Detailed Product Description

Earl Grey tea is a tea blend with a distinctive flavour and aroma derived from the addition of oil extracted from the rind of the bergamot orange, a fragrant citrus fruit.

Traditionally the term "Earl Grey" was applied only to black tea; however, today the term is also applied to green teas, including white tea and oolong, and tisanes, such as rooibos, that contain oil of bergamot, or a bergamot flavour. Because of Earl Grey's aroma and Twinings' distinctive packaging in England with Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, the tea is sometimes called "Old Stinky".

History:

The Earl Grey blend is named after the 2nd Earl Grey, British Prime Minister in the 1830s and author of the Reform Bill of 1832, who reputedly received a gift, probably a diplomatic perquisite, of tea flavoured with bergamot oil, taken from bergamot, a citrus fruit typical of Southeast Asia and is grown commercially in Italy.

According to one legend,[citation needed] a grateful Chinese mandarin whose son was rescued from drowning by one of Lord Grey's men first presented the blend to the Earl. Given that this blend of tea was first made from fermented black Ceylon teas, there is reason to doubt this legend. Additionally, green tea is much more popular in China than black tea, making it unlikely that the Chinese would develop a recipe for what we now call Earl Grey. Finally, Lord Grey never set foot in China, and bergamot is not found there.

Jacksons of Piccadilly claim that it was they who 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. Theirs has been based on China tea since the beginning.

Toxicology:

In one study, oil of bergamot was linked to certain phototoxic compounds. Bergamot is also a source of bergamottin which, along with the chemically related compound 6,7-dihydroxybergamottin, is believed to be responsible for the grapefruit juice effect in which the consumption of the juice affects the metabolism of a variety of pharmaceutical drugs.