What Gives Earl Grey Tea Such a Unique Flavor?
By: Cory Willins

The smoky and fragrant taste of Earl Grey is a unique experience that many people can not get enough of. Described as a spicy citrus flavor, Earl Grey is a hard to describe taste that is unforgettable once tasted. Apparently Captain Picard of Star Trek fame will not drink anything else!

In fact, Earl Grey is not a kind of tea, it is just black tea with the flavor of bergamot infused through it. Almost any black tea can be used to make it, in fact, quite often it is used to disguise cheaper grades of tea as bergamot has such a strong flavoring. Usually drunk black with perhaps some lemon added, Earl Grey is the most popular flavoured tea in the world.

The Origin of Earl Grey Tea

Earl Charles Grey was the Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1830. The story is that while on a diplomatic trip to China, he saved the life of a mandarin. To show his gratitude, the mandarin gifted Earl Grey a special tea, which the Prime Minister took back to England with him. The tea quickly became a favorite in the Earls drawing room, and he asked his personal tea supplier to reproduce the same flavor for him. The new tea became fashionable and eventually spread throughout England and the rest of the world.

It is a good story, but unlikely to contain much truth! Charles Grey never visited China and the Chinese drink very little black tea in any case, which means the true origin of Earl Grey tea is still a mystery.

Bergamot

Bergamot is a citrus tree that is cultivated on the south coast of Italy. Also known as the Princes Pear, the fruit is inedible but the oil extracted from it is used to fragrance perfume as well as tea. The oil was an ingredient of one of the first Eau de Cologne ever made. (It is quite different from the herb called bergamot) The fruit is a cross between lemon, orange and grapefruit, sometimes compared to orange blossom.

The extraction process is very particular: fruit is hand picked in the winter and the essence is crushed out of the bergamot fruit using cold presses purpose built for the process. The oil must be kept in storage for a year or more before it is used. Among its health-giving properties, bergamot is reputed to ease depression, stave off colds and flu, and aid digestion. The oil is used in aromatherapy; perhaps a cup of Earl Grey will help keep you healthy as well as taste delicious!

Lady Grey Tea

In the days when Early Grey tea first became popular, people thought that tea could stimulate "impulses" in women that were considered improper. To counteract these impulses, Seville orange, lemon and bergamot were added to tea to calm the lady drinker. The resulting drink was named Lady Grey, and remains a favorite tea today. It is not sure whether tea still produces unwanted impulses in female drinkers, however!

Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com

Cory Willins writes website articles for The Tea Spot where you can find many tea resources including resources about Japanese type teas, tea pots, chai teas and more.

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