Earl Grey and Lady Grey teas are two of my favorite teas. The reason is because , for me, is, like peppermint tea, it can be drunk at any given time,though, some tea lovers would disagree and say that Lady Grey is an afternoon tea; but I digress.
Earl Grey tea is one of the most popular blends of tea in the Western World. It’s a black tea. It is a blend of Indian and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) teas and infused with Bergamot oil, which is a small acidic orange (englishteastore.com).
Earl Grey was a real person. His name is Charles and he was the 2nd Earl Grey and Prime Minister under King William IV in the early 19th Century. He led the campaign for the extension of the franchise in the Reform Act of 1832 (Encyclopedia Americana).
According to legend, a grateful Chinese man whose son was saved from drowning by one of the Earl’s men first presented the blend to the Earl. Another such legend says that the son of an Indian raja was rescued from a tiger by one of the Earl’s servants (en.wikipedia.com/wiki/earl_grey_tea). Many think the first legend is false as Earl Grey never stepped foot in China, but was in India. Either way, the tea came to be a favorite that you can find on almost any menu in Europe and North America. Twinings makes an exceptional Earl Grey blend.
To my amazement, people thought Lady Grey was named for Lady Jane Grey, one of Henry VIII’s wives. I wonder what made them thought that especially since Earl Grey is named after 2nd Earl Grey? And since it is named after the 2nd Earl Grey, wouldn’t it make sense that Lady Grey tea would be named for his wife? I guess people never heard of Mary Elizabeth, the wife of the 2nd Earl Grey, and therefore never thought that a tea would be named for her.
Lady Grey is a more delicate and fragrant variant to Earl Grey. It is black tea scented with Bergamot oil, lemon peel, and orange peel (en.wikipedia.com/wiki/lady_grey_(tea)). However, here would be good to denote that,in doing research for this article, Twinings has a registered trademark of Lady Grey tea and it’s not the same tea listed as above. According to wikipedia, the Twinings blend contains black teas, Seville orange, lemon, bergamot, and cornflower. I have had the Twinings blend and must say that it is quite delicious, but would love to try the original blend listed above.
Unfortunately, for Lady Grey, her blend of tea is not as popular as her husband’s, particularly in the United States. I,for one, didn’t know that there was a Lady Grey tea until I found it in the supermarket, and a lot of people here say “I didn’t know there was a Lady Grey.” They don’t realize how weird that remark is…why wouldn’t the Earl be married? Then again most people do not know that Earl Grey was real. Some people I I overheard thought that Earl Grey was the color of the tea, and I pointed out to my mother that the tea was brownish in color, not grey.
Sources:
Encyclopedia Americana
Vol. 13 Goethe-Hearst p. 486
Grolier, Incorporated
Danbury, Connecticut 1980
http://coffeetea.about.com/cs/typesoftea/a/earlygrey.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/earl_grey_tea
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/lady_grey_(tea)
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-lady-grey-tea.htm
http://www.englishteastore.com/earlgreytea.html
