What, exactly is Earl Grey tea?

According to legend, Charles Grey was the man who introduced us to Earl Grey tea. A big thank you would appear to be in order as Earl Grey is one of the most popular tea varieties in the west. But, do we actually know what it is we are drinking when ordering a cup of “Earl”?

Text Richard Schukkink, ITC Academy

There are many different legends about how this bergamot-flavoured tea came into being. For example, there is one version claiming that the tea is from China. Fo Shou is a pricey, slightly oxidised oolong originating from the Yongchun county in the province of Fujian. The tea variety would be naturally blessed with a bergamot aroma. No additives, just the way it is. And yet there are tea sommeliers all over the world who doubt this statement because they think that Fo Shou oolong has more of a pear aroma than a bergamot aroma. And pear and bergamot are far from the same.

Charles Grey, the British prime minister

Far more likely and widely accepted is the legend in which Charles Grey plays the leading role. He was the British prime minister from 1830 onwards and the author of the 1832 Reform Act that ended the monopoly position of the British East India Company with regards to the import of tea. This resulted in a price drop making tea more popular with the entire population. Charles Grey himself became acquainted with “Earl Grey” when a diplomat gifted him a box of tea flavoured with bergamot oil.

The tea dealer

A third and last explanation regarding the origin of Earl Grey, is that the tea variety was named after a tea dealer with the surname Grey, where the addition of “earl” was supposed to make the tea sound more chic. William Grey of the same name tea warehouse, William Grey & Co, appears to be the most plausible candidate.

Tea mystery

Ultimately, William Grey & Co disappeared and around 1880 Charlton & Co, a company from London, claimed to be the “inventor” of this flavoured tea via various advertisements. A melange that, in those days,

cost about five shillings and four pence a pound. The inventorship is again disputed at the start of the twentieth century by the companies Twinings of London and Jacksons of Piccadilly. Twinings of London – the internationally known tea label with three hundred years of expertise – was supported in this respect by Earl Grey VI (1939). His signature still adorns the Earl Grey packaging of Twinings. Yet, there still isn’t any hard proof that one of these two companies had anything to do with the origin of the tea causing history to remain an intriguing tea mystery.

Adding bergamot oil

There can, however, be no doubt about the characteristic addition of bergamot oil to Earl Grey tea. The bergamot fruit – also referred to as citrus bergamia – is a small, yellow-green citrus fruit. It is a cross between the citrus limetta (sweet lime) and citrus aurantium (bitter orange), ensuring not just a citrussy flavour, but also a flowery and spicy aroma. Originally, the bergamot fruit could only be found in South China and Vietnam. Today, bergamot is grown on a large scale in France, Turkey and the Ivory Coast, with the South Italian province of Calabria providing 80% of the worldwide production. The bergamot trees can reach a height of twelve metres although they are often pruned back to five metres at plantations to make picking easier. It takes about seven years before the first fruits appear and no less than twelve to fifteen years to achieve a full harvest. Bergamot oil is a fairly pricey product, which is why the aroma has been synthetically copied for many years. The advantage being that the somewhat bitter aftertaste of bergamot can be removed in the laboratory. The tea with synthetic bergamot oil isn’t only cheaper, but also stable. Where organic tea varieties are concerned, the addition of a synthetic aroma is not permitted. The packaging will then feature the words; natural aromas. However, this doesn’t automatically mean that the Earl Grey tea contains real bergamot oil. It merely indicates that a “natural” product was used. Which product exactly, is a secret the producers of these aromas are very good at keeping.

What, exactly, is Earl Grey tea?

Earl Grey is not a registered trade name. This means that everyone can decide for themselves which ingredients they wish to add to the tea. Where in the old days they mainly used Chinese black tea, such as smoked lapsang souchong, as a basis, today we see many tea varieties from different countries. The most traditional producers opt for black Ceylon tea from Sri Lanka, while many other brands prefer a cheaper tea from African countries.

Making Earl Grey tea

Earl Grey tea is traditionally made with water of 100°C where the tea is left to steep for at least 5 minutes. Sometimes a slice of lemon or lime is served with the tea. Most Dutch consider this far too strong and the combination of a high water temperature and long steeping time makes the tea far too bitter. For a less bitter taste it is recommended to shorten the steeping time to 2 to 3 minutes and to reduce the water temperature to 8090°C.

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