HUGO GREY is Hugo Tea's in-house rendition of earl grey. The blend is just 2 ingredients (of the highest quality they could source): malty, scotch-like Yunnan black tea and essential oil of bergamot from southern Italy's Reggio Di Calabria. The tea is massaged by hand in small batches before being dried in their facility in Kansas City, Missouri.

Very few blended teas qualify for Hugo Tea's roster. Given the earl grey world is rife with thin, synthetic teas, their aim was to bring as much of the production process into their hands as possible and produce a version with rich body and true balance. To that end they used GAO WEN as the base tea: a smooth, full-bodied black tea co-produced with their Yunnan farmer-partner. They smother this tea with a modest measure of cold-pressed bergamot essential oil, and voila—elevated earl grey.

Freshness is paramount in scented and blended teas. For this reason they produce Hugo Grey on-site and in small lots, repeating the process often to ensure the product is always potent and flavorful. The blend is well-suited to signature drinks (like the classic London Fog), but will produce an easy-drinking cup all its own. Experiment with parameters and steep to your liking; HUGO GREY is forgiving.

Ingredients: organic black tea and bergamot oil 

Notes — grapefruit pith | peat | vibrant

Vintage — Summer '21

Style — Blended dianhong ("yunnan red" + bergamot oil)

Cultivar — Da ye ("big leaf")

Region — Simao, Yunnan, China | Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Locale — Ma Wei Shan tea farm | North Kansas City

Elevation — 1200 meters

Producer —Yuanzhen Li | Hugo production team