Taken from wikipedia.org
The Earl Grey blend is named after 2nd Earl Grey, British Prime Minister in the 1830s and author of the Reform Bill of 1832, who sold Chinese tea under the brand name Earl Grey tea. Grey had reputedly received a gift, probably a diplomatic perquisite, of tea flavoured with bergamot oil, taken from bergamot, a citrus fruit typical of Southeast Asia and grown commercially in Italy.
According to one legend, a grateful Chinese mandarin whose son was rescued from drowning by one of Lord Grey's men first presented the blend to the Earl in 1803. The tale has no basis in fact, as Lord Grey never set foot in China and the use of bergamot oil to scent tea was then unknown in China. However, this tale is subsequently told (and slightly corrected) on the Twinings website, as "having been presented by an envoy on his return from China".
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