Loose leaf Earl Grey black tea with curled leaves scattered on white background, by Yerba Buena Tea Company.
Deep red brewed Earl Grey tea in clear glass mug with infuser ball and black packaging box, by Yerba Buena Tea Company.
Earl Grey loose leaf black tea in sealed black canister with tan label band, by Yerba Buena Tea Company.

Organic Black Tea | Bold & Citrusy | High Caffeine

Organic Earl Grey Black Tea

Blended in Oregon Citrus Bold

Cold-pressed oil from Italian Bergamot, blended into an organic black tea base. The Earl Grey people serve when they want the real thing.

Ingredients: Organic Black Tea, Organic Bergamot Oil.

$18.00 USD
$18.00 USD
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Size: Tea Tin
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About Earl Grey

The Earl Grey for people who want the real thing.

Real cold-pressed oil from the rind of Italian Bergamot, blended into an organic, malt-forward black tea base from northern Thailand. The flavor reads as fresh orange peel, sharp and clean, over a biscuit-warm body. Bright up front. Round on the finish. It holds its own in a cup, and it holds up to milk.

Why the oil matters.

Bergamot grows in commercial volume in one place: the coastal strip of Calabria, at the toe of Italy. About 90% of the world's Bergamot comes from this region. The fruit ripens between December and March. The oil gets cold-pressed from the rind, never heated, so the aromatic compounds stay intact. It takes roughly 200 kilograms of fruit to yield 1 kilogram of oil. That craft is the reason real Bergamot smells like the actual fruit. Synthetic Bergamot, which most supermarket Earl Greys lean on, smells like a flavoring of itself.

The London Fog ritual.

The drink came out of a Vancouver café in the mid-1990s. A pregnant tea drinker named Mary Loria asked for Earl Grey, steamed milk, and a touch of vanilla. The combination took off and has been on every café menu since. To build a proper one at home: 1 heaping teaspoon to 8 ounces of full-boil water, 5 minutes. Strain. Top with steamed oat or whole milk and a single drop of vanilla. The fat in the milk rounds the Bergamot. The vanilla bridges the citrus into something dessert-adjacent.

Tasting Notes

Aroma: A sharp, clean blast of citrus zest over a warm, malty base. Fresh orange peel, not perfume.

Flavor: Bright and zesty up front. The Bergamot wakes the palate. Then it softens into the biscuit-like notes of the black tea base.

Finish: Clean and lingering. The citrus stays sharp. The malt sits underneath.

Why You'll Love It

The Italian Bergamot: Real cold-pressed essential oil from the rind of the Bergamot fruit. The citrus grows in commercial volume in just one region: the coastal strip of Calabria, where the sun, sea air, and soil produce a fruit that grows nowhere else with the same depth. Roughly 200 kilograms of fruit yield 1 kilogram of oil. Aromatherapy traditions credit Bergamot with lifting mood and easing tension, which is why the oil also shows up in fine perfumery.

The black tea base: A malt-forward blend that gives the cup its body. Strong enough to hold up under milk without disappearing, soft enough to let the Bergamot lead. The malt and honey notes pair naturally with the citrus oil.

The name: Earl Grey traces back to Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl Grey, British Prime Minister from 1830 to 1834. The exact origin story is muddied, but the formula stuck. It has lived on tea carts in the West for nearly two centuries.

Earl Grey loose leaf black tea in sealed black canister with tan label band, by Yerba Buena Tea Company.

Earl Grey

$18.00 USD
$18.00 USD
What's inside

Key ingredients

The botanicals at the heart of this blend, and where in the world they're traditionally grown.

Black Tea

Camellia sinensis

Assam, India & Yunnan, China

Bergamot

Citrus bergamia

Calabria, Italy

Black Tea

Camellia sinensis

A fully oxidized tea leaf with the caffeine to wake you up. Bold and malty.

In the cup

Black tea is the most oxidized of the true teas. The leaves are left to darken fully before drying, which deepens the color and the flavor into a brisk, malty cup with the body to stand up to milk. It also carries the most caffeine of any tea, the reason it is the classic morning brew. Most comes from Assam and Yunnan.

Traditionally grown in Assam, India & Yunnan, China

Shop Black Tea teas

Bergamot

Citrus bergamia

The bright, floral citrus that gives Earl Grey its signature lift.

In the cup

Bergamot is a fragrant citrus grown almost entirely along the coast of Calabria in southern Italy, where the climate produces an oil found nowhere else. The cold-pressed peel oil is sharp, floral, and perfumed, the unmistakable note in any real Earl Grey. A little brightens and lifts a whole pot of black tea.

Traditionally grown in Calabria, Italy

Shop Bergamot teas

1 of 2
TeaThailand

Organic Earl Grey Black Tea

Steep vivid. Sip classic.

Caffeine: High
8.0 oz
Water
212°F
Temperature
1.0 tsp
Leaf
4 min
Steep Time
Re-Steep · Up to 1×
5 minutes for a London Fog base. 3 to 4 for a straight cup with milk. Water at full boil. The black tea base handles the heat without going bitter.
1
Cup

Craft Your Cup

A few notes from our teamakers.

London Fog Latte
Brew 1 heaping teaspoon in 8 ounces of full-boil water for 5 minutes. Strain. Top with 6 ounces of steamed oat or whole milk and a single drop of vanilla extract. The milk fat rounds the Bergamot, the vanilla bridges the citrus into something almost dessert. Best in a wide cup.

Iced Earl Grey
Cold-brew 2 teaspoons in 16 ounces of cold water for 8 hours in the fridge. Strain. Pour over ice with a slice of lemon and a small drizzle of honey. The cold extraction keeps the Bergamot bright and drops most of the tannin. Drinks closer to a citrus mocktail than a tea.

Earl Grey Shortbread
Grind 2 tablespoons of leaves into a fine powder in a spice grinder. Fold the powder into shortbread or sugar-cookie dough. As the cookies bake, the Bergamot oil infuses the butter. The result is a floral, citrus-warm cookie that tastes more expensive than it is.

Loose leaf Earl Grey black tea with curled leaves scattered on white background, by Yerba Buena Tea Company.

Your Questions About Earl Grey, Answered.

Does this taste like perfume?

The flavor reads as fresh fruit zest: sharp, clean, tangy. That perfume note that supermarket Earl Greys carry comes from synthetic flavorings, which read one-dimensional in the cup. Real cold-pressed Bergamot oil has depth. The citrus and floral notes integrate the way they do in the actual fruit, with a clean finish.

Can I add milk?

Yes. The black tea base is strong enough to handle dairy or oat milk. Milk is the traditional pairing. The fat in the milk rounds the citrus and brings up the malt notes in the base tea. It is also the foundation of a London Fog.

What's a London Fog, exactly?

A tea latte built on Earl Grey, steamed milk, and a drop of vanilla. The drink was invented by Mary Loria at the Buckwheat Café in Vancouver in the mid-1990s. The story is documented. The drink has been on every café menu since.