Making your own Earl Grey tea

Non-regional discussions Home Cooking
1

I’ve read that you can seal black tea leaves into a container that has been scented with oil of bergamot. That sounded great, as most Earl Grey isn’t strong enough for my taste. However, after ordering Oil of Bergamot online, the bottle says “for external use only”. I’ve asked at a couple of tea stores if there is special culinary oil of bergamot, and they say no. But I’m reluctant to experiment with something potentially poisonous.

Has anyone ever made their own Earl Grey (or used bergamot oil to “refresh” commercial Earl Grey)?

Thanks in advance!

2

cream earl grey these guys have some really nice tea’ s and this in particular is awesome. Never tried with the oils myself but this bergamot oil says it’s for food

4

I actually sell essential oils (not sure if self-linking is cool here) and use my bergamot essential oil w/ black tea often. Works pretty well.

FWIW, most places will label oil “for external use only” due to legal restrictions.

Feel free to shoot me a PM if you have any questions!

5

aaqir, thanks. They call theirs “extract of bergamot”… I wonder if that’s the difference, that “oils” aren’t edible but “extracts” (like vanilla) are?

raihan, thank you, I’m going to try the extract and see if that works, but I appreciate the offer.

6

I think the oils are probably safe to use but if you want to be cautious go ahead and get the extract.