to taste and has a lingering flavor that brings to mind rosewater. Creamy and fragrant and somewhat exotic, this is an indulgent cup perfect for a cozy afternoon at home.

This tea doesn’t seem to be much affected by change in water temperature or steep time. I bumped up the temperature and let it sit on my desk for a few minutes longer than usual and it tasted just the same.

I have so many new teas to try but I can’t seem to break away from this one.

. . .

I’m trying the resteep one more time. The last time was an awful fail. I’m using 8 ounces of water at 200 degrees and will let it sit on my desk until the color looks similar to that of the first cup.

It’s dark but not quite as dark as the first. I’m surprised that this still has flavor. It’s a little weaker but not by much and that could be because I added a bit too much half and half.

It’s been one of those days. So glad to come home to a quiet house and a sweet husband who makes me tea when I’m feeling blue.

I sweetened this cup with honey and added a splash of half and half to give it some creaminess. There isn’t much new to say about this one. Love it.

I mixed the last of my Almond Plum Perfection with Teavana’s Imperial Acai Blueberry a couple of days ago and stuck it in the fridge for later. Drinking it now, I can see that I put way too much sweetener in this cup. Not only that, the taste and smell remind me of the inside of a home decor store. There is definitely something here that reminds me of potpourri. Not sure yet if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Let’s just say it’s fragrant.

This tea is noticeably pale in color so I am thinking that it shouldn’t be too bitter.

Nope, it’s still bitter. Even at this lower temperature. I guess I’ll try dropping the temperature further, but what else can I do? You know, I’ve always been in the habit of dunking or dipping my tea bag (or tea ball) a few times at the end of the steep time. I’m wondering now with this white tea if that’s such a good idea. Does it even offer any benefits? Is that why mine is coming out bitter in this instance?

No dunking and a low, low temperature next time. This is just way too bitter to be enjoyable.

I was craving something heavier and a bit savory today as the weather is starting to get cooler here. I bumped around the kitchen all morning looking for the perfect snack and just realized that what I really wanted was this deep, rich tea. This one has become my favorite – I love everything about it.

I’m not sure the pu-erh taste comes out like it’s supposed to. I had the chance to visit a tea shop in Georgia recently that carried a straight pu-erh, and I noticed it had a fishiness to it that others here have commented on. I don’t get that with the Strawberry Slender at all. It really just tastes like a black tea to me. And I’m okay with that.

I can smell the bergamot in the dry blend but am not able to distinguish a difference between this and Teavana’s Earl Grey Black tea. Once brewed, it is very pale in color and smells almost fruity.

When I’m at work, I use the hot water dispenser on the coffee maker which shows the temperature when it’s between 195 and 200 degrees. It doesn’t go higher than 200 and any lower than 195 just says “heating” so it’s often hard to get an exact temperature this way. Because of this, I think I may have steeped this tea at too high a temperature – it definitely came out bitter. I used honey to sweeten, which has helped a little, and am able to taste the bergamot slightly. I still taste something fruity though – maybe peach? This just doesn’t feel like an Earl Grey to me.