Our Seattle tea broker gets this Earl Grey from Copenhagen because, as he says, "It's really hard to do a great Earl Grey but these people are masters at it." They begin with high-quality tea (though they are secretive, we're guessing that it's mainly Ceylon with some Assam or Yunnan), then blend it in a drum with natural oil of bergamot (no synthetic sprays here!).

Bergamot is a small citrus fruit that's a cross between a sweet lemon and a Seville orange. Legend has it that tea infused with its essence was presented by a Chinese mandarin to Charles, the Second Earl Grey, when he was Prime Minister in the early 1800s. Drinking our Earl Grey should make you feel like royalty yourself.

Earl Grey's citrus flavor makes it a well-loved ingredient in baked recipes and anything to do with chocolate.