This is a best selling Earl Grey. We firmly believe that you will not find a better Earl Grey in the world if you want an intense aroma and full flavor, and a great lingering smooth after taste. Most companies blend a mediocre black tea and flavor with a strong synthetic bergamot. Our Earl Grey is a high grade Chinese organic black tea with a natural oil of bergamot. The bergamot oil is extracted from a citrus fruit the same size as an orange. This blend solely uses a Chinese black tea, which was like the original recipe given to Earl Grey, rather than the majority of blends that use Indian teas.

As we were born in the center of England and travel back twice a year we regularly try the English Tea Companies offerings. We have never found one tea that comes close to this Earl Grey.

Earl Grey is the famous flavored black tea from England with Bergamot. The "tale" that I believe is the most plausible about its creation is the following: Lord Grey (Lord same as Earl) did a favor for a Chinese Mandarin and in return was given the recipe for this great tea, Lord Grey became Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Earl Grey was partially made well-known in America by Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek

This is our #1 selling earl grey tea.

Hope you enjoy as much as everyone else!

Facts and Stories about Earl Greys



Earl Grey is probably the most famous flavored black tea in the world. It is always a blend of tea, many different types are used, and bergamot flavoring. The origin of Earl Grey tea is that the 2nd Earl Grey did a favor for a Chinese mandarin and received the Earl Grey recipe in return. One of the interesting points about this story is that the majority of bergamot is produced in the Mediterranean and Italy is the largest producer. There appears to be little evidence that it was grown in China. Although the origin of Earl Grey goes back to before 1830 the Oxford Dictionary researchers found the first mention of an Earl Grey cup of tea was not until the 1920’s. The current Earl Grey endorses the Twinings product that is supposed to come from the original recipe. When we were starting up our company back in 2002 we visited a tea blender in England who said it was surprising that the black tea used in the Twinings was a blend of Chinese and Indian. We don’t know if this is still the case as Twinings only state black tea on their web site. It is hard to believe that a Chinese mandarin would suggest an Indian tea and it would appear from the history of tea growing in India that it would not have been available for the blend in the 1830’s. So its looks like our Earl Grey organic and Earl Grey Royalty are one of the very few blends that comply with the original recipe. Must be because we have English heritage.

Earl Grey was the Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1830 to 1840 and was involved with the Reform Act of 1832 and the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833 that abolished slavery in the British Empire. He became Lord Grey which he inherited when his father died in 1807.

So what is an Earl? The name dates back to around the year 800 and comes from the Old Norse name of Jarl which was a warrior/nobleman. An Earl becomes a Lord when he inherits his father’s estate. Many will remember Lord Grantham from Downton Abbey. The hierarchy in England starts with a King, followed by Prince, Duke, Marquess, Earl and Viscount. As with Earl Grey you inherit the title or it can be given by the reigning monarch in return for great service to the country.

Earl Grey gained popularity in America when it was drunk by Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek.

Bergamot

• Three quarters of an ounce bag brews approximately 24 cups
  
  Organic black tea from China flavored with natural oil of bergamot
  
  

English Tealeaves sells over 125 high quality teas that are "cherry picked" from over 15 suppliers who specialize in specific types and countries. This gives us the flexibility to find the best of the best. We also blend around 8 teas ourselves that can't be obtained to our standards. For example our #1 selling tea, English Breakfast is our own blend that we created in 2002.

Our Cafe customers give feedback and we discontinue the ones that get poor ratings. We also look to improve our teas and will replace a standard tea, like Mango, with a higher quality blend from another supplier.