In 1833, Earl Grey, the Earl of Howick Hall, at that time British Prime Minister, suspended the price monopoly which the East India
Company had over the tea trade with China. The originally pure Chinese tea was lightly flavored with fine bergamot oil. This additional fragrance, which was provided by the Chinese, was intended to protect the tea from the taste of mold and tar which could arise from the long voyage at sea to royal England. Thus this tea received its name, and, still today, Earl Grey is the embodiment of the finest English tea.
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