Preheat oven to 400 F. Move baking tray to upper ⅓ of the oven. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.

Grind 1 ¼ tbs earl grey tea in a small blender or with a mortar and pestle.

In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, tea, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Discard any pieces that don’t go through sieve with ease. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter or your fingers until the mixture is coarse and butter is pea-sized or smaller. Place dry mixture in the freezer or refrigerator for 5 minutes while you prepare the wet ingredients.

In a small mixing bowl, combine egg and buttermilk and beat lightly with a fork. Rinse and dry the blackberries.

Take the dry mixture out of the freezer or refrigerator. Combine wet and dry mixtures until most of the mixture is just holding together. Add blackberries and gently toss. There will still be loose flour at the bottom of your bowl.

Empty bowl onto countertop. Using the heel of your hand, push the dough together on the top and sides until it becomes more cohesive.

Cut dough in half and place one half on top of the other. Use the heel of your hand to push down on the dough on the top and sides until it becomes even more cohesive. The blackberries may get crushed a bit, that’s okay.

Repeat cutting in half and layering one more time only if needed to help bring dough together. Do not overwork! The dough should just barely hold together.

Shape dough to a 1 inch thickness. Cut dough into 2 inch circles using a round pastry cutter or cut into 2 inch squares with a knife. Reshape excess dough and re-cut. Try to avoid overworking the dough.

Place scones onto your prepared baking tray. Place tray in the freezer for 5 minutes so that the butter can firm up again.

Brush scones with buttermilk and sprinkle with granulated sugar before placing in the oven. Bake for 16-20 minutes until tops are golden brown. Place scones on a metal rack with a piece of parchment paper underneath until scones are cool.

Prep the glaze. Mix powdered sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and lemon zest with a fork until smooth. Add extra lemon juice or powdered sugar as needed until you get the right consistency.

Drizzle glaze evenly onto the scones, allowing excess to drip onto the parchment paper. Let scones sit for 10-15 minutes until glaze sets.

Serve as soon as possible. Scones will keep about 2 days. You can freeze extra scones (wrap in saran wrap) and reheat later as needed.