Earl Grey tea
Encyclopedia
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
blend with a distinctive flavour and aroma derived from the addition of oil extracted from the rind
Peel (fruit)
Peel, also known as rind or skin, is the outer protective layer of a fruit or vegetable which could be peeled off. The rind is usually the botanical exocarp, but the term exocarp does also include the hard cases of nuts, which are not named peels since they are not peeled off by hand or peeler, but...
of the bergamot orange
Bergamot orange
Citrus bergamia, the Bergamot orange, is a fragrant fruit the size of an orange, with a yellow colour similar to a lemon. Genetic research into the ancestral origins of extant citrus cultivars recently matched the bergamot as a likely hybrid of Citrus limetta and Citrus aurantium...
, a fragrant citrus fruit.
Traditionally the term "Earl Grey" was applied only to black tea
Black tea
Black tea is a variety of tea that is more oxidized than the oolong, green, and white varieties.All four varieties are made from leaves of the shrub Camellia sinensis. Black tea is generally stronger in flavor and contains more caffeine than the less oxidized teas. Two principal varieties of the...
; 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 2nd Earl GreyCharles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, KG, PC , known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 22 November 1830 to 16 July 1834. A member of the Whig Party, he backed significant reform of the British government and was among the...
, British Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
in the 1830s and author of the Reform Bill of 1832, who reputedly received a gift, probably a diplomatic perquisite
Employee benefit
Employee benefits and benefits in kind are various non-wage compensations provided to employees in addition to their normal wages or salaries...
, of tea flavoured with bergamot oil. Bergamot
Bergamot
Bergamot may refer to:*The Bergamot orange*Monarda, genus of herbs of similar odor to the Bergamot orange; in particular**Monarda didyma, called Bergamot, Scarlet Beebalm, Scarlet Monarda, Oswego Tea, or Crimson Beebalm...
is a citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
fruit typical of Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
and grown commercially in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
According to one legend, a grateful Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
mandarin
Mandarin (bureaucrat)
A mandarin was a bureaucrat in imperial China, and also in the monarchist days of Vietnam where the system of Imperial examinations and scholar-bureaucrats was adopted under Chinese influence.-History and use of the term:...
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
Twinings
Twinings is a marketer of tea based in Andover, Hampshire, England.- History :The founder of Twinings, Thomas Twining, opened the first known tea room, at 216 Strand, London, in 1706, which is still operating today. The firm's logo, created in 1787, is one of the world's oldest in continuous use...
website, as "having been presented by an envoy on his return from China".
Jacksons of Piccadilly
Jacksons of Piccadilly
Jacksons of Piccadilly is a London tea house, begun by Robert Jackson in 1815. It has earned several Royal Warrants, from Queen Victoria, King George V and numerous other royals through the 19th and 20th centuries. The company also claims to have invented the “original” recipe for Earl Grey tea,...
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
Howick Hall
Howick Hall, a Grade II* listed building in the village of Howick, Northumberland, England, is the ancestral seat of the Earls Grey. It was the home of the Prime Minister Charles, 2nd Earl Grey, after whom the famous tea is named....
, 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
There are different varieties of a tea known as Lady GreyLady Grey (tea)
Lady Grey tea is a delicate, fragrant variation on the more famous Earl Grey blend. It consists of black tea scented with oil of bergamot, lemon peel and orange peel....
; 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 variety called Russian Earl Grey often contains ingredients such as citrus peels and lemongrass 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 common variation, using this South African herbal tea as a substitute for the conventional form made with black tea.The first variation is believe to be originated from Malaysia.
Twinings reformulation
TwiningsTwinings
Twinings is a marketer of tea based in Andover, Hampshire, England.- History :The founder of Twinings, Thomas Twining, opened the first known tea room, at 216 Strand, London, in 1706, which is still operating today. The firm's logo, created in 1787, is one of the world's oldest in continuous use...
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
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
.
Use as a flavouring
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 rednessPhytophotodermatitis
Phytophotodermatitis is a chemical reaction which makes skin hypersensitive to ultraviolet light. It is frequently mistaken for hereditary conditions such as atopic dermatitis or chemical burns, but it is caused by contact with the photosensitizing compounds found naturally in some plants and...
after exposure to ultraviolet
Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...
light; however, this should not apply to ordinary oral consumption of Earl Grey tea. Bergamot is a source of bergamottin
Bergamottin
Bergamottin is a natural furanocoumarin found principally in grapefruit juice. It is also found in the oil of bergamot, from which it was first isolated and from which its name is derived. To a lesser extent, bergamottin is also present in the essential oils of other citrus fruits...
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
Bergapten
Bergapten is a psoralen found in bergamot essential oil, in other citrus essential oils, and in grapefruit juice. It is the chemical in bergamot oil that causes phototoxicity. Bergapten-free bergamot essential oil or synthetics are now used in perfumery....
in bergamot oil as a potassium channel
Potassium channel
In the field of cell biology, potassium channels are the most widely distributed type of ion channel and are found in virtually all living organisms. They form potassium-selective pores that span cell membranes...
blocker. The symptoms subsided upon reducing his consumption of Earl Grey tea to 1 litre per day.
Bergamot
Bergamot orange
Citrus bergamia, the Bergamot orange, is a fragrant fruit the size of an orange, with a yellow colour similar to a lemon. Genetic research into the ancestral origins of extant citrus cultivars recently matched the bergamot as a likely hybrid of Citrus limetta and Citrus aurantium...
is a small tree which blossom
Blossom
In botany, blossom is a term given to the flowers of stone fruit trees and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring...
s during the winter. The juice tastes less sour than lemon, but more bitter than grapefruit
Grapefruit
The grapefruit , is a subtropical citrus tree known for its sour fruit, an 18th-century hybrid first bred in Barbados. When found, it was named the "forbidden fruit"; it has also been misidentified with the pomelo or shaddock , one of the parents of this hybrid, the other being sweet orange The...
. The distinctive aroma of the bergamot is most commonly known for its use in Earl Grey tea.
In popular culture
The character Jean-Luc PicardJean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
from the television show Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
drinks Earl Grey tea in many episodes. Conversely, Elim Garak
Elim Garak
Elim Garak is a fictional character from the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in which he is portrayed by Andrew J. Robinson. In the series, Garak is an exiled spy from the Cardassian empire and a former member of a prestigious Cardassian intelligence group called the Obsidian Order...
in Deep Space 9 says he wants to teach 'that fellow Earl Grey' a thing or two about tea leaves.
The character Eleanor Arroway from the movie Contact
Contact (film)
Contact is a 1997 American science fiction drama film adapted from the Carl Sagan novel of the same name and directed by Robert Zemeckis. Both Sagan and wife Ann Druyan wrote the story outline for the film adaptation of Contact....
based on the book of the same name, is offered Earl Grey tea when meeting the character Hadden.
Artemis Fowl
Artemis Fowl II
Artemis Fowl II is the antihero and main character of the fictional series Artemis Fowl by the Irish author Eoin Colfer.- Origins :Colfer has said that he based Artemis on his younger brother Donal, who as a child was "a mischievous mastermind who could get out of any trouble he got into"...
has a particular liking for Earl Grey tea.
"Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
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.
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 novel and movie The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code
The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 mystery-detective novel written by Dan Brown. It follows symbologist Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu as they investigate a murder in Paris's Louvre Museum and discover a battle between the Priory of Sion and Opus Dei over the possibility of Jesus having been married to...
, 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.
Dada
Dada (band)
Dada is a three piece rock band from California . The band is made up of Michael Gurley , Joie Calio and Phil Leavitt ....
have a song on their 1997 album, self-titled Dada, called "The Ballad of Earl Grey and Chamomile".
"The Book of Guys" by Garrison Keillor
Garrison Keillor
Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio...
contains a chapter called "Earl Grey" about a character of that name who purportedly invents the tea in the late 20th century.
In the Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
episode The Substitute
The Substitute (Lost)
"The Substitute" is the fourth television episode of the American Broadcasting Company's sixth season of the serial drama television series Lost and 107th episode overall. The episode aired on February 16, 2010 on ABC. It was directed by Tucker Gates and written by executive producer Elizabeth...
, John Locke
John Locke (Lost)
John Locke is a fictional character played by Terry O'Quinn on the ABC television series Lost. He is named after English philosopher John Locke...
asks Benjamin Linus for some Earl Grey tea.
The character Hyacinth Bucket
Hyacinth Bucket
Hyacinth Bucket, who insists her last name is pronounced "Bouquet" , is the main character in the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances , played by Patricia Routledge.-Personality:...
from the British sitcom
British sitcom
A British sitcom tends, as it does in most other countries, to be based on a family, workplace or other institution, where the same group of contrasting characters is brought together in each episode. Unlike American sitcoms, where twenty or more episodes in a season is the norm, British sitcoms...
Keeping Up Appearances
Keeping Up Appearances
Keeping Up Appearances is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. Centred on the life of eccentric, social-climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket , the sitcom portrays a social hierarchy-ruled British society...
drinks Earl Grey tea in many episodes.
The young Mary, from the Mary and Max
Mary and Max
Mary and Max is a 2009 Australian clay-animated black comedy-drama film written and directed by Adam Elliot and produced by Melanie Coombs. The voice cast included Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toni Collette, Eric Bana, Bethany Whitmore, with narration by Barry Humphries. The film premiered on the...
animated movie, whose father works in a tea factory attaching strings to the tea bags, dreams of marrying a man named Earl Grey.
In the manga and anime "One Piece" the crewmember, Sanji, and villain, Mr. 3 were both partial to Earl Gray tea