sorseggiando te'...

dico: che buono! ah, ma e' earl grey...

The Earl Grey blend is named after the 2nd Earl Grey, British
Prime Minister in the 1830s, who reputedly received a gift, probably a
diplomatic perquisite, of tea flavoured with bergamot oil.[1]
The legend usually involves a grateful Chinese mandarin whose son was rescued from drowning by one of Lord Grey's men, although this blend of tea was first made from
fermented black Indian and Ceylon teas. As green tea is much more popular in
China than black tea, it seems somewhat unlikely that they would have had a
recipe for what we now call Earl Grey to bestow on visitors, though over the
years many other varieties of tea have been used. In addition, Lord Grey never
set foot in China. Another version of the legend has the son of an Indian raja
being rescued from a tiger by one of Grey's servants.
The tea proved so popular in the Prime Minister's drawing room that his tea merchants, Twinings in the Strand, were given a sample and asked to come up with a close match.
Twinings sold the first "Earl Grey's tea" in the British market. Twinings Earl
Grey blend includes China tea, Indian Darjeeling, Ceylon, and a hint of Lapsang
souchong, a strong, "smoky" black tea in the medium-quality range. Although it
is often served black (without milk), it can be taken with a little milk (which
lightens the colour of the drink to a greyish tone).
Jacksons of Piccadilly claim that it was they who originated Earl Grey's Tea, Lord Grey having given the recipe to Robert Jackson & Co. partner George Charlton in 1830;
according to Jacksons the original recipe has been in constant production and
has never left their hands. Theirs has been based on China tea since the
beginning. This rivalry between the two brands continues despite both being
owned by the same parent company today.

fonte: wiki