Earl Grey Tea: Bergamot, Brewing and What to Buy
What Earl Grey is, where bergamot comes from, how its origin story holds up, how to brew it, how to read the label, and how much caffeine to expect.
Key takeaways
- What is in it: Earl Grey is a black tea blended with oil from the rind of the bergamot orange, according to Wikipedia.
- How to brew it: The trade body suggests 3 to 4 minutes for black tea in general, while Wikipedia's Earl Grey page gives 2 to 3 minutes and warns that longer makes the tea bitter.
- Drinks and food: Earl Grey is the base of the London fog, steamed milk and vanilla syrup (see London fog), and of Earl Grey milk tea, a popular bubble tea flavour in Asia.
- Earl Grey is a black tea, so it contains caffeine. The FDA lists about 71 mg for a 12-fluid-ounce serving of black tea, with 400 mg a day cited as an amount not generally linked to negative effects in healthy adults.
- Earl Grey suits people who like a perfumed, citrus-led black tea, and it works in milk drinks such as the London fog.
Earl Grey is black tea flavoured with bergamot, a citrus fruit whose rind oil gives the tea its floral, lemony scent. Brew it with water at 90 to 98°C (194 to 208°F) for 3 to 4 minutes, or shorter if you find it bitter, and look for "bergamot oil" or "bergamot peel" on the ingredient list if you want a flavour that comes from the fruit and not from a lab.
What is in it
Earl Grey is a black tea blended with oil from the rind of the bergamot orange, according to Wikipedia. The tea itself is usually a black tea; Wikipedia says the traditional base is a Chinese black tea such as keemun, intended to be drunk without milk, and that some blends use smoky lapsang souchong, green tea or oolong instead. "Earl Grey" is not a registered trademark, so the blend varies from one company to the next.
Bergamot (Citrus bergamia) is a citrus fruit, probably a hybrid of lemon and bitter orange, and it is unrelated to the bergamot herb in the mint family. The oil comes from the skin: roughly 100 fruits yield about 85 g of oil. The scent is citrusy and floral with green and spicy notes. Most of Italy's production comes from a short stretch of coast in the province of Reggio di Calabria, where the essential oil holds a protected designation of origin. Bergamot is also used in confectionery and perfumery.
Reading the label
Flavour can be added in two ways, according to Wikipedia: coating black tea leaves with bergamot oil, which gives a stronger citrus taste, or blending in dried bergamot rind that releases flavour as it steeps. Many commercial versions use other natural flavourings, artificial flavours or synthetic oils instead, which are cheaper and keep longer, and critics generally find the artificially flavoured versions less balanced.
What that means in the shop:
- Ingredient lists that name bergamot oil or bergamot peel point to the fruit. Lists that say only "flavouring" tell you less.
- Variations are named on the label. Lady Grey (a Twinings trademark) adds cornflower or citrus; French Earl Grey adds rose petals; Earl Grey Crème adds lavender and vanilla.
- Oil-coated leaf is described as giving a stronger citrus taste than dried rind, which releases its flavour as it steeps. That is a description, not a measured result.
No source opened for this page says which approach is better, so choose by taste.
How to brew it
| Variable | A common starting point | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Leaf | One rounded teaspoon of loose leaf per cup, or one tea bag | UK Tea and Infusions Association (2025) |
| Water | 90 to 98°C (194 to 208°F), freshly drawn | UK Tea and Infusions Association |
| Time | 3 to 4 minutes; Wikipedia gives 2 to 3 and up to 5 for Earl Grey | UKTIA; Wikipedia |
| Milk | After brewing, not before | UKTIA |
The trade body suggests 3 to 4 minutes for black tea in general, while Wikipedia's Earl Grey page gives 2 to 3 minutes and warns that longer makes the tea bitter. Start at the short end and taste at 2 minutes 30 seconds, then adjust; that is an editorial suggestion. Our black tea brewing guide covers the variables in more detail.
Where the name comes from, and how much is known
The usual story links the tea to Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, prime minister in the 1830s. The evidence is weak. Wikipedia reports that the earliest known reference to bergamot-flavoured tea dates from 1824 and does not mention him, and says it seems unlikely he championed the blend. The Grey family's own account, a Chinese mandarin who made it for the family's estate with bergamot chosen to offset the lime in the local water, is described there as apocryphal. Twinings and Jacksons of Piccadilly both claim the blend's origin, with Jacksons saying Lord Grey gave the recipe to a partner in 1830. Another theory is that the "Earl" was added later to make it sound refined, and the earliest "Earl Grey" advertisements date from the 1880s. If you want one sentence for a guest: the name is old, the story is disputed.
Drinks and food
Earl Grey is the base of the London fog, steamed milk and vanilla syrup (see London fog), and of Earl Grey milk tea, a popular bubble tea flavour in Asia. Cooks use it to flavour chocolates, cakes and sauces by steeping it in stock, butter or cream. A cheese magazine pairs it with a lighter blue cheese such as Cambozola. For a sweet pairing, see Earl Grey with lemon scones.
Caffeine
Earl Grey is a black tea, so it contains caffeine. The FDA lists about 71 mg for a 12-fluid-ounce serving of black tea, with 400 mg a day cited as an amount not generally linked to negative effects in healthy adults. Actual numbers vary with the leaf, the amount and the steep, and no source opened for this page gives an Earl Grey figure specifically. People who are pregnant, sensitive to caffeine or taking certain medicines should ask a clinician what suits them; Wikipedia notes that caffeine may interfere with some prescription drugs. See our tea caffeine guide.
Who it suits, and what to try instead
Earl Grey suits people who like a perfumed, citrus-led black tea, and it works in milk drinks such as the London fog. If you find one brand too perfumed, try a different flavouring method, oil or rind, before giving up on the style. If you dislike citrus entirely, an unflavoured black tea such as English breakfast gives you the same base.
Questions
How much Earl Grey is too much?
There is no Earl Grey-specific limit. Using the FDA figures above, about 400 mg of caffeine equals roughly five to six 12-fluid-ounce servings of black tea (400 divided by 71), if tea were your only source. Individual sensitivity varies, and other sources of caffeine count towards the total.
Can you drink Earl Grey with milk?
Yes, though the traditional Chinese-based blend is meant to be drunk without it. The London fog is the best-known milk version, and the UK Tea and Infusions Association advises adding milk after brewing.
Can Earl Grey be iced?
It can be brewed hot and cooled like other black teas. See our iced tea brewing guide for ratios and cooling methods.
Related
- Earl Grey bergamot black tea
- London fog
- Black tea brewing guide
- Earl Grey with lemon scones
- Tea caffeine guide
Sources
- Wikipedia, Earl Grey tea (history, flavouring methods, variants).
- Wikipedia, Bergamot orange (species, oil yield, growing region).
- UK Tea & Infusions Association, Slow down to perfect tea pace: 7 expert tips for the ultimate brew, 30 May 2025.
- US Food and Drug Administration, Spilling the beans: how much caffeine is too much?.
- CeAnne Kosel, How to pair tea with cheese, Culture magazine, 2018.