7.14.2009

Tea of the Week: Earl Grey

Congrats to gypsiesthread who won last weeks Blackberry Green Tea! I will DM you and get your snail mail address. This is the first time one of my twitter peeps has won. I want to thank Beatrice, Jason and teatotaler for commenting...you guys are awesome! I've never been much of a writer but I am learning, and your comments are so appreciated! This week we need to kick it in high gear with one of our best sellers Earl Grey Tea. More about this tea.




Earl Grey is a tea blend with a distinctive flavor and aroma derived from the addition of oil extracted from the rind of the bergamont orange. The bergamont (citrus bergamia risso) is a small and roughly pear shaped citrus fruit which is a variety of sour orange native to Asia. Today it is commercially grown in Italy, Argentina, Brazil and the United States.



The Earl Grey blend is named after the 2nd Earl Grey, British Prime Minister in the 1830's, who reputedly recieved a gift of tea flavored with bergamont oil. According to one legend, a grateful Chinese mandarin whose son was rescued from drowning by one of Lord Grey's men first presented the blend to the Earl in 1803. The tale is likely to be a marketing ploy, and has no documented basis in fact, as Lord Grey never set foot in China. Jacksons of Piccadilly claim that 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. I thought this little bit of history was interesting and I love learning from researching . Captain Picard from Sat Trek always reminds me of Earl Grey Tea.

Well how was your week? My house is back to normal (well fixed anyway), get my car back tomorrow evening (YAH) and hubby is back to work (quiet mornings again). Took my sewing machine to get fixed (it's been in the basement for a few years), so I can hem the grandchilds jeans this year. He's got such short legs and it cost me $8 per pair to get them hemmed last year. Wow, only 4 more weeks until school starts! Summers go by so fast. Remember to take time out for the little things in life and have a great week!


2 comments:

TeaBoat said...

Earl Grey was a passionate man! A little too passionate! I will never drink a cup of Earl Grey and not think of the Dutchess of Doveneon. What a life! They should name a tea after her! Would be nice...The Dutchess!

Jason Witt said...

There are lots of stories about the origins of the Earl Grey tea but I suspect the real history isn't very sexy. It's likely a story of royalty like that simply the fellow preferred a tea he tasted with the fruit in it.