Spotlight on Earl Gray

First things first, I know the tea is usually spelled GREY but I screwed up (and my kids love to remind me). It was a typo on my soap packaging which I did not catch until I had 500 boxes in my studio. Until I can get it changed, I am just going to roll with it. #oops

I grew up in the south where tea where tea is served cold and sweet enough to make a dentist cry. I don't recall ever having hot tea with the exception of the green tea at Chinese restaurants. If I wanted a caffeinated drink, it was always coffee. However, when I was in college I did a semester abroad in India and it was there that I learned to love tea (thanks to the British it was only served with milk and sugar). After college, I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya and discovered that in addition to the British way of drinking tea you could also get masala tea, a black tea spiced with cardamom, cinnamon, and clove (yum). My oldest son Josh introduced me to Earl Gray tea. If you haven't ever had it, it is black tea infused with the oil from bergamot, a variety of orange which is grown in France and Italy primarily for its fragrance. 

Several years ago Josh asked me to make an Earl Gray soap. I wasn't sure what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. The soap has a light fragrance of black tea and a touch of bergamot. Later on, I added an Earl Gray lotion, lip balm and, most recently an Earl Gray candle. I am particularly smitten with the candle. It took a lot of testing and tweaking to develop one with a good scent throw but now that I finally have, I am in love!

All Earl Gray products are 20% off through March. Check them out here!