Earl Grey

Character

Starting with a rich black tea with a note of light citrus, Earl Grey produces a dark cup with a malty taste. Rich, aromatic and well balanced.

Story

Earl Grey tea is believed by most to be named for Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey and a member of the English Whig party who succeeded to Prime Minister of Britain in 1830 however it remains unclear as to whether Prime Minister Grey was ever associated with the tea or indeed whether or not the naming was directed at him at all. The Oxford English Dictionary launched an investigation into the origin of the name and managed to track down the first printed reference to the use of the Italian fruit Bergamot gamot being used to flavour black tea in 1824. At the time the Bergamot oil was used to disguise the taste of lesser quality teas in order for the sellers to charge higher prices; this was considered disreputable at the time and even resulted in one tea company, Brocksop & Co, facing charges for misrepresenting the quality of their product. The first known use of the Grey name in connection with the tea appeared in a London newspaper advertisement in the 1860's by the Charlton and Co. tea company of ny of Mayfair for a blend named Grey's Mixture whose name changed over the next twenty years to become Earl Grey's Mixture. While there is no supporting evidence for the claim the advertisement suggest an aristocratic connection between the tea and Earl Grey given the date it is possible that the intended Grey wasn't Charles but instead his son Henry Grey. Henry Grey, 3rd Earl Grey became Queen Victoria's Colonial Secretary in 1846 and may be best remembered in Australia for introducing the Austr