bergamot

Here is a quote from

"Oil of bergamot is extracted from the peel of the bergamot orange (Citrus bergamia or Citrus aurantium bergamia), a small pear shaped sour orange which is cultivated today mostly in southern Italy."

As for very hot water ruining the taste, I have not experienced that myself but I will do some experimentation with lower temps. I have traditionally always use boiling water with what I thought were good results.

Here are some history links.

This site has information, reviews, and ratings of most of the commercially available blends.

Mike Petro snipped-for-privacy@pu-erh.net

Oil of bergamot

Peel of the bergamot, a citrus fruit.

Because it tastes good and smells wonderful?

I don't see how as I've had various Earl Greys (Bigelow's, Twinings, Upton's decaf, original, extra, and rooibos) all made with boiling water. I believe you're referring to Renee's post about how her BB seems to overheat her morning Earl Grey and kill the bergamot which would have more to do with retained/sustained heat than it does with simply making a brew using very hot or even boiling water.

Kewl links.

Since I've discovered that I don't cotton to Earl Grey teas with other than a China black or green tea base, I've eliminated sampling those made w/ Ceylon and Assam 'cause I already know that I'd rather pour them down the drain.

From http://64.233.161.104/search?qÊche:eV38GVLOdekJ:

"Many legends surround the traditional English tea, Earl Grey. The most popular story recounts that Charles Earl Grey upon a visit to China was given the recipe and carried it back to England. One thing most tea books agree on - is this story is hogwash. Not only have the Chinese never been Earl Grey drinkers, but also Charles Grey never visited China. The origin of Earl Grey has many theories however, no matter what its origins; whether welcome visitor or illegal immigrant, Earl Grey is now a British institution."

Since I like Earl Grey made with a China black base, I prefer the version in which it was one of Grey's diplomats who received the tea from the mandarin because he was seeking to influence trade relations or simply upon the conclusion of a successful diplomatic mission even though it conflicts with the Chinese never having been drinkers of Earl Grey since it's not totally inconceivable. According to

"Citrus aurantium (Seville, Bergamot or Sour Orange) Hybrid between Pummelo Citrus grandis and Mandarin Citrus reticulata. Bergamot is sometimes placed in a separate species Citrus bergamia, but is otherwise considered to be a variety of Citrus aurantium. Citrus aurantium orginated in China and seems to have entered the written record there by 300 BC. It is recorded from Japan by about 100 AD. By about 100 BC, Sour Orange seeds appear to have reached Rome. In China and Japan, Sour Orange is not usually eaten raw but used for: (1) making marmalade and candied peel; (2) producing essential oils for use in soaps and perfume; and (3) scenting tea using the flower buds. Bergamot yields neroli oil from the flowers which is used in perfumery (e.g. in Eau de Cologne), and Bergamot oil which is the substance added to Earl Grey tea to give it that distinctive flavour."

And according to

"The most famous of all flavored teas is of course Earl Grey, created for the Prime Minister of England in the 1830s and flavored with the pear-shaped orange of Canton, China."

So there!

"The most famous of all flavored teas is of course Earl Grey, created for the Prime Minister of England in the 1830s and flavored with the pear-shaped orange of Canton, China."

Surely they mean the Prime Minister of China? "Geordies Support Chinese Workers"

Nope. Earl Charles Grey, Whig party, Prime Minister of England from

"It was while he was prime minister, that by act of law the East India Company lost its monopoly on China trade which was mostly in tea. Ironic that the name of the prime minister to King William IV is best known around the world for a blend of Indian and Sri Lankans tea delicately scented with the citrus flavour of bergamot. The recipe for "Earl Grey" is said to have been given by a Chinese man to a British soldier during the Opium War (1839-42) in gratitude for saving his live. Another version story has a Chinese mandarin friend of the Earl giving him the recipe."

From:

However, I'd almost be willing to bet that the recipe wasn't a gift given to either the soldier or the Earl himself.

I think it more likely that a competitor of the East India Company imported the tea after EIC lost the monopoly and then named the tea in honor of Earl Grey, the guy who opened the market to them.

But that's just a theory.

Bergamot is perhaps the most common scent in perfumery, it has been said that the majority of perfume blends contain at least some oil of bergamot. The other truism is that when one considers the second most common scent (sandalwood), the vast majority of perfume blends certainly contain one, the other, or both. The classic cologne (that gave the name "eau de cologne" or "kolnisch wasser" to watered-down perfume) is 4711, over 200 years old and made in Cologne (actually Koln, with an umlaut or dieresis, in German).

Salmonella

I use the essential oil in soap making as well. Bergamot, Sandalwood, and Eucalyptus have developed into my most used oils as well as some Lavender for the Ladies. I have dabbled in making cologne but I have never been satisfied with how long my scents lasted through the day.

Mike

I should also add that Caswell-Massey's version of a bergamot cologne--"Number 6"--was used by George Washington, and given by him as a gift to the Marquis de Lafayette. They have the receipts to prove it. Beyond that, my in the 1970s I recall buying a gift set from 4711 for a Christmas present for my wife; it contained a bottle of Cologne and a jar of bergamot marmalade. I combined that with some Earl Grey tea, and I remember putting on the card, "have a bergamesque Christmas." Ellen thought it was very witty at the time. The marmalade was quite bitter, I recall, and thick, though not any thicker and not any more bitter than English Seville orange marmalade. I learned later that "bergamot" is not related to the Italian place-name "Bergamo", nor is it related to the herb also called bergamot. The bitter orange is properly pronounced berg-a-maht, and not berg-a-moh. Apparently, the word "bergamot" is derived from the Turkish "beg armodi". There are people who do eat bergamots, apparently with great relish. The Italian firm called more or less "Bova Essences" has been selling the bergamot oil to perfumers and others for years, and now they seem to be making a liqueur, which I have not had. The Turks and other folks from the Balkans have been making bergamot marmalade it seems. You may find it in groceries in the United States that carry Bulgarian or Turkish preserves, It is usually labeled something like "bitter green orange marmalade." It is as the label says, and I assure you, an acquired taste.

Salmonella

"Mike Petro" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

The first story is unlikely because there's a stretch to how it got to be so popular with the Earl.

The second story is unlikely if one believes the Twinings' story. From

"According to popular legend, the blend was a gift from a grateful Chinese mandarin. It seems that an envoy sent to China by Earl Grey did the mandarin a good turn (he may have saved the mandarin’s life, the details are unknown).

When the mandarin’s tasty gift began to run out, Earl Grey asked his tea merchants, Twinings, to match it for him. Twinings unique blend was the Grey family’s long-standing favourite. When guests inquired about it, they were directed to Twinings on the Strand, where they would ask for Earl Grey’s tea by name."

Interestingly enough, Twinings and Jacksons used to argue (until Twinings acquired Jacksons in 1990) about which first developed the Earl Grey tea. They wouldn't have had to develop a recipe if they'd had the original Chinese recipe which, BTW, I'm confident would have used China black tea and not the China, Darjeeling, Ceylon, and hint of Lapsang souchong that Twinings uses.

OTOH, Jacksons claims that it's held the original recipe ever since the Earl gave it to them. From

or,

"Robert Jackson & Company has held the original recipe since 1830 when the