Earl Grey with Green Tea

The most famous of scented teas, the Earl Grey, a blend of black tea with the Italian bergamot citrus, is said to have originally been created as a gift to Charles Grey, the second Earl of Grey (1764-1845), who was a member of the House of Lords and became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1830-1834. Exactly how the Earl should have come to enjoy this novel pairing at the time, and who coined the eponymous tea before it began its conquest of tea lovers' cups around the world, is unclear to this day. Researchers at the Oxford English Dictionary have determined that the first reference to bergamot-flavoured tea goes back to 1824. However Earl Grey came about, it remains a singular achievement and we are grateful to whoever had the spark of genius to create it, and raise our cups to them.