Earl Grey tea is a flavored tea that is infused with bergamot orange. Flavored teas consist of true tea leaves that are infused or blended with fruit, flowers, herbs or spices. The rind of the bergamot orange is dried and added to black tea leaves to produce Earl Grey tea. Bergamot oil extracted from the rind is also used in certain blends. Black tea leaves are the standard for Earl Grey, but sometimes green tea leaves or oolong tea leaves are used instead.

Bergamot oranges are grown in Calabria, Italy and parts of France. The fruit more closely resembles limes in appearance. The flavor of bergamot oranges is a blend of a variety of citrus fruits. It looks like a cross between an orange and a lime, but taste more like a grapefruit or lemon. The bergamot orange tree is believed to be a hybrid of the orange tree native to Seville and the lemon tree native to Southeast Asia.