Talk:Earl Grey tea

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We're being told here that Charles, Lord Grey was hanging out with his friend, a Chinese mandarin, who gave him the recipe for a black fermented Indian tea flavored with bergamot? is that what we're reading here? ;) I'll bet there's quite a sensible explanation for Lord Grey's connection with this particular blend. Who marketed "Earl Grey" tea blend first, for a starter?Wetman 08:01, 26 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Actually, the packet of Twinings Earl Grey that I have, as well as the Twinings website, indicates that it is a blend of China tea, scented with bergamot. No mention of Ceylonese, Indian or any other type of tea, and certainly not Lapsang Souchong. I agree that the story about the mandarin is probably a tall tale, but it is quite possible that somebody made a gift of this China tea to Earl Grey and when it ran out, he asked Twinings to recreate it for him.--Patevans99 17:39, 1 May 2006 (UTC)Pat Evans

It's disgusting stuff. Like drinking perfume. Unfortunately unless you specifically say that you don't want it, US restaurateurs will often serve it to you when you request "hot tea". At least that's been my experience, so be warned. -- Derek Ross

Well there is a strong view indeed Derek! I have found that, often, in the US they serve a nasty individual bag of tea by Lipton which is impossible to identify as any specific variety. You'll certainly encounter this if you fly by Continental or visit a diner in around New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania. What I'd really like to know is, was Earl Grey traditionally (originally?) served with either milk or lemon? - Kalgari 21:43, 6 Sep 2006

There seems to be a conflict: is Earl Grey flavored with bergamot orange or bergamot herb? Each article claims its subject is the flavoring. BTW, I'd be thrilled if restaurants in the US did default to Earl Grey, since I like it, and in my experience they usually just give you a nasty old bag of Lipton. If it's a decent restaurant, they'll bring the case to you to choose from. -Cmprince 21:43, 4 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Earl Grey is flavored with the bergamot orange; specifically, an oil extracted from the peel. [1] [2] [3]
I've never heard of any restaurant serving Earl Grey as default. Enough people dislike it that this would be surprising. Personally, I think Earl Grey's great... but I didn't start really liking it till about age 20. EventHorizon talk 21:57, 4 Feb 2005 (UTC)
Earl Grey Tea should be great. It was a type of trademark favorite of Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation since he gets some from the replicators in almost every episode. That alone should be enough for a trekkie to try some before they buy some. --Seishirou Sakurazuka 22:24, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

Mr. Bond, James Bond drank coffee and had harsh words for tea as I remember from the novels.

I agree with this anonymous recollection above regarding Bond's dislike of tea. Despite my memory to the contrary, i have moved the sentence about james bond to the fictional characters who prefer early grey section -- petruchi41 24 April 2007.

Seconded (anonymously) with additional note that, specifically, James Bond says that "tea is mud" in the novel of Goldfinger. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.212.108.138 (talk) 10:16, 21 January 2008 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Advertising?

Maybe the pictures of the bag and package of tea should be removed because they are an advertising. --Magmait 13:19, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] External Link

That 24health link seems placed there for advertising purposes. It links to a basic article on a site with 500 advertisements that ads nothing to the Wiki article, with speculative non-scientific information about Earl Grey as a folk cure. If anyone agrees, then there are two votes to ax it. I believe it also fails many accessibility guidelines (a requirement under Wiki guidelines for an external link) If there is any information of value on that page, it's brief enough that it should be double-checked, included, and cited -- but not listed as an external link.

[edit] Allergy

A comment about some people being allergic to bergamot perhaps? (Not that Wikipedia should be a medical reference, but it might be useful).

[edit] Lady Grey

I think the reason for the name of Lady Grey may be wrong. Some time ago (over five years) I heard a radio interview with somebody from Twinings, at the time that Lady Grey was introduced. It was not in any way for women, any more than men. It was just that is like Earl Grey, but milder. Because of this, I have put a "verify source" tag on the comment about the feminine impluses.

I found several references that use similar wording, probably from a single original source that I can't track down. I added one, the references I found are:
http://www.tealeaftimes.com/category/tea/lady-grey/
http://www.learn-about-tea.com/earl-grey.html
plus the one added to the article: http://teapedia.blogspot.com/2007/04/earl-grey-tea-unique-flavor-of-earl.html
Xargque 03:54, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Toxic?

I heard if you drink too much Earl Grey, you get poisoning and have to be treated. A man in HK had this happened to him years ago (too bad I can't pull the article out). Can anyone verify if Earl Grey, when consumed in large quantities, are toxic? Arbiteroftruth 04:21, 8 December 2006 (UTC)


I believe this may be the story you were referring to: http://www.everybody.co.nz/page-c2054051-664b-4873-96ea-5b0c289539fc.aspx . Seems to indicate that it is the bergamot oil/essence which (in large enough quantities) may be the culprit. Before I read that, I figured it might have been caffeine poisoning, but even 4 litres of black tea shouldn't be enough to cause that. --HoosTrax 04:15, 9 December 2006 (UTC)


Should we list that on the page? It is a serious health issue, afterall. Arbiteroftruth 22:50, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

No, I don't think a single incident is sufficient to justify a note in the article. An outside link at most, but you ought to try to find at least one other mention of the phenomenon before considering it for inclusion.Trinite 18:46, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

It's a bit much on its own so if you're a tea-with-milk drinker but do not neccessarily need to have your spoon standing up for it to qualfy as 'proper tea', then 1 bag of Earl Grey with a couple of bags of normal stuff (British Blend Tetley in the USA) just gives it a pleasant hint rather than the overpowering bunch of flowers feeling referred to above. Also did anyone consult with the Grey family in Northumberland about the new idea from the marketing dept. re Lady Grey? I hope they get royalties for all of it. Their house, Howick Hall is magnificent but is derilict and has beautiful gardens open to the public. For such a global product, they should be raking it in. 1 July 2007 (65.172.144.91 03:05, 2 July 2007 (UTC))

[edit] "Old stinky" reference

Because of Earl Grey's aroma and Twining's distinctive packaging in England with Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, the tea is sometimes called "Old Stinky".

I tagged this for a needed citation a few days ago after a web search revealed little support for it. Someone then entered this reference from April 2008, which, while supporting the statement, appears to quote it almost verbatim from this very article, where it has appeared since 12 December 2007]. I'm just a little dubious about the claim, not only because I have never heard it called that, but because Earl Grey has quite a delicate scent, particularly when compared to some other teas. So if anyone could either provide another reference or confirm that this is false, please do. Miremare 02:03, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

I'm an Australian and work not far from Victoria tube station. Ever since I can remember starting there it's always been refered to as Old Stinky.Robbierotten (talk) 09:08, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

I recall one of my tea-drinking college friends used to call Earl Grey as old stinky. That was years ago! 90.217.7.252 (talk) 23:18, 2 May 2008 (UTC)