The Earl Grey black tea blend with a tangy bergamot flavour has a long tradition at TeeGschwendner. The English tea classic was already on sale on the first tea list 40 years ago as "Earl Grey No. 69". This Earl Grey tea is still one of the most popular teas in our range and has even been voted the world's best Earl Grey in the USA! 

 Our Earl Grey teas are truly royal delights: in addition to the classic version made from strong black tea with bergamot oil or bergamot flavouring, there are also milder Earl Grey teas on a first flush basis, green tea with bergamot or Earl Grey tea with a refinement of orange and lavender notes.

According to legend, the origin of this well-known blend of black tea and bergamot goes back to the Englishman Lord Grey. How exactly he came up with the idea of adding bergamot oil to Chinese black tea is, however, disputed. We present the three most common Earl Grey origin myths: 

 1. the recipe 

On one of his travels, Charles Grey discovered an ancient Chinese tea recipe. The oil from the bergamot fruit was used to flavour the tea. Back in England, the Earl gave the recipe to the tea company Jackson of Picadilly, and in gratitude for this outstanding recipe, the company thanked him by giving the tea the name Earl Grey. 

 2. The gift 

The recipe for this tea was a gift from a grateful Mandarin to Charles Grey, who saved his life in a medical emergency. 

 3. The shipwreck 

On the long voyage from China to Europe, the tea was stored next to barrels of bergamot oil. Due to heavy seas, some of the oil got into the tea and mixed. When he arrived home, the Earl of Fallodon immediately noticed the "contamination". However, he did not want to throw the expensive tea away immediately, so he had it distributed among the poor. They gratefully accepted the new mixture and there was a great demand for the new, flavoured tea. A more detailed description of this particularly popular Earl Grey origin myth can be found in our Tea Taster Blog.