Earl Grey

Earl Grey

What it is

Bergamot is Citrus bergamia, grown almost entirely on one strip of Calabrian coast, and it is the oil pressed from the peel — not the fruit — that scents the tea. The name attaches to Charles Grey, prime minister from 1830, on the strength of a story about a gift from a Chinese official; no contemporary record of it survives, and rival grocers were selling the blend long before anyone trademarked it.

In the kitchen

In pastry it is a flavouring, so infuse it into fat: 20 g per 500 ml of cream or melted butter, 15 minutes at 70 °C, strained and cooled. Never boil bergamot — the top notes go and what stays is the bitter pith end of the citrus.

Goes with

Cream Dark chocolate Blood orange Butter Lemon Egg

Same species

Assam tea Ceylon tea Da Hong Pao Darjeeling tea Genmaicha Gunpowder green tea

Also used with

Cornflower

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