What do these have in common?

• Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs
• Drive smarter, drive less; plan car trips or car pool, walk, ride a bike, use public transportation
• Plant 1 tree; trees absorb CO2, create oxygen, provide shade and muffle sound
• Tighten up household energy leaks; caulk windows, wrap up hot water heater, turn down heat in winter, AC in summer
• Shop “green” in the grocery store; bring re-useable bags
• Recycle more; recycle aluminum cans, glass bottles, plastic, paper, cardboard and newspapers
• Invest less in a grassy lawn’ plant low maintenance ground covers and reduce garden chemicals
• Cut back on unnecessary use of electricity
• Take 1-minute shorter shower

They are all things people are doing to make environmentally-responsible choices to help preserve, protect and promote a sustainable future.  We are doing many things at Bigelow that are environmentally friendly and will be talking about them in the future.  If you have ideas please share them on the blog site.

Dean

According to legend, the custom of tea drinking began around 2737 B.C. with the Ancient Chinese Emperor Shen Nung. The Emperor, a man of science and father of Chinese medicine, had ruled that all water be boiled before drinking. This being his habit, one day leaves of a black tea shrub fell into the boiling water. The Emperor upon tasting the drink, proclaimed it heaven-sent.

No one can say how the leaves fell or were blown from that shrub into the Emperor’s water. Heaven-sent, serendipitous scientific discovery, or happy accident? The popularity of tea spread to Japan and the Far East, and eventually throughout the world.

As noted from http://www.lifetimetv.com

May 12, 2007    10am – 5pm

Each Spring Mother Nature awakens the Tea Plants and another growing season begins. The Lowcountry provides just the right mix of heat, rain and sun for tiny, tender tea leaves to push up above last year’s growth. This “First Flush”” is Nature’s very special gift to Charleston Tea Plantation – America’s Only Tea Garden.

With a taste all its own, American Classic Tea’s First Flush is a once-a-year Special Edition Tea available in very limited quantities. This year we are going to celebrate our First Flush with a Festival at the Plantation on May 12, 2007. Bring a blanket or chair and come celebrate with us for a full day of fun, food, live music, games, relaxation and friendship.

Observe the process of making tea in our factory from the “Tourway” where you’ll hear and see all about the world of tea. Visit the Gift Shoppe for unique merchandise and take home a supply of American Classic Tea. Take the narrated bus tour through the farm for unforgettable views. Purchase your own supply of the 2007 American Classic First Flush Tea for those special moments when only the best will do. It’s all part of the First Flush Festival at Charleston Tea Plantation.

Call 1-843-559-0383 or click here for more details.
 

People who unwind with a cup of tea every night may have a lower risk of two common forms of skin cancer, new research suggests.

In a study of nearly 2,200 adults, researchers found that tea drinkers had a lower risk of developing squamous cell or basal cell carcinoma, the two most common forms of skin cancer.

Men and women who had ever been regular tea drinkers — having one or more cups a day —were 20 percent to 30 percent less likely to develop the cancers than those who didn’t drink tea.

The effect was even stronger among study participants who’d been tea fans for decades, as well as those who regularly had at least two cups a day, according to findings published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

The findings support the theory that tea antioxidants may limit the damage UV radiation inflicts on the skin, according to the study authors, led by Dr. Judy R. Rees of Dartmouth Medical School in Lebanon, N.H.

In particular, a tea antioxidant known as EGCG has been shown to reduce burning on UV-exposed skin.

Tea consumption was linked to a lower skin cancer risk, even with factors such as age, skin type and history of severe burns considered. However, tea drinkers who’d suffered multiple painful burns in the past did not have a lower risk of skin cancer.

More on this can be found here.

Each spring we develop goals for the employee bonus system, “BEST”.  This program focuses on identifying items we want to improve for the upcoming year.  Most of the goals deal around production items such as; reducing scrap, improving our output, reducing rework, those types of things.  Some of the goals go into longer term changes such as training, safety, classes taken, skills learned, and job sharing.  All goals need to have an impact on the business and are affected by the employee, usually on a daily/weekly bases.  Each plant has a team that will work on developing goals and measurements that are critical to that plant.  Those goals will be submitted to a corporate steering committee where they will be discussed and voted on.  We review the measurements three times a year and make payouts depending upon how well those goals were met.  Over the last ten years this has been a great way for the company to involve employees in setting the direction and sharing in the benefits of those improvements.

Dean

What is Earl Grey tea?

Contrary to popular belief, Earl Grey is not a kind of tea at all. It’s actually plain black tea, infused with the citrus flavor of bergamot (similar to orange blossoms). The term “Earl Grey” is also applied to green and white teas containing this same flavor. 

The tea is named after the 2nd Earl Grey, British Prime Minister in the 1830s, who, it is said, received as a gift tea flavored with bergamot oil.  As the legend goes, the tea was a thank you present from a Chinese mandarin whose son was rescued by one of Grey’s men.

Another notable, who enjoys Earl Grey, is Patrick Steward who played Jean-Luc Picard, Commander of the USS Enterprise-E, in the TV series Star Trek:  The Next Generation.

Tea hats and Earl Grey tea come together on May 5, 2007 when Queen Elizabeth ll and her husband Prince Phillip visit Louisville’s most notable attraction for the first time, the Kentucky Derby.

Gil Logan, Chef at Levy Restaurants at the Downs, is responsible for serving the Queen and has found that Earl Grey is the Queen’s first choice for afternoon tea, and while the Queen has made no formal requests, Chef Logan wants to be prepared.  “She’s not real interested in sticking to her traditions…but I understand it’s also the Queen of England, and if she would like afternoon tea, I’m definitely going to be ready.”

In addition to serving tea, the menu offered will be smoked salmon and cucumber tea sandwiches with Boursin cheese and strawberries, scones, crumpets with orange marmalade and shortbread cookies with different colored chocolate to represent the colors of the jockeys’ silks, all made by Logan and his staff.

Queen Elizabeth ll wants to experience the pageantry that is Derby.  She will, in addition to having the comforts of home, Earl Grey tea.

For more about Queen Elizabeth and the Kentucky Derby, go here.

Spring is here…and what a winter it has been.  When I look back over the last year, I am very proud of the work this company has done.  We have had positive growth in all areas of business, we have introduced some of the (if not the) best tasting new teas in the market…Green Tea with Pomegranate, Green Tea with Blueberry, Spiced Chai, Spiced Chai Decaf, Chai Green, Jasmine Green, Green Organic and Green Decaf Organic (wait to hear about our newest flavors for next fall-start warming up the tea kettle), we have really focused on becoming a more environmentally friendly organization with the biggest investment being close to $2million dollars for solar panels for our corporate headquarters, but it doesn’t stop there.  We have every department, every plant, every person contributing to this cause.  Everyone is thinking about how they can help reduce paper, reduce waste, improve efficiencies throughout the entire organization.  In addition to doing our part to support the environment, we have also continued to focus on supporting the communities in which we operate.  Just one example is our annual Bigelow Tea Challenge, last September we raised close to  $50,000 for local charities.  This June, we are having a Bigelow Tea day to help build a home in Bridgeport.  The list of things the employees participate in is mind boggling.

Yes, I look back over the last year and I am proud.  Great employees, great teas and lots of positive energy.  Yes Spring is here, new flowers, lots of buds, and all kinds of new ideas to keep up the momentum that I am delighted to be a part of in this company.