Earl Grey is my favorite blend of tea by far - no competition there. The biggest secret with this tea once given to Earl Grey of Hoswick Hall (British Prime Minister in 1830 - 1834) by a Chinese manadarin, reportedly in gratitude after the earl saved his life, is to get just the right doseage of bergamot oil, a rather intense, tangy scent derived from the bergamot orange (which in turn is a cross between the pear lemon and the sour orange; the latter is native to South Vietnam, and its oil was probably the recipe's original ingredient). Using too much bergamot oil can easily obscure the black tea's natural flavor - but with Twinings you just can't go wrong, because the original Earl Grey turned to this very company for a match to the quickly dwindling supply he had received from his Chinese friend.
(From the Twinings website: "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.")
Unless you insist on having *all* your tea with cream or milk, I recommend having this one without any kind of milk products: not only does the original recipe not call for such an addition; in my mind it just plain ruins the blend's particular flavor. (But that's just me, of course.) Whichever way you have it, though, if scented teas are your kind of thing, Twinings Earl Grey should be right up your alley.
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- Steve
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