E a r l

G r e y

This earl grey is a careful blend of two distinct and complementary single origin teas: a whole leaf dianhong black tea from central Yunnan province, China and a bright ceylon single estate tea from Kenilworth, Sri Lanka. The blend is combined with cold-pressed bergamot oil from a family farm in southern Italy, then air-dried. This method maintains freshness and produces a vibrant, easy-drinking cup with a smooth body and notes of grapefruit peel and fragrant citrus.

Yunnan, China is a province located in the southwestern part of China, known for its diverse tea culture and being one of the oldest and most famous tea-growing regions in the country. The province has a mild, subtropical climate with high altitudes, which provides the perfect conditions for cultivating a wide range of high-quality teas.

Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, is one of the world’s largest and most renowned tea producers. The country is situated in the tropics, with a variety of climates and altitudes that are ideal for growing tea. The island’s diverse landscapes, from its lowland plains to the highland mountains, offer a wide range of tea types with distinct flavor profiles. Ceylon tea is famous for its high quality, and the region has become synonymous with premium black tea.

This tea offers a gentler option for those seeking the comforting warmth and taste of tea without a pronounced caffeine boost. While naturally much lower in caffeine than traditional black or green teas, decaf varieties still preserve the soothing aromas and subtle flavors that tea is known for. Whether sipped in the early morning or enjoyed as a mellow evening indulgence, decaf tea provides an easygoing alternative that allows tea lovers to savor familiar comforts at any time of day. With each cup, you can relish the same beloved qualities of tea—aroma, ritual, and gentle satisfaction—while keeping caffeine intake to a minimum.

High Heat Roasted

High Heat Roasted tea is about depth—bold, caramelized notes unlocked through intense, controlled roasting. This method teases out rich complexity, balancing warmth and sweetness with a lingering, almost smoky finish. Think toasted grains, dark honey, and a whisper of spice, all wrapped in the craftsmanship of fire and time. It’s tea with an edge, built for those who crave something deeper.

All Natural Cold Pressed Bergamot Oil

Bergamot oil is a key ingredient in the iconic flavor profile of Earl Grey tea. It is cold-pressed from the rind of the bergamot orange, a small citrus fruit (Citrus bergamia) that is primarily grown in the Mediterranean region, particularly in Italy. The use of all-natural cold-pressed bergamot oil brings a unique, refreshing, and aromatic flavor to Earl Grey tea, making it one of the most beloved flavored teas in the world.

Bergamot oil gives Earl Grey tea its signature citrusy, floral, and slightly spicy fragrance. The scent is vibrant, fresh, and uplifting with hints of lemon, orange, and lime.
The aromatic complexity of bergamot oil can be slightly sweet, with a herbaceous and floral undertone, which balances well with the earthy, tannic qualities of the black tea used in Earl Grey

The term "cold-pressed" refers to the method of extracting essential oils from citrus fruits like bergamot without using heat. In this process, the fruit peel is mechanically pressed to release the oils, preserving their delicate aromas and flavors. This method is considered the most natural and pure way to extract the oil, as it doesn't involve heat or solvents that could degrade the quality or alter the oil’s natural profile.

Dianhong is a type of Chinese black tea that originates from the Yunnan province in southwestern China, known for its rich history of tea cultivation. The term "Dianhong" translates to "Yunnan red tea" (with "Dian" referring to Yunnan and "hong" meaning red, a term commonly used for black tea in China).

The leaves of whole leaf Dianhong tea are long, silky, and dark in color, often with a mix of golden tips (young, tender buds) and darker, mature leaves. The tea leaves are typically plucked by hand to ensure the highest quality. The golden tips give the tea a more refined, luxurious appearance, which is one of the distinguishing features of high-quality Dianhong.
Dianhong is known for its smooth, full-bodied flavor, with a mellow sweetness and a natural honey-like aftertaste. It is often described as having a rich, malty taste with subtle hints of chocolate and spice.
The tea may also have floral notes, especially when the leaves are of higher quality, contributing to its complex aroma and flavor. Some variations of Dianhong can also have a slightly astringent edge, balancing out the sweeter, richer notes.
The fragrance of Dianhong is often fragrant, with a warm, malty aroma complemented by floral and woodsy notes.
The golden tips contribute to a sweet fragrance, making the overall tea experience more aromatic.
Whole leaf Dianhong tends to have a rich, smooth mouthfeel with a well-rounded body, making it luxurious to sip.
The texture can be silky and velvety, giving a pleasant sensation as the tea goes down.

Ceylon Single Estate Black Tea is one of the most renowned and celebrated types of black tea in the world, hailing from Sri Lanka, which was formerly known as Ceylon. The term "single estate" refers to the tea being sourced from one specific plantation or tea estate, rather than being a blend from multiple sources. This distinction is important because it guarantees a unique profile that reflects the terroir (environmental conditions) of that particular estate.
Ceylon tea is known for its bright, brisk, and bold flavors. Depending on the specific estate and the region within Sri Lanka, the tea can vary, but it generally has a strong, full-bodied taste with a slightly astringent quality.
The flavor can range from citrusy and fruity to malty and spicy, with some estates producing teas that have floral notes or a subtle sweetness. A common tasting note in many Ceylon teas is a refreshing and clean finish, making it a perfect morning tea.
The aroma of Ceylon Single Estate Black Tea is typically fragrant and inviting, with hints of freshness and a slight woodiness.

145 BOXES

Our year-round rigorous sourcing allows us to have an evergreen blend with a flavor profile of high quality while retaining our commitment to seasonal coffees. This amount of cupping and blending takes a considerable amount of time, but we think it makes the difference and is a system we use for all our blends.

To produce a balanced and flavorful Earl Grey, this tea is blended with bergamot oil in small batches to maintain its potency and freshness. The tea itself is a combination of dianhong (“Yunnan red”) tea from da ye (“big leaf”) cultivar trees grown in Yunnan (southwestern China) and a single estate Ceylon tea grown in a farm nestled between two rivers, the Kelani and the Majaweli in Kenilworth, Sri Lanka. Together, these teas result in a smooth, full-bodied black tea with a vibrant sweetness. The defining characteristic of Earl Grey is its fragrant bergamot orange scent. Bergamot oranges are native to southern Italy, and the cold-pressed oil used to create this Earl Grey was produced from bergamot oranges grown along the Ionian Sea coast at a beautiful family farm that has been owned and operated by the same family for over 100 years. Layers of dry leaves are gently moved to the top of the pile by hand and lightly saturated with oil all throughout the blending phase. We are excited to be able to share this tea with you thanks to our partners at Savoy Tea Co, a team of tea experts who share our commitment to transparency and high quality sourcing.

BLACK TEA
Black tea is oxidized more than oolong, white and green teas, meaning that after plucking and withering, the tea leaves are rolled, crushed, chopped, or otherwise bruised to spur oxidation to 90-100%. Temperature, humidity and other factors affecting oxidation are tightly controlled before drying. The resulting brew will be stronger in flavor and usually a deep reddish color. Many Asian countries name this a “red tea” after the color of the tea liquor after steeping.

ABOUT THE SACHETS
The pyramid tea sachets are designed to give the tea leaves ample room to unfurl & expand as they steep. These sachets are made from PLA Mesh (NeoSoilon®) material that is derived from 100% non-GMO sugar cane. Each sachet is pre-dosed so you can enjoy a great cup of tea at your convenience.

Green Cost

The price here reflects not only the labor of growing and cultivating the tea, but also the respective farm’s years of skilled handling, quality of regional cultivars, and oftentimes processing work that may include milling, drying, steaming, oxidation process, and more. We partner with friends like Savoy Tea Company to identify quality teas, where within we seek to uphold transparency and quality. Due to the varying weights of each type of tea, at this time, we are listing the rough cost for each tea box.

This tea was purchased at $94 per kilogram.

Transportation Cost

This number represents the cost incurred while the tea was moved from the producing country to Onyx Coffee Lab in Arkansas. The price listed below is the cost we incurred per box of tea via designated express micro-lot shipping by air transport. It varies for each tea based on the overall volume and density of the shipment.

The air transport rate was $50/kg.

Production Cost

The following list includes many of the costs associated with producing this tea. We have always maintained transparency as a principle but have often lumped these things under the label of “production costs” in the past without going into detail.

There is an inherent difference in handling tea versus coffee, where most teas are fully processed at a processing facility in the region or at the tea farm itself. There is intensely skilled labor that comes with the drying, oxidation, rolling, steaming and packing processes. Tea is also physically very delicate, and extra care is taken in handling each dried leaf or bud to maintain the structural integrity of tea.

While the following list isn’t exhaustive, hopefully, it gives you a picture of the work, expense, and investment involved in executing tea at the level that we do. At this time we are listing our cost of production for each pound of tea at around $3.40. There are obviously many other aspects of running a business such as breakage, mistakes, new equipment and maintenance, but this works as an arbitrary cost associated with making one box of tea.

Fixed Costs
These are costs associated with simply having a business. Things like utilities of internet, natural gas, phones, rent, business licenses, fees, etc. These things increase every year. For example, most commercial leases increase by 2% every year. We periodically look at these costs and try to reduce expenses, but work in this area are small moves of the needle as these are mostly the same and usually increase every year.

Packaging
This is all the things that go into packaging the tea to get it safely to your home. There’s the biodegradable bag, the recyclable box, the compostable mailer, different boxes for bulk shipping, the paper that pads the tea, tape, and a few odds and ends. (Read about our new retail packaging HERE). These costs are separate from the tea, but a part of the cost of producing tea that is packed well and ready to ship and consume. We want our teas to arrive in a secure fashion, looking like it did when it left Onyx: with style and design but also keeping the environment in mind. Shipping packages inevitably have waste associated and we’re working towards sustainability at each step.

Labor
At Onyx, we work to make jobs both sustainable and celebrated, and we pay salaries, provide health insurance, and give regular raises to our staff. Often we have a handful of staff that get celebrated, but everyone on our team contributes and is valuable. Likewise, we wish to pay our tea partner, Savoy Tea Co, for all their skilled labor in tea handling (from hand massaging oils to create phenomenal Earl Grey or the careful packaging of each tea box). Onyx is not just a brand or a design or a café, we are truly made by every person we work with.

We all know it takes work to make anything. Savoy’s sourcing approach echoes our own, which has more labor involved than you may think. Because we visit every Relationship Coffee producer, that means our green buying team of Jon and Dakota typically spend a total of six months traveling. We’re committed to visiting and cupping on the ground, this inevitably is an investment of time, of money, of long layovers, of encountering government coupes and protests, and forging some of the greatest friendships and seeing some of the most beautiful landscapes imaginable. We appreciate that in working with the Savoy Tea team, Bill and Kyle, put equal dedication into sourcing these teas.

We have a creative team that helps create all things visible, digital, and print. These folks are very talented and have really helped push the dream of Onyx to the next level. We believe that tea can inherently be great, but having something that looks and feels good helps inform expectations, helps bring value, and tells the stories in this way has tangible and important value.

These are a few of the jobs we feel really have more involvement than might be imagined, but throughout Onyx there are touch points of intentionally positioned team members to help create the best possible beverage experiences.

Taxes
We all know what this is. We set aside and submit money every quarter for taxes along with paying all of the weekly and monthly taxes we are obligated to pay. This can be tough for a small business as there are ebbs and flows in cash flow, and taxes are often not paid in conjunction with the sales season.

Lot Size

Lot size informs us of one thing: the size of that lot. Forming a single farm lot can often take just as much labor and experience as the large regional blends, depending on the level of labor or quality standards applied to each day or week’s pickings.

A great example of this would be matcha powder, which is often a carefully constructed sum of processed green teas that are often grown in different sections of a farm to create a balanced and intentional matcha experience. It may be built up of many different farms. This often signifies that the lot was built to reflect the flavor characteristics or unique cultivars of the region. Meanwhile, a larger lot size of a Yunnan black tea may end up being used in a variety of different teas, based on the final processing and any additional treatments before packaging.