Profile : Earl Grey Green
Loose - Flavored Green Tea
March 5, 2019
CUP CHARACTERISTICS: All-natural bergamot oil with excellent Ceylon green tea produces a lively and sprightly Earl Grey.
Ingredients: Green tea, Cornflower petals, Natural flavors (Organic Compliant).
INGREDIENTS FROM: Uva / Tirana
REGION(S): Sri Lanka / Albania
SHIPPING PORT(S): Colombo / Durres
GROWING ALTITUDES: 4000 - 5900 feet above sea level
GRADE(S): Pekoe Gunpowder
MANUFACTURE TYPE(S): Non fermented, Orthodox gunpowder
ANTIOXIDANT LEVEL: High
CAFFEINE LEVEL: Low
VEGETARIAN: Yes
VEGAN: Yes
INFUSION: Pale yellow / green
INFORMATION:
While
Earl Grey black tea is the namesake of Charles, the 2nd Earl of Grey,
it is a little known fact that Earl Grey green tea is named after Sir
Albert Henry George, the 4th Earl of Grey who lived between 1851 and
1917. Sir Albert Henry George, (we'll call him Sir Al for short) served
as Canada's Governor General, (the Queen of England's Canadian
representative) from 1904 - 1911. It was during his tenure in this
position that the tea that bears his name was first brewed.
The
incident occurred when Sir Al made a visit to Newfoundland, which was
then still part of England. The people of Newfoundland, as everyone
knows, are great drinkers of tea, consuming more cups per capita than
any other province or state in North America. Upon the arrival of the
noble Sir Al, a magnificent tea party was planned on the front lawn of
the Newfoundland parliament. The food was ordered a month in advance.
The tables were set up days in advance. Everything was going off without
a hitch until 2 days before the party when the government's storage
shed was struck by lightning. The fire started by the strike burnt their
entire stock of Earl Grey tea. Here's where it got interesting. A
scrappy young lad named Angus Mcafee recalled that he had seen a few
fresh barrels of bergamot down on his grandfather's dock in the harbor
just in from the West Indies. He also knew that his other grandfather,
who dabbled in the tea trade, had just received a shipment of green
gunpowder tea from Ceylon. He put two and two together and spent the
next 48 hours blending the tea and the bergamot together in an old
barrel.
The result was served at the garden party to great
fanfare. Sir Al was delighted with the innovation and recommended that
young Angus ship over to England to be knighted by the Queen herself.
(No one is sure if Angus ever became Sir Angus - the records have been
lost.) And what did Sir Al like so much about the tea? The answer is in
the way the sweet bergamot blends with the slightly smoky profile of
this green gunpowder tea. Raise a cup today and give a toast to Sir Al
and young Angus. Cheers!