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Earl Grey and flavoured teas - bergamot and additions

Earl Grey is probably the most famous flavoured tea in the world, recognisable by its characteristic, citrusy aroma of bergamot. But what actually is bergamot, where did Earl Grey come from and how is it made? It is a tea of interesting history, shrouded in legend, and at the same time a whole world of variants: from Lady Grey, through French Earl Grey with rose petals, to Russian Earl Grey with added citrus. Earl Grey also opens the wider question of flavoured teas and the difference between natural and artificial aroma. In this post you will get to know Earl Grey from the inside: what bergamot is, its history, the methods of flavouring, the family of variants and how to recognise good quality. It is a journey into the most classic flavoured tea and the whole category it started.

What Earl Grey is

Earl Grey is a tea blend flavoured with bergamot oil. The classic recipe rests on a black tea base, often Chinese Keemun or a brisk, strong Ceylon tea, which is saturated with oil pressed from the rind of the bergamot fruit. It is precisely this citrusy, slightly floral and bitterish aroma of bergamot that gives Earl Grey its unrepeatable character. Without bergamot it would simply be black tea, and it is bergamot that makes Earl Grey what it is. It is the most recognisable and classic flavoured tea in the world, drunk for nearly two hundred years. Earl Grey is also the starting point of a whole family of variants and a wider category of flavoured teas. Understanding that it is black tea plus bergamot aroma is the key to knowing both Earl Grey itself and what flavoured teas in general are. It is a combination of a solid tea base with a vivid, citrusy addition that conquered the world.

Bergamot - what fruit it is

At the heart of Earl Grey is bergamot, a citrus fruit named Citrus bergamia. It is a fruit roughly the size of an orange, but with a yellow-green rind and an extremely intense, perfumed smell. Interestingly, the fruit itself is too sour and bitter to eat, so its value lies entirely in the essential oil pressed from the rind, prized both in tea and in perfumery. That is why bergamot is an ingredient in many perfumes, giving them a fresh, citrusy tone. The vast majority of the world’s bergamot comes from a narrow strip of Calabria in southern Italy, where the climate and coastal soil suit its cultivation. It is almost a monopoly of one region on this unique fruit. Bergamot is the key to Earl Grey: without its characteristic, unrepeatable aroma there would be no such tea. Understanding that bergamot is a real citrus fruit, rather than an invented flavour, helps appreciate the authenticity of a good Earl Grey. It is a fruit of enormous significance, despite being inedible in its raw form.

The history of Earl Grey

Earl Grey has an interesting, though legend-shrouded, history. The earliest references to tea flavoured with bergamot date to the early 19th century, around 1824, though they were not then linked with the name Earl Grey. The name itself, that is Earl Grey’s mixture, is said to commemorate Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl Grey, British Prime Minister in the 1830s. According to a popular story, it was Lady Grey, his wife, who used this tea, entertaining guests in London as a political hostess, and the tea proved so popular that it began to be sold more widely, which led to its commercialisation by a well-known tea company. Much of this history, however, is legend rather than certain fact, and there are several competing versions of the origin of the name. Regardless, Earl Grey gained the status of a classic and one of the most recognisable teas in the world. This history, combining aristocracy, politics and trade, adds charm and prestige to the tea. It is one of those drinks whose name and legend are almost as well known as the taste itself.

How it is made

Earl Grey is flavoured with bergamot in two main ways, which give slightly different effects. The first, usually giving a stronger citrus flavour, is coating or spraying the black tea leaves with bergamot essential oil. The oil settles on the leaves and directly saturates them with aroma. The second way is adding dried bergamot rind to the blend, which releases the citrus aroma only during brewing, infusing the tea while it steeps. Both methods have their supporters and give a slightly different character of brew. The key is whether real bergamot oil or rind is used, or a cheap, synthetic flavouring imitating bergamot. This is a fundamental difference of quality. A good Earl Grey is made from natural bergamot oil on a solid tea base, rather than from artificial flavouring on any old tea. Understanding these methods helps assess what we are dealing with. The way of flavouring is one of the main factors deciding whether Earl Grey will be refined, or flat and artificial.

Lady Grey and variants

Earl Grey has acquired a whole family of variants, each adding something to the classic bergamot base. The best known is Lady Grey, trademarked by a well-known tea company, which combines Earl Grey with citrus additions: two popular versions are Lady Grey with cornflowers and with bitter Seville orange. Another variant is Russian Earl Grey, enriched with citrus peels and lemongrass, which makes it somewhat resemble Lady Grey, but it tends to be stronger. French Earl Grey adds rose petals, which makes it more floral and romantic, and has become very popular, especially in some tea chains. There is also Earl Grey Creme, enriched with lavender and vanilla, giving a milder, creamy character. These variants show what a flexible base Earl Grey is and how much can be built on it. Each of them is a different interpretation of the classic, combining bergamot with additional citrus, flowers or spices. This wealth of variants makes the world of Earl Grey surprisingly diverse.

Flavoured versus with additions

Earl Grey opens the wider question of what flavoured teas are and how they are created. In simple terms there are two approaches. The first is flavouring, that is saturating tea with an aroma, for example bergamot oil in classic Earl Grey. The second is enriching tea with physical additions, like citrus peels, flower petals, fruit pieces, herbs or spices, visible in the blend. Many flavoured teas combine both approaches: aroma plus visible additions. The variants of Earl Grey illustrate this well: French Earl Grey adds rose petals, Russian Earl Grey citrus peels and lemongrass. These additions affect not only the flavour, but also the look of the tea. Understanding the difference between pure flavouring and enriching with additions helps better grasp what we are buying. Flavoured teas are an enormous, diverse category, and Earl Grey is its most famous representative and a good starting point for understanding it. It is a world in which a tea base is combined with an almost unlimited palette of flavours and additions.

Natural versus artificial aroma

Key to the quality of flavoured teas is the difference between natural and artificial aroma. A good Earl Grey is made from natural bergamot oil or real dried rind, which gives an authentic, complex, harmonious citrus aroma. A cheap Earl Grey is sometimes flavoured with a synthetic flavouring imitating bergamot, which gives an effect that is sharper, more perfumey, one-dimensional and less authentic. It is the same difference that separates naturally scented floral teas from artificial ones. Natural aroma is more expensive, but incomparably better. What is more, the quality of the tea base also matters: a good Earl Grey starts with a proper black tea, rather than any old one covered with flavouring. The conscious consumer pays attention to whether the tea is flavoured naturally or artificially. It is the first thing that distinguishes a refined Earl Grey from a cheap imitation. We write more about natural scenting with flowers in our post on flower-scented teas. Natural aroma is the foundation of a good flavoured tea.

The Earl Grey family

Let us gather the most important variants of Earl Grey in one place:

The table shows how rich the Earl Grey family is. All the variants are linked by a black tea base with bergamot, but each adds its own accent: flowers, additional citrus or spices. It is proof of what a versatile base the classic Earl Grey is.

How to brew and drink

Earl Grey, as a black-based tea, is usually brewed with hot water, close to boiling, for a few minutes, to draw out the fullness of the flavour of the tea and bergamot. Be careful, however, not to over-brew, because the black base can become bitter, and the delicate bergamot aroma will be lost under the tannin. Earl Grey is drunk both on its own and with the addition of milk or lemon, though purists prefer it without additions, to appreciate the pure citrus aroma. Classic Earl Grey works superbly as an afternoon tea, and its citrusy character goes well with cakes and desserts. Lighter variants, like French Earl Grey with rose, tend to be more delicate and are also delicious without additions. Experiment with brewing time and temperature, to find the balance between the strength of the tea and the bergamot aroma. Store Earl Grey airtight, away from other smells, because its aroma is volatile. Conscious brewing lets you fully enjoy this classic. It is a versatile tea, good at any time of day.

How to recognise a good Earl Grey

How to tell a good Earl Grey from a poor one? First, check whether it was flavoured with natural bergamot oil or rind, rather than artificial flavouring, because this is a fundamental difference of quality. Second, pay attention to the tea base: a good Earl Grey starts with a proper black tea, like Keemun or a good Ceylon, rather than any old raw material. Third, assess the aroma: the natural one is complex, fresh and harmonious, and the artificial one sharp, perfumey and one-dimensional, sometimes downright soapy. Fourth, trust the taste: a good Earl Grey keeps a balance between the black tea and the bergamot, where neither dominates unpleasantly. Fifth, pay attention to the origin and reputation of the producer. Conscious assessment of these traits lets you choose Earl Greys of real quality, rather than cheap imitations full of artificial flavouring. The same applies to the whole category of flavoured teas: quality depends on the naturalness of the aroma and the solidity of the base. A good Earl Grey is a harmony, rather than a chemical attack of bergamot on the palate.

The key points in a nutshell

Earl Grey is a black tea flavoured with bergamot oil, a citrus fruit named Citrus bergamia, coming mainly from Calabria in Italy, whose inedible fruit is valued solely for the oil from its rind. The name commemorates Charles Grey, a 19th-century British Prime Minister, though the history is shrouded in legend. It is flavoured with bergamot oil or dried rind, and the key is the difference between natural and artificial aroma. Earl Grey has acquired a family of variants: Lady Grey with citrus, French Earl Grey with rose, Russian Earl Grey with citrus and lemongrass. You will recognise a good Earl Grey by its natural aroma and solid base. Want to discover flavoured teas and record your impressions? Keep notes in the GustoNote app. See also our posts on flower-scented teas and black tea regions.