There is a certain mystique to Earl Grey. Its distinctive, colorful flavor, its origins shrouded in mystery make for a good story, and it’s probably the best known of all English teas, and possibly the best known tea, period.
Repeated references to the blend in popular culture (most commonly, music, movies, television, and books) have only reinforced the image and made the drink even more widely known than ever. You don’t have to look far to find references to mixin, for example:
Probably the best-known character on American television for regularly drinking tea is none other than Captain Jean Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise (Star Trek, the next generation), but it doesn’t stop there. In an episode of the Star Trek spin-off “Deep Space Nine” there is a reference to “That Earl Gray guy” and he is taught a thing or two about tea leaves, so Earl Gray in the universe of Star Trek is well represented!
However, the good Captain is not alone. Artimis Fowl (from the novels named after him) is very into things, as is Sir Leigh Teabing from the book “The DaVinci Code”. Then, of course, there’s John Locke from the TV show “Lost” who asks antagonist Benjamin Linus for a cup of that drink, and the character of Hyacinth Bucket from the British sitcom “Keeping up Appearances” drinks the concoction at various times. episodes.
And let’s not leave aside the animation! In the Black Butler anime series, the main character Ciel Phantomhive drinks Earl Gray on numerous occasions, and the drink is incorporated into the story in various ways.
The music also sees a number of references, ranging from Weird Al Yankovic’s song “White and Nerdy”, to the Dada track on his 1997 self-titled album called “The Ballad of Earl Gray and Chamomile”. You’ll also find a chapter called “Earl Grey” in Garrison Keillor’s “The Book of Guys”, and if you like video games and find yourself sitting in front of a game called “Steamboat Chronicles” then your default Mech in the game will be the Earl Gray II, and all of this just scratches the surface. How many other drinks can you name that are so well represented?
