Earl Grey Tea a Change from the Everyday

Today I thought it would be a good idea to write about one of my favorite types of tea: Earl Grey. Earl Grey, like orange pekoe, is often a black tea that is flavoured with an oil extracted from the rind of bergamot orange, a flavoured citrus fruit indigenous to Southeast Asia and grown commercially in Italy.

Traditionally, Earl Grey is a black tea, but today the term is often applied to other teas that contain oil of bergamot, or bergamot flavour. According to Wikipedia, the Earl Grey blend is named after the second Earl of Grey, British Prime Minister in the 1830s and author of the Reform Bill of 1832. Concerning Earl Grey's origins, there is a legend that Earl Grey tea was given to the Earl from a grateful Chinese mandarin after his son was saved from drowning by one of the Earl's men in 1803. The legend has no basis in fact; Earl Grey was never in China and the use of bergamot oil to flavour tea was then unknown in China.

In addition to Earl Grey, the company Twinnings has a brand of tea called "Lady Grey" that contains lemon and Seville orange in addition to bergamot. Both types of tea bear the official endorsement and signature of Richard Grey, the sixth Earl Grey. The company Snapple produces a tea beverage based on Earl Grey called Earl Grey Black Tea. There is also a beverage called "London Fog" that is a combination of Earl Grey tea, steamed milk and vanilla syrup.

Wikipedia says that Earl Grey tea is employed as a flavouring for many types of cakes and confectioneries, such as chocolates, as well as sauces. For sauces, the flavour is usually created by adding tea bags to the basic stock, boiling it for a few minutes and then discarding the bags. For sweet recipes, loose tea is added to melted butter and strained after the flavour has been infused with the tea.

Perhaps the most famous usage of Earl Grey tea lies with the character Jean Luc Picard in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" who is often heard to be ordering the replicator for "Earl Grey, hot."
I personally enjoy Earl Grey when I feel like something milder in flavour than what orange pekoe provides. Like my coffee and tea in general, I enjoy Earl Grey with milk and sugar. I find its flavour to be mild and subtle in taste and definitely a cut above the usual store-bought teas.