Earl Grey tea

Tin of Earl Grey tea

Earl Grey tea

Earl Grey tea is a tea blend with a distinctive flavour and aroma derived from the addition of oil extracted from the rind of the bergamot orange, a fragrant citrus fruit.

Traditionally the term "Earl Grey" was applied only to black tea; however, today the term is used for other teas that contain oil of bergamot, or a flavour.

History

The Earl Grey blend is named after the 2nd Earl Grey, British Prime Minister in the 1830s and author of the Reform Bill of 1832, who reputedly received a gift, probably a diplomatic perquisite, of tea flavoured with bergamot oil. Bergamot is a citrus fruit typical of Southeast Asia and grown commercially in Italy.

According to one legend, a grateful Chinese mandarin whose son was rescued from drowning by one of Lord Grey's men first presented the blend to the Earl in 1803. The tale has no basis in fact, as Lord Grey never set foot in China and the use of bergamot oil to scent tea was then unknown in China. However, this tale is subsequently told (and slightly corrected) on the Twinings website, as "having been presented by an envoy on his return from China".

Jacksons of Piccadilly claim they originated Earl Grey's Tea, Lord Grey having given the recipe to Robert Jackson & Co. partner George Charlton in 1830. According to Jacksons, the original recipe has been in constant production and has never left their hands. Theirs has been based on China tea since the beginning.

According to the Grey family, the tea was specially blended by a Chinese mandarin for Lord Grey, to suit the water at Howick Hall, the family seat in Northumberland, using bergamot in particular to offset the preponderance of lime in the local water. Lady Grey used it to entertain in London as a political hostess, and it proved so popular that she was asked if it could be sold to others, which is how Twinings came to market it as a brand.

Variations

Lady Grey tea leaves

• There are different varieties of a tea known as Lady Grey; the two most common kinds (Lavender Lady Grey and Citrus Lady Grey) combine Earl Grey tea with lavender and Seville oranges, respectively.
• A beverage called "London Fog" is a combination of Earl Grey, steamed milk and vanilla syrup.
• There are variations available including such ingredients as jasmine, as well as various flowers. A blend with added rose petals is known as French Earl Grey.
• A variety called Russian Earl Grey often contains ingredients such as citrus peels and lemon grass in addition to the usual black tea and bergamot.
• Also, several companies make a tea called Earl Grey Green, combining green tea leaves rather than the traditional black tea leaves with bergamot flavoring.
• Rooibos Earl Grey is a variation using this South African herbal tea as a substitute for the conventional form made with black tea. This variation may have originated from Malaysia.

Twinings reformulation

Twinings reformulated their Earl Grey tea in April 2011, claiming to have added "an extra hint of bergamot and citrus". The overwhelmingly negative comments on the website were picked up by the press, who drew attention to the establishment of a related protest group on Facebook.

Use as a flavouring

Earl Grey flavoured Kit Kat from Japan

Earl Grey tea is used as a flavouring for many types of cakes and confectionery, such as chocolates, as well as savoury sauces. For sauces, the flavour is normally created by adding tea bags to the basic stock, boiling for a few minutes and then discarding the bags. For sweet recipes, loose tea is often added to melted butter or hot cream and strained after the flavour is infused.

Toxicology

In several studies, application of high concentrations of some brands of bergamot oil directly to the skin was shown to increase redness after exposure to ultraviolet light; however, this should not apply to ordinary oral consumption of Earl Grey tea. Bergamot is a source of bergamottin which, along with the chemically related compound 6’,7’-dihydroxybergamottin, is known to be responsible for the grapefruit juice effect in which the consumption of the juice affects the metabolism of a variety of pharmaceutical drugs.

In one case study, a patient who consumed 4 litres of Earl Grey tea per day reported muscle cramps, which were attributed to the function of the bergapten in bergamot oil as a potassium channel blocker. The symptoms subsided upon reducing his consumption of Earl Grey tea to 1 litre per day.

Bergamot

A bergamot orange from Calabria, Italy

Citrus bergamia is a small tree which blossoms during the winter. The juice tastes less sour than lemon, but more bitter than grapefruit. The distinctive aroma of the bergamot is most commonly known for its use in Earl Grey tea.

In popular culture

Earl Grey tea appears frequently in popular culture.

In literature, the main character in Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore starts his days in the library with a cup of Earl Grey tea. The main character of the Artemis Fowl series also shows a particular liking for Earl Grey tea. The Book of Guys by Garrison Keillor contains a chapter called "Earl Grey" about a character of that name who purportedly invents the tea in the late 20th century. In the novel and movie The Da Vinci Code, the major antagonist character Sir Leigh Teabing, shows a distinctive liking for Earl Grey going as far to highlight it in a test for the main protagonist involving the beverage.

The character Jean-Luc Picard from the television show Star Trek: The Next Generation drinks Earl Grey tea in many episodes. Conversely, Elim Garak in Deep Space 9 says he wants to teach 'that fellow Earl Grey' a thing or two about tea leaves. Eleanor Arroway from the movie Contact (based on the book of the same name) is offered Earl Grey tea when meeting the character Hadden. In the Lost episode The Substitute, John Locke asks Benjamin Linus for some Earl Grey tea. The character Hyacinth Bucket from the British sitcom Keeping Up Appearances drinks Earl Grey tea in many episodes. The young Mary, from the Mary and Max animated movie, whose father works in a tea factory attaching strings to the tea bags, dreams of marrying a man named Earl Grey.

In music, "Weird Al" Yankovic mentions drinking Earl Grey tea in his song "White and Nerdy," possibly as a reference to Jean-Luc Picard, who is also mentioned in the song. Dada have a song on their 1997 album, self-titled Dada, called "The Ballad of Earl Grey and Chamomile".

In the manga and anime Black Butler, the main character, Ciel Phantomhive, drinks Earl Grey throughout the series. It is even incorporated in to the story line in many ways. In the manga and anime One Piece the crewmember, Sanji, and villain, Mr. 3 are both partial to Earl Grey tea.

In Heroes season 1 episode 15 ("Run!"), when Sylar meets Mohinder Suresh for the first time, Sylar offers Mohinder a cup of Earl Grey tea. Mohinder accepts the offer.

In the movie "Prozac Nation", while Elizabeth (Christina Ricci) and Rafe (Jason Biggs) are discussing their relationship, Rafe pours milk in Elizabeths' cup, as she responds loudly and aggressively: "It's Earl Grey!", at least insinuating that Earl Grey isn't meant to be drunk with milk.

External links

The Wiktionary entry for earl grey tea Media related to Tea at Wikimedia Commons

• Tending Toward Tea – an Earl Grey tea review site