England is a moody place. The air is chill and the sky almost, always painted grey with clouds packed with pockets of rain. I was only there for a couple days nearly a year ago ( it bizarrely seems like a decade now) and I mostly remember days of solid rain and gloom. I think of London because of Earl Grey tea.

The name Earl Grey tea was coined after a British Prime Minister from the early 1800’s. No better name for a British tea, I think! Mr. Earl Grey always requested tea with bergamot oil which has since been a characteristic flavor and aroma of the black tea. This tea is one that I associate with an afternoon tea time in England; one where you sit at the Ritz London sharing laughs and chatter over a tower of pastries and finger sandwiches. It’s timeless and simple, no frills other than the flavor of bergamot.

I am a huge fan of citrus and cannot seem to stop talking about it either! Bergamot, is a type of orange grown in Italy and looks cross between a lime and lemon! How oddly beautiful a fruit variety could be? And, not to mention I never got my hands on one while in Italy, at least I don’t remember. But, goodness it is an amazing fruit and it’s made itself one of the most important teas in Harney and Sons vast tea collections.