Description
Earl Grey tea 500g
A traditional English blend of black tea and fragrant bergamot.
Bergamot (Citrus bergamia) is a citrus tree that is most often found on the coast of Italy and France. It is mostly grown in Calabria (Italy), which accounts for about 90% of the world production of bergamot oil. Bergamot essential oil is added to black tea to make Earl Grey.
This tea gained its popularity thanks to the English, for whom it is still one of the most popular teas today.
There are numerous versions of the story of how the name “Earl Grey” came about. It is most often associated with the English aristocrat Charles Grey.
The most popular versions of how “Earl Grey tea” came to be:
- Earl Gray tea was created by accidental mixing of bergamot and tea during shipment from China to England
- The tea mixture was made for Gray by a Chinese man, whose life Lord Charles Gray is said to have saved
- Charles Gray was given tea with oil of bergamot as a diplomatic allowance, possibly as a result of ending the monopoly held by the East India Company on trade between China and Britain.
Other theories suggest that the origin of this tea had nothing to do with him and that the name arose later. It is speculated that “Earl” was added to make the tea look more elegant. And there is also a story that he is related to Henry Grey, the third Earl Grey.
Classic, traditional Earl Gray is based on some of the more famous classic black teas. For example Ceylon or Darjeeling. After drying and oxidation, the tea leaves are then flavored with bergamot oil. Earl Gray differs from producer to producer, because the ratio of tea and bergamot in the composition differs between them.
Earl Gray tea is used as a flavoring for many types of cakes, chocolates, and savory sauces. While bergamot is often used as an ingredient in perfumes.
You can also find black tea with bergamot here in a slightly different version called Tea for Lords.
PREPARATION
3 g (cca. flat tablespoon)
95ºC
2-3min
