Cindi Bigelow Applauds New York-Based Sports Figures and Their Dedication to Staying Healthy

FAIRFIELD, Conn., September 12, 2007 – Cindi Bigelow, President of Bigelow Tea (www.bigelowtea.com), the family-run 62 year old tea company based in Fairfield, Connecticut, spent a recent afternoon in New York City with noteworthy sports figures and avid Bigelow Green tea drinkers Joe Torre and Phil Simms. Their conversation, videotaped and posted on the Bigelow Tea website, the TEA-V channel, outlines the relationship these accomplished local sports legends have fostered with Bigelow Tea and its antioxidant rich green tea.

During the video, posted at www.bigelowtea.com, Torre and Simms outline their dedication to staying healthy and their belief in the positive effects of antioxidant rich green tea. Torre further professes to drinking caffeine-free Bigelow Green Tea from the Yankees bench, believing in its health benefits, especially after his bout with cancer.

Concluding the celebratory interview, Cindi Bigelow acknowledges that “the greatest aspect of running Bigelow Tea is the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our supporters and the 320 families who work for our company.”

About Bigelow Tea Company

Bigelow Tea was founded by Ruth Campbell Bigelow over 60 years ago in 1945.  The company continues to be 100% family-owned and managed by the Bigelow family with a special blend of pride and enthusiasm. Today the company is one of the nation’s leading producers of specialty teas, which includes more than 80 varieties of flavored, traditional, green, organic green, herbal, decaffeinated, and iced teas.  One of Bigelow Tea’s most well-known products is America’s number one specialty tea flavor “Constant Comment®” which is flavored with a delicious blend of oranges and spice. It is available in both black and green tea versions.

Bigelow Tea products are available nationwide including mass merchandisers and health stores, and every variety can be found on the company website (www.bigelowtea.com), along with an appealing selection of tea chests, tea accessories and other gift items. Tea lovers will also enjoy the company’s blog (www.bigelowteablog.com) in addition to profiles on MySpace and Facebook.

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PRESS CONTACT INFO:

Elizabeth April-Fritz
Bigelow Tea
203-334-1212
eafritz@rcbigelow.com

Valorie Luther
Creative Concepts
203.259.4202
vluther@creative-conceptsllc.com

Cindi Bigelow spent a recent afternoon in New York City with noteworthy sports figures and avid Bigelow Green tea drinkers Joe Torre and Phil Simms. Their conversation outlines the relationship these accomplished local sports legends have fostered with Bigelow Tea and its antioxidant rich, green tea!

The races in baseball keep getting more interesting! It’s coming down to the wire but the Yankees pulled 4 games up in the Wild Card with impressive wins in Kansas City and some absolutely incredible hitting by A-Rod.

As you’re all probably aware by now, Joe Torre is also a proud member of the Bigelow team (along with Phil and Chris Simms) and we’re all so excited to see how the baseball season will end up. As a good luck charm we made some special decaffeinated green teas for Joe so he can keep warm and invigorated during those cold Fall night games. We made a special run of Green Tea with Blueberry Decaffeinated and Green Tea with Pomegranate Decaffeinated.

You never know but if they bring good luck to Joe and the Yankees, I have a sneaking suspicion that you are going to see them at your favorite grocery store very soon! Stay tuned!!

Bob

The benefits of tea on the human body continue to be documented by a growing number of clinical studies conducted at prestigious universities. View our Health Benefits category.  And now it appears that tea is also good for your teeth.

 In a recent Today Health article, a researcher at the University of Illinois’ Chicago College of Dentistry asserts that “black and green teas help reduce your chances of developing cavities and gum disease.”

Tea, both black and green, contains polyphenols that prevent plaque from adhering to your teeth. These antioxidant compounds also help prevent cavities and gum disease.

“Tea also has potential for reducing bad breath because it inhibits the growth of the bacteria that cause the odor,” asserts Christine D. Wu, PhD, the school’s associate dean of research.

Earlier research introduced in 2003 — and featured on WebMD – indicated that tea helps fight a variety of bacteria, including those causing strep throat.

Your tea ritual doesn’t have to stay home when you take to the seas for that getaway cruise. “Just about every major cruise line offers afternoon tea in one form or another,” according to Cruise Critic, a site for cruise reviews and news.

The offerings vary widely. A number of cruise packages serve afternoon teas as staples. This includes luxury lines that feature elaborate, gourmet-caliber tea menus. Their mass-market counterparts often host casual afternoon buffets which comprise a smaller selection of teas. But no matter what type of cruise line you choose, most tea lovers can relax with their beverages against a background of live music.

Tea time offerings don’t end here, however. Many cruise lines also have special programs that combine relaxing teas with other luxury options such as poolside massages. Be sure to look for these pampering packages when you book your cruise.

For more information on cruise line offerings, visit the Cruise Critic.

Confused about these tea terms? You’re not alone. With the newly regained popularity of tea (the drink), tea time traditions are making a comeback as well. But their re-emergence has been served up with more confusion than crumpets, so there are a few distinctions you’ll want to understand.

First, don’t let the terms fool you. Jacqueline Church, gourmet food feature writer at Suite101.com explains that, while “high tea” sounds quite aristocratic, the term originates from the height of the dinner room table it was served on. Traditionally high tea was a rather heavy meal consumed by the common people in the evening. “’Low tea’ was, ironically, the more posh tea being served to upper classes in their drawing rooms at lower tables.” And, by comparison, low teas featured fine china with snack foods: small pastries, petite sandwiches and scones.

The issue becomes even more complicated when we throw what’s called “afternoon tea” into the mix. Today “afternoon tea” is often used interchangeably with “high tea” in error. When we think of the tea parties enjoyed by ladies in wide-brimmed floral hats on a weekday afternoon, we are really recalling low or afternoon teas.

“Low tea” is seldom used as an expression these days, so casting it off simplifies things. And realizing that “high tea” is highly misunderstood helps us cut through the confusion. Which brings us to another distinction you’ll want to remember: no matter what we call them today, teas are all about atmosphere.

According to my trusted edition of Emily Post’s Etiquette, “a tea, no matter how formal it pretends to be, is friendly and inviting. We do not go to be impressed or instructed, but to enjoy seeing our friends and to been seen by them.”

So, whether you refer to your event as a tea party, afternoon tea, or (heaven forbid!) a high tea, don’t let elaborate names get in the way of an occasion that’s meant to be friendly fun.

For more information on tea parties by any name, check out these links:

• Welcome to the World of High Tea
• High Tea & Afternoon Tea
• High tea, low tea

Who doesn’t like that 5 or 6 drawer file cabinet? I like the wooden two drawers but the metal tall ones store the most paper. It really does not matter which type you use or like for both are able to store a ton of information.

One of the problems we have here is it seems like file cabinets multiply like rabbits. You never really get rid of the old information and you always have more information and paper to store so that means more file cabinets taking up more space and more places to look for that information you need.

We evaluated the space they took up, the time it took to find the information you wanted, and tried to improve on this situation. The solution we are utilizing is scanning the documents into an electronic repository that can be accessed by anyone at Bigelow Tea at any of our locations. We worked with the consulting group SOURCECORP to implement Digitech Systems ImageSilo for our needs but there are others out there that can provide similar solutions.

The electronic copies have eliminated making paper copies to share with colleagues, reduced file cabinet space and have improved our ability to find information in a timely fashion. Now file cabinets are still nice to have around for plant stands, picture hanging, and to fill in that empty spot in the corner but for storing documents we have found a better way.

Dean

Just had 30 retirees come back for our annual retiree luncheon, and it was really lovely. To be able to reconnect to our employees that have dedicated years to building this business, who are the foundation of this company, well…it means a lot to my entire family.

Every summer, we send out invites to those who have retired from Bigelow Tea. We are never sure how many will respond positively to the luncheon and each year we are pleasantly surprised with the high turnout. This year was no exception, I actually think it was our biggest turnout ever. Our luncheon included individuals who worked during the 60 and 70′s and retired almost 20 years ago to those who have retired in the last few months.

What never ceases to amaze me is the comradery between them, even after all these years. The chatter, the laughs, the stories about their years here-it is a very special afternoon. I have to say, it is after an event like the one we had today, it clearly reminds me the value of a family company.

Cindi Bigelow, co-President