Enjoy a timeless blend when sipping earl grey!
The Tea Centre blends our signature Earl Grey teas in Europe using high-quality bergamot oil. The Tea Centre’s range holds everything from your traditional Earl Grey to our unique French Earl Grey and even a Miss Grey for more mature tastes. Explore our collection full of flavour below.
Free shipping is available for all orders over $70. Alternatively, pop into one of The Tea Centre's ten tea shops located in Queensland, New South Wales and the ACT.
What is Earl Grey tea?
Traditionally, Earl Grey is a fusion blend comprised of black tea leaves infused with fresh bergamot oil. Since its inception in 1830s, the popularity of Earl Grey blends has surged. For example, The Tea Centre sold 384kg of traditional Earl Grey alone. That's enough loose leaf for 192,000 cups of tea! For this reason, we have extended our range to include seven varieties of Earl Grey. For example, we stock organic Earl Grey, Decaf Earl Grey, and Miss Grey—our version of Lady Grey featuring a jasmine twist!
As you can see above, we offer a beautiful array of premium Earl Grey tea for you to enjoy. Specifically, we offer a number of flavour variations to suit every taste. Our Earl Grey teas are perfect on their own or can be enjoyed with a splash of milk and honey for sweetness. Consider adding Earl Grey tea into your daily tea ritual, and enjoy the delicious citrus flavour of this classic household favourite.
The history of Earl Grey tea
It seems that mythological origin stories and tea go hand-in-hand! While it is commonly understood that Earl Grey tea is named after the former British prime minister Charles Grey (i.e. the second Earl Grey), the reason why remains a mystery.
The most popular origin story is that Earl Grey was gifted to the prime minister by a Chinese mandarin after Charles Grey saved his son during a diplomatic mission to China. However, this is also considered the most far-fetched story given bergamots are native to the Mediterranean/Southeast Asia and would have been hard to find in China back in the 1800s…not to mention there’s no evidence that Charles ever went to China in the first place!
Alternatively, two London companies—Twinings and Jacksons of Piccadilly—both claim to have created the Earl Grey blend in 1836 after the prime minister personally requested a tea recipe that offset the bitterness of his estate’s water supply (which contained high levels of limescale at the time).
No matter the true origin story, what is not disputed is that Earl Grey is definitely an Australian favourite. If you would like to see what all the fuss is about, pick up our loose leaf organic Earl Grey tea here or our convenient French Earl Grey tea bags tin here.
What are the health benefits of Earl Grey tea?
Given all of our Earl Greys sport a black tea base, it carries the same perks as it's non-blended counterparts. Being one of the most consumed beverages in the world, it should come as no surprise that a number of clinical reviews have been conducted on the health benefits of drinking black tea. For example, one 2017 Sri Lankan study on black tea broke down the composition of the leaves and how these components have positive bioactive impacts on the body. Just some of the good things that black tea contains are: catechins, theaflavins, simple polyphenols/other polyphenols, theanine, amino acids, peptides/proteins, potassium, and caffeine.
Containing less caffeine than your average coffee, this component works well with theanine to bring the sipper some focus and mental stimulation (Kahathuduwa et al., 2016). Catechins boast the double impact of not only blessing tea with a tannic taste (bold biting flavour) but also thought to encourage antioxidant activity. Lastly, "tea polyphenols are also known for their antibacterial activity." (Kodagoda & Wickramasinghe, 2017). However, it should be note that antibacterial activity decreases when the extent of tea fermentation is increased, implying stronger activity in green tea than black tea.
How to make Earl Grey tea
To brew a perfect cup of Earl Grey loose leaf tea you need to do the following.
Consider pouring a cup of Earl Grey the next time you want to relax and unwind during some well-deserved “me” time. You can enjoy the soothing aromas and elegant flavours of freshly brewed Earl Grey even in summer by whipping up a batch of iced Earl Grey tea to cool down with style.
Buy Earl Grey online or in-store at The Tea Centre tea shops
Here at The Tea Centre, we pride ourselves on the elite quality of our tea and work hard to make them luxurious and thoroughly enjoyable. You will notice how our Earl Grey teas are beautifully fragrant and enticing, with elements of bergamot, jasmine and florals in different teas across our range. All part of our plan to provide you with the finest tea possible.
Making a pot or a cup of Earl Grey with loose leaves is not as hard as it sounds, with easy-to-use infusers and strainers available. However, if you are looking for a quicker alternative, we do also offer a range of teas in pyramid tea bags, including black tea bags, green tea bags, and herbal tea bags.
Interested in other teas? Look through our selections of black teas, green teas, and herbal teas to find the ones that are right for you.