30th November, 2007: A Perfect Cake for the Holidays…only by Bigelow Tea!
Ingredients:
½ cup milk
5 Bigelow “Constant Comment”® Tea Bags
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1-2/3 cups flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Confectioners sugar
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a 9″ round cake pan.
- Combine milk and tea bags in a small saucepan. Heat over medium/low heat until bubbles form around the edge, stirring occasionally. (DO NOT BOIL.)
- Remove from heat and let cool (15-20 minutes); remove tea bags squeezing out liquid. Set aside.
- In large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until smooth.
- Add the eggs and whisk to blend. Add the cooled milk; continue to whisk until thoroughly combined.
- Add flour and baking powder; mix until a smooth batter forms.
- Pour batter into pan. Bake approximately 35 minutes, or until center of cake springs back when touched. Cool on wire rack before removing from pan.
- Let cool completely before serving. Dust top with confectioners sugar.
Yield: Yields one 9” round cake.
Posted by Liesl at 6:00 am | Comment (0)
28th November, 2007: Tea is Taking its Place at the Table Next to Beverage Giants
Market research publisher, Packaged Facts, reported this month that tea sales are expected to nearly double over the next five years. More specifically, by 2012, the market is projected to grow from its current $7.4 billion to $15 billion. Total tea sales are comprised of instant, leaf, liquid concentrate and ready-to-drink.
Why such a marked increase for a beverage whose market share is small in comparison to other beverage categories like carbonated soft drinks, coffee and water? Well, it’s simply because tea is good for you! Health conscientious Baby Boomers are driving the market as they increasingly seek out tea and all the “wellness” it has to offer. (Check out our blog’s Health category and you won’t believe your eyes.) But wait…
Tea also has another benefit for today’s health aware consumer – its diversity. “As more flavors and packaging options enter the market, tea and ready-to-drink teas are increasingly securing a position as an alternative to carbonated soft drinks,” notes Tatjiana Meerman, the publisher of Packaged Facts. “The days of the generic black tea bag are gone, and chai, yerba mate, rooibos and other specialty teas that Boomers are consuming in mass are here to stay.”
Packaged Facts predicts specialty tea, for which Bigelow Tea is famous, will corner nearly half of the overall tea market by 2012, up from the current 36% share! In this busy world, clearly, Bigelow Tea, with all its different varieties of pre-packaged teas, is only making it more convenient to be and stay healthy.
Posted by Julie at 6:00 am | Comment (0)
27th November, 2007: Architectural Teapot
Are you ready for the wave of the future for teapots? Looking for an exceptional holiday gift? Look no further. Gizmodo blog has shown us the next wave of teapots. You can pre-order this teapot on Joey Roth’s website . Enjoy!
Posted by Liesl at 6:00 am | Comments (2)
26th November, 2007: Bigelow® Tea Joins Facebook and Welcomes a Worldwide Conversation
Fairfield, CT, November 26, 2007 – Bigelow Tea, one of the nation’s leading producers of specialty teas, believes in satisfying their consumers while creating long lasting relationships and can accomplish both of those goals by connecting with emerging tea drinkers and established tea enthusiasts on Facebook.
Facebook.com is a social network that unites people with friends and others who share a common interest. By becoming a “fan” on the Bigelow Tea page, product updates along with new tea varieties are revealed in addition to studies on the benefits of tea, celebrity news, videos, photos and more.
“We at Bigelow Tea look forward to gathering new fans on Facebook who want to share their passion for tea. With over 60 years of experience and the fact that we produce over 80 varieties of tea, we can provide information and guidance as well as listen and learn from those we connect with on Facebook. We are very excited about our future conversations with others who share the same love of tea,” says Cindi Bigelow, President, Bigelow Tea.
Anyone who is a member of Facebook and has an interest in tea, please don’t hesitate to search for Bigelow Tea and click on “fan” once you are on our page. For those who are not a part of this emerging social network, go to Facebook.com to create a free and easy-to-use profile.
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 gift items. Tea lovers will also enjoy the company’s blog (www.bigelowteablog.com).
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Elizabeth April-Fritz
Bigelow Tea
203-334-1212
eafritz@rcbigelow.com
Valorie Luther
Creative Concepts
203.259.4202
vluther@creative-conceptsllc.com
Posted by Valorie at 8:16 pm | Comment (0)
26th November, 2007: Tea Art
Tea has long been associated with the arts. Performance art, architecture and pottery all play a part in the history of the beverage. Today, that history comes alive as museums around the country offer opportunities for us to experience this art for ourselves.
As far back as the 15th century, tea ceremonies began to take on cultural significance in Japan. Commonly called the “way of tea,” the ceremonies are characterized by simplicity, naturalism, asymmetrical design and uncluttered architectural space. Continuing through November 2008, you can learn about all the elements of the tea ceremony, including tearoom design, at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. Can’t get away? Then listen to the tearoom podcast for a short audio tour.
The art of tea also includes sculptural form, such as porcelain, stoneware and earthenware. Through a traveling art exhibit “Teapots: Object to Subject,” the public can catch glimpses into the richness of this medium in events scheduled through 2010. Visit Exhibits USA for the tour schedule, or click the exhibition image for quick preview slideshow!
Posted by Brenda at 6:00 am | Comment (0)
23rd November, 2007: How Tea Got to England – Part II
It was a long and storied crossing that brought the princess. Catherine of Braganza, to her new home in England. When she arrived, the first thing she asked for was a cup a tea. None was available. The English offered her a glass of ale in its place. It didn’t do the trick, and she was ill for a few days.
Catherine’s adjustment to a less formal court was hard, though she did adopt their fashions. Over time she became more comfortable and accepted, and as the king’s consort she became a trendsetter. Her preference for her Portuguese cuisine and especially for tea, began to catch favor with the louder, livelier English court. Soon the aristocrats and the wealthier classes had made tea the latest fad. In 1663, poet and politician, Edmund Waller, wrote a poem about the queen and the gift of her tea to celebrate her birthday.
Posted by Elizabeth at 6:00 am | Comment (1)
21st November, 2007: How’s your knowledge on inks?
The ink used to print on our tea cartons is formulated using a blend of renewable, vegetable-based oils, compared to standard petroleum based formulas which are not renewable. These blends include oils sourced from plants like flax (linseed oil), and soybean oil. Among these vegetable-based oils vinegar ink (soy tinta) is a form of non-food soy. It is an environmentally friendly, healthy, and safe approach to printing that takes only a small amount of energy to make. In fact, soybeans only use about 0.5 percent of the total energy that is needed to create the ink. In the late 1970s, the Newspaper Association of America was looking for different ways to make ink, rather than by using the standard petroleum-based ink. Rising prices for petroleum and quarrels with OPEC countries were reasons they wanted to find a more reliable and cost efficient method of printing.
After testing over 2,000 different vegetable oil formulations, researchers came up with a solution. In 1987, soybeans were chosen to make ink because of their abundance and low cost. With soy bean ink, those who tested it found no threat to the air or to the environment. In addition, approximately half of the soybeans that are grown in the United States do not even need watering, which is why using soybeans for ink can actually benefit the environment. Another benefit to soy inks are its low levels of VOCs (volatile organic compounds) which can help with air pollution by minimizing emissions.
Again maybe more than you wanted to know about ink but deciding to go with this type of ink has less of an impact on the environment.
Dean
Posted by Dean at 6:00 am | Comment (0)
20th November, 2007: Tea Party Baby Shower
This is from one of our creative Bigelow Tea supporters…what’s your story?
I have been a big fan of Bigelow for some time. I put together a Tea Party Baby Shower for a friend, and the obvious choice for the favors was Bigelow!! I love that the bags are indivudually wrapped, and you can find one in just about any color to match a theme. I’ve attached some pictures of the final result!!
Thank you for making a great product!!!
Tiffany K.
Ohio
Posted by Liesl at 6:00 am | Comment (1)
19th November, 2007: Bigelow Tea Wins Award From The Bridgeport Regional Business Council
How exciting, we just won an award from the Bridgeport Regional Business Council for all our efforts to support the environment. Upon winning this prestigious honor, the BRBC came into our facility last week to see some of our good work and they created a 90 second video for the award dinner coming up on December 6th. We will definitely make the video available on the blog once it is complete.
What makes the award special to me is that all the hard work being done by our “green team” is being noticed and appreciated. I truly love to see credit where credit is due and this team has worked very hard! I am looking forward to the evening but mostly what makes the evening exciting is knowing how proud the team will be when their fine work is being shared with the hundreds of people attending the event.
Cindi Bigelow
Posted by Cindi at 6:00 am | Comments (2)
16th November, 2007: English Tea History – Part I
It starts with a romantic story which explains how tea first got to England. A foreign princess, Catherine of Braganza, who had grown up in the royal Portuguese court where tea was quite popular, was a major force how in how it became fashionable even though the queen-consort of Charles II of England wasn’t actually the first to bring tea to Britain.
In 1660 when Charles II was restored to the throne of England, he inherited many debts from the government of Oliver Cromwell and also made a few debts of his own. He found himself in need of fast money in order to protect his throne. A typical solution was to marry a wealthy foreign princess with a large dowry. He negotiated with King John IV of Portugal and a deal was made that he would marry Catherine of Braganza. Catherine’s dowry included several ships of precious goods and among them was a chest of tea, the favored drink of the Portuguese court.
Posted by Elizabeth at 6:00 am | Comments (2)
