Duke of Earl – Grey Special black tea

Duke of Earl – Grey Special:

This Earl Grey Special is a blend of fine black teas, sweet and full bodied with a light but full aroma and fragrant flavour of Bergamot (if that makes sense). It can be drunk with or without milk, sugar or lemon I prefer without my husband prefers with, (I say black, he says white, nothing new there then). It really is delicious either way, very refined, and definitely special. This is a tea to sip and savour in those quiet moments (good luck with that one). I had taken Earl Grey before, in a well known T-Bag brand, but the real thing is quite an eye opener. I had some make your own blend (empty DIY) tea bags from theuklooseleafteacompany (also excellent for ground coffee) and tried it with those and with an infuser tea pot, also from theuklooseleafteacompany (perks of the tea tasting job). The tea bags are very handy for taking your favourite leaf tea with you to work, or even, visiting anyone that has yet to discover the art of fine teas (if you know what I mean). Earl Grey tea is used as a flavouring for many types of cakes and confectionery, such as Chocolates as well as savoury sauces. For sauces, the flavour is normally created by adding tea bags to the basic stock, boiling for a few minutes and then discarding the bags. For sweet recipes, loose tea is often added to melted butter or hot cream and strained after the flavour is infused.There is a considerable history of Earl Grey tea being used as a drinks mixer particularly for Gin.

One history of the origins of Earl Grey explains that a Chinese mandarin tea master blended the first Earl Grey tea as a gift for Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl of Grey and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1830 to 1834. According to the Grey family, the tea master used bergamot as a flavouring to offset the lime flavour in the well water on Earl Grey’s estate, Howick Hall, near Newcastle, England. Earl Grey’s wife, Lady Grey, loved the tea so much that she entertained with it exclusively. It proved so popular with London society, she asked tea merchants in London to recreate it. Exactly which English tea merchant marketed the first Earl Grey tea blend is somewhat of a debate in the world of tea. But one thing is for sure: While the 2nd Earl of Grey abolished slavery and reformed child labour laws in England during his political leadership, he will be most famously remembered for the beloved tea he helped introduce to the world.