A survey conducted in 2010 showed that Earl Grey tea was associated with being middle class or ‘posh’ (just a note, posh isn’t a word, it’s an acronym, dating from the days before air travel. It stands for Port Out Starboard Home – the ship’s cabins to take to avoid the worst of the sun on voyages to India). I suppose it has that reputation because it is associated with an earl and can be an acquired taste.
The original blend of black tea and oil of bergamot was first mentioned in 1824, but no reference was made to an earl at that time. The use of bergamot, an unusual Italian orange too bitter to eat, was, it seems, originally to improve the flavour of poor quality tea. It was first mentioned as an additive in 1824. The company that added it was, in 1837, prosecuted for fraud, after adding bergamot to their tea, to sell it at a higher price as a more superior product.
The second Earl Grey is the man now associated with tea. Charles Grey was prime minister between 1830 – 34. Given his social standing, it is very unlikely that he would be associated with sub-standard tea doctored with bergamot. So, how did his name become associated with the tea?
One theory is that one of Lord Grey’s servants saved the son of a Chinese mandarin from drowning in 1803. As a thank you he was presented with bergamot flavoured tea. Sadly, attractive though the story is, it’s total untrue. Lord Grey was never in China and at that time the Chinese weren’t using bergamot in tea. Another version is that Lord Grey was given a gift of tea for ending the East India Company’s monopoly and Chinese-British trade. No evidence exists to verify that.
The Grey family story is a little different. They say that a tea was blended especially for use at Howick Hall, their home in Northumberland. Apparently, the water there is very lime-rich, so the bergamot counteracted that. The tea was very popular when served by Lady Grey in London, so she arranged its sale commercially, through Twinings.
That fine, sadly now closed, grocery shop, Jacksons of Piccadilly, said that Lord Grey gave the formula to one of their partners, George Charlton, in 1830. The recipe has never left their control and is still in production for sale online.
Another possibility is that Grey’s Tea was a product of a tea merchant called William Grey, which was being advertised in 1852. It was first advertised as Earl Grey by Charlton & Co of Jermyn Street in London’s St. James’s. Perhaps the title was added to make it appear as a premium product, or maybe the third Earl Grey had some association with it? No one seems to know.
Some mysteries aren’t meant to be solved.
Image Credits: Nick Forman .