Earl Grey
Earl Grey is black tea flavored with oil of bergamot, a sour citrus grown mainly in Calabria, Italy, and named after the British prime minister Charles Grey.
Definition
Earl Grey is a flavored black tea. The base is usually a blend of Chinese, Indian or Ceylon black teas, and the flavor comes from bergamot (Citrus bergamia), a sour, bitter citrus whose rind oil is pressed mainly in Calabria in southern Italy. Most commercial Earl Grey uses bergamot oil or a natural or nature-identical bergamot flavoring sprayed onto the dry leaf. The name refers to Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl Grey, British prime minister from 1830 to 1834. Stories that a Chinese mandarin gave him the recipe are not documented, and both Twinings and Jacksons of Piccadilly have claimed to sell the original blend. Printed references to "Earl Grey's mixture" appear in the second half of the nineteenth century. The style has many variants. Lady Grey, a Twinings name, adds orange and lemon peel. London Fog is an Earl Grey latte with steamed milk and vanilla. Cream Earl Grey adds a vanilla note, and some sellers make Earl Grey on green, oolong or rooibos bases. Bergamot works as a flavoring because its oil is floral and bright rather than simply sour, which suits malty black tea.
In Depth
Brewing: 2-3 g per 250 ml at 95-100°C (203-212°F) for 3-4 minutes. Bergamot oil is volatile, so the aroma fades with long steeps and with old tea; past four or five minutes the base tea's tannins dominate. Earl Grey takes milk well, but many drinkers prefer it plain or with lemon.
Quality signs: the dry leaf should smell of fresh citrus peel, not perfume or soap. Blends made with real bergamot oil usually say so on the label. Look for whole or large broken leaf rather than dust; a weak base tea hides behind a heavy dose of flavoring. Some blends add blue cornflower petals, which are decorative and add little flavor.
Storage: keep it in its own airtight tin. Bergamot oil migrates into other teas and into plastic or wooden caddies. Expect the aroma to fade noticeably after about a year.
See Also
- Flavored Tea
- British Tea Culture
- London Fog