"Derek" > wrote in message ...
>
> Nope. Earl Charles Grey, Whig party, Prime Minister of England from
> 1830 to 1834.
>
> "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: http://www.britannia.com/gov/primes/prime26.html

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
http://www.twinings.com/en_int/histo...n/moretea.asp:

"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
http://www.jacksons-of-piccadilly.co...ough_time5.asp

or, http://tinyurl.com/5homl:

"Robert Jackson & Company has held the original recipe since 1830 when the
2nd Earl Grey entrusted it to George Charlton a partner of Robert Jackson &
Co. This blend was said to be the 'perfection of black China tea' and 'for
flavours it is unsurpassed'. Jacksons remain sole proprietors of this
original formula, which remains unaltered today. There are many imitations
but none to match Jacksons' original Earl Grey's blend."


--
~~Bluesea~~ feeling thirsty
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