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Queen Elizabeth II starts every day with a pot of Earl Grey tea (no milk or sugar). Image source
Earl Grey may be the most British of all teas.
Earl Grey tea is a very aromatic black tea blend, originally made with Chinese black tea and oil of bergamot. Bergamot is a citrus fruit (an obscure branch of the orange family) grown around the Mediterranean. Bergamot is rarely eaten fresh (very bitter), but is wonderfully aromatic with a citrus tang.
But who was Earl Grey?
Portrait of Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl Grey
No one really knows the origin of Earl Grey tea (the two biggest English specialty tea companies both claim to be the originators of Earl Grey). But most people think Earl Grey is named after Charles Grey, the 2nd Earl Grey, prime minister of England in the 1830’s. Legend has it that Charles Grey received this tea as a gift from a Chinese mandarin in 1803 in return for one of the Earl’s servants saving the mandarin’s son from drowning.
There are a couple of problems with this legend: first Charles Grey never was in China and bergamot has never been grown in China. But it’s a darn good story.
Since 1803 there have been many variations on Earl Grey; adding flowers like lavender, varying the amounts or kinds of bergamot, making a Cream Earl Grey etc.
They all share a couple of things; an incredibly aromatic and flavorful tea, and a mysterious past.
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Earl Grey White Tip
The best Earl Grey black tea we’ve ever tasted. Extremely aromatic and flavorful, this is a blend of Ceylon black tea, Chinese Silver Needles white tea, and natural flavor. This black tea is more powerful than most Earl Greys, and a hint of floral citrus comes through in both the aroma and cup. Once you've had this tea you may never be able to go back to regular Earl Grey again.
Earl Grey Lavender
Earl Grey with Lavender has all the wonderful citrus tanginess of traditional Earl Grey, but the addition of lavender brings a floral sweetness to the cup. The lavender also makes this tea powerfully aromatic. We’ve blended in blue cornflowers to make this an even more beguiling tea. Earl Grey with Lavender is sometimes called Lady Grey or Earl Grey Blue.
Earl Grey Crème
This tea has an incredible smooth, silky, sweetness to it. It is almost like drinking velvet. We begin with a delicious traditional Earl Grey and add natural flavor and calendula petals to make this a one-of-a-kind Earl Grey.
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TeaSource Operations Manager, Michael, gives us candid insight into how tea blends are devised, created, and executed at our warehouse. The process isn’t as glamorous as you might think...
With the release of our new spring blends, I was asked to write a blog about what goes into making a tea blend. I was specifically asked what makes them “special?” Tea blends are difficult and usually encourage creative profanity rather than positive affirmations. But I think the results of hard work and tenacity are “special”, and that’s why I like making tea blends. This is not a how-to on tea blend creation and I am not an expert in the technical sense. But I do wish to give you some insight on what goes into tea blending so you can make better decisions for yourself.
Hibiscus Punch - Caffeine free rooibos blend
Step 1: Come up with an idea.
Trying to start a new tea blend is similar to coming up with the first sentence of a novel. I wish I could tell you what inspires me at these moments, but I wouldn’t recognize inspiration if it caught me meditating. Luckily, I have smart co-workers and together we go over what what’s been trending, what customers have been asking for, what’s coming up on the calendar, etc. That makes it sound easy, and filling up a whiteboard full of ideas is usually the first sign that you’re overpaid. But the real art form in this step is combing through all the factors at hand and choosing a couple options that might be not only doable, but desirable.
NEW! Lavender Jasmine - Green tea blend
Step 2: Source ingredients you don’t already have.
These are the boring details because they involve the constraints on the creative process: time, money, and knowledge. In my opinion, “constraints” should be the first item printed on the ingredients list of every food package. It’s easy to look for ingredients that aren’t available, especially if you don’t know the industry or plan ahead of time. It’s also easy to find ingredients that are too expensive. Though it sounds obvious, you are limited by what you know and who you know. Omniscience was not listed in the requisite skills for my job.
NEW! Cucumber Lime Oolong - Oolong blend
Step 3: Start blending.
We always start with the base of the blend (usually tea) and the main ingredients we are trying to blend with it. The term “main” ingredient here refers to potency of flavor as opposed to quantity. Few ingredients naturally work well together. Usually it’s like getting two young siblings to play nice with each other. It takes many iterations of adjusting the percentages, changing the base teas, and changing the ingredient source just to make two ingredients work together. If we’re going for a simple blend and we get these two basic ingredients to work together, this is the point where we’d stroke our chins and nod in approval (and maybe even feel slightly taller). But if you want a third (or fourth, fifth, etc.) flavor profile to have significance in the blend, you have to start the process all over again. This is when it starts to get four-letter-word complicated and the repetition starts to breed self-doubt. If I cup the same thing over and over again (the word “cup” here refers to an industry term for objective tasting for the purposes of product evaluation or quality control), I eventually start to question if I can even taste the nuances or whether I’m making it all up in my head. But as I said in the beginning, this is why you want to have co-workers who know what they’re doing, so they can tell you that you no longer know what you’re doing.
Some blends come easy (as few as five iterations), some I never want to taste again (nearing or exceeding 100 iterations). I view blending as a puzzle to be solved, so even the most frustrating moments are just part of the satisfaction of the process.
-Michael Lannier, Operations Manager
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It is said the Zen priest Eisai brought tea seeds to Kyoto in 1191 and popularized the consumption of powdered tea. It wasn’t until the fifteenth century that a new culture around tea evolved into the modern tea ceremony known as Chanoyu (literally translated “hot water for tea”). The tea ceremony is an extremely structured and studied ritual that embodies many philosophical, artistic, and aesthetic concepts unique to Japanese culture.
In 2015, the matriarch of the Otsuka Green Tea Co., Mrs. Hiroko Otsuka (a Japanese tea ceremony expert), and 2 other Otsuka employees, Kokei Sugihara, export manager and Haruyuki Nagata, sales manager, visited Minnesota.
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This visit was a chance to build a growing relationship and learn from the folks who produce award-winning green teas. It started off with an exchange of gifts, of course. From Bill to Mrs. Otsuka, a copy of The Book of Tea, Bruce Richardson’s edition with never before seen photos of early 20th century Japanese tea workers.
Mrs. Otsuka gifted Bill a tea bowl for use in the Japanese tea ceremony. It has handmade paper infused into the glaze.
The most amazing part of the visit was Mrs. Otsuka serving tea –Japanese tea ceremony style.
All of us taking some of the traditional sweets that accompany a Japanese tea ceremony.
Measuring the matcha.
A demonstration of grace and focus, whisking the matcha.
Keeping her arm very straight, without touching the bottom of the bowl.
One of the things we love about tea; it gives you pause.
Mrs. Otsuka passed out wondrous origami figures that she had made for all of us. It was like opening Christmas presents.
Origami fighting sumo wrestlers.Then it was everyone else’s turn to be served tea.
Sarah, learning to turn the bowl.
Learning to “sit like a samurai.”
Read the full blog post about Mrs. Otsuka's visit HERE.
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Matcha Usucha - Ceremonial Grade
Otsuka Tea Co. was founded in 1869 in Shizuoka, Japan. It has been owned and run by the same family for five generations. Read more about the Otsuka family in our blog post "From Samurai to Tea Master."
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One of our favorite tea makers is The Otsuka Green Tea Co. located in Kakegawa City in western Shizuoka, Japan. This is a family owned company, whose matriarch is Mrs. Hiroko Otsuka, an expert in the Japanese Tea Ceremony.
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The Otsuka Green Tea Co. was founded in 1869 by Shinpei Otsuka. Around that same time the samurai were abolished in Japan, and many of the Otsuka clan were samurai. Apparently the next best thing to being samurai is becoming tea masters.
For generations Otsuka grew and made their own green tea, with their own fields and tea workers.
Until very recently they continued to get their own tea from their own fields. The above photo from Otsuka shows how mechanization is being introduced into Japanese tea cultivation. Astoundingly, mechanization, like the two-person tea-plucking machine above, does not reduce the quality of the finished tea. When most tea countries introduce mechanization, there is a corresponding drop in quality. Not so in Japan.
The hills and fields that provide Otsuka with fresh leaf. The structures that look like light poles are actually fans which are automatically programmed to move air around in the direction and the speed that will best assist the health and growth of the tea plants.
Just plucked leaf coming into the factory fresh from the field.
Today, Otsuka is focused primarily on the production of deep steamed Japanese Green Sencha tea (Fukamushi-cha). This move toward specializing in the production of the finished tea (not the cultivation) is indicative of the Japanese tea industry over the last 30 years.
Current President of Otsuka, 5th generation Mr. Yasuhiko Otsuka, proudly displaying the First Prize trophy won at the Tokyo Excellent Green Tea Fair sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries.
Cupping teas with the Otsuka folks at the TeaSource Roseville warehouse in 2015. See more photos from their visit HERE!
Doing our favorite thing: drinking and talking tea with the folks from Otsuka in our St. Paul store.
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Bill Waddington, founder
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Tea came to Japan from China during the eighth century, and it seems that Japan has spent the following 1,200 years figuring out unique and innovative ways to make tea. This has led to teas with tastes, textures, and sensations that can be found nowhere else in the world.
Almost all Japanese teas are steamed during the processing. This imparts a singular element to the flavor profile of all Japanese teas. Some people call it "the taste of sea."
Here are the Top 5 Japanese Green Teas we think you should try:
Matcha - Powdered Green Tea
Matcha is a powdered green tea unique to Japan. It is made from a high grade tea that is shaded for at least three weeks before plucking. Shading causes the leaves to produce much more chlorophyll, giving the tea a brilliant emerald color. The leaves are then ground into a fine powder. Shop the Matcha Collection HERE.
This special green tea is harvested 88 nights after the Japanese Lunar New Year. From Kagoshima, these plants are fertilized by volcanic ash from nearby Mt. Sakurajima. This dry green tea leaf has an intensely fresh, grassy aroma. The steeped cup is lighter in body and brings to mind sweet seaweed and cooked vegetables. BUY IT HERE. Available online only. Limited quantity.
This traditional Japanese green tea from the Shizuoka region is made from a Sencha tea blended with toasted and puffed brown rice. The taste of the Sencha green tea base and the toasted rice/grain flavor make a very balanced, complex cup of tea. It's also refreshing as an iced tea We source this tea direct from the Otsuka Green Tea Co. BUY IT HERE.
Gyokuro - Shaded Tea
This Japanese green tea has incredible deep, dark, green leaves that produce a cup that is sweet and seaweed-y with a viscous-brothy body. The leaves are shade-grown in Shizuoka prefecture. We source this tea direct from Otsuka Green Tea Co. BUY IT HERE.
Iccha Kariban - Sweet & Floral
This is a new tea developed in Kagoshima. These dark steamed green leaves produce a cup that is soft, floral, and very fragrant. It is made entirely of first flush leaves, the cup is full without being heavy, sweetly floral, and has no astringency. BUY IT HERE.
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What is matcha?
Matcha is a powdered green tea typically used in the Japanese tea ceremony.Shop the Matcha Collection
How do you make matcha?
-Place 2 teaspoons of matcha into a bowl.
-Add 8 oz. of 175 degree water.
-Whisk the matcha for 30 seconds in quick “M” and “W” shapes with your wrist until it is fully dissolved and frothy on top.
Do you need special equipment / special whisk?
Traditionally, matcha is made in a matcha bowl (chawan) with a bamboo whisk (chasen). You can also use a standard soup bowl and a kitchen whisk.
How is matcha different from regular tea? What kind of green tea does matcha come from?
Matcha is made from the highest grade Japanese green tea, similar to Gyokuro. Shade-grown tea buds are plucked, the stems and veins are removed. The leaves are then ground into a fine powder.
How long does matcha stay fresh?
If stored well, matcha will stay fresh for up to one year. After that, it will slowly start to lose some of its flavor and vitality.
What’s the best way to store matcha?
The best way to store matcha is in an airtight container away from light, moisture, and other aromas in a cupboard or drawer.
How much caffeine does matcha have compared to regular green tea?
Matcha contains more caffeine than a regular green tea because it is made up of the whole tea leaf. Therefore, it releases more caffeine and antioxidants into the cup.
Health benefits of matcha?
Since all tea comes from the same plant, it’s all good for you. However, matcha is the only tea where you actually consume the whole leaf. Therefore, a cup of matcha will contain more antioxidants than other teas.
What is the traditional Japanese way to do Matcha?
-Use a bamboo tea scoop (chasaku) to measure two scoops of matcha.
-Place the matcha in your matcha bowl (chawan).
-Add ¼ cup of 175 degree water.
-Use a bamboo whisk (chasen) to whisk the matcha.
-Whisk in “M” and “W” shapes until it is fully dissolved and frothy.
Where to go for the Japanese tea ceremony?
Como Park Zoo & Conservatory offers a traditional Japanese Tea ceremony. You can register on their website.Read even more about matcha here or discover other ways to prepare matcha.
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Matcha Usucha - Ceremonial Grade
How is matcha different from regular tea? What kind of 
