Earl Grey tea

[4] The earliest reference to tea flavoured with bergamot dates to 1824; however the article in question makes no mention of Earl Grey.

[5] In 1837, charges were laid against a company accused of secretly adding bergamot to misrepresent their tea as a superior product and thus selling it at a higher price.

One legend claims that a grateful Chinese mandarin, whose son was rescued from drowning by one of Lord Grey's men, first presented the blend to the Earl in 1803.

[8] Another legend claims that he received as a gift, probably a diplomatic perquisite, tea flavoured with bergamot oil,[9] perhaps as a result of his ending the monopoly held by the East India Company on trade between Britain and China.

Lady Grey used it to entertain in London as a political hostess, and it proved so popular that she was asked if it could be sold to others, which was how Twinings came to market it as a brand.

[5] A 2010 survey found that a significant number of people in the United Kingdom associate drinking Earl Grey tea with being "posh" or "middle class".

[15][16] Earl Grey tea has also been associated with Patrick Stewart's character Jean-Luc Picard, introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

[22] The first, which is said to result in a stronger citrus flavour, is the coating or spraying of the black tea leaves with bergamot essential oils.

For sweet recipes, loose tea is often added to melted butter or hot cream and strained after the flavour is infused.