Image courtesy of Phytochemicals.info.

For centuries, people have been enjoying the succulent taste of pomegranate. Native to Persia, this exotic fruit has been used as a medicinal tonic to both heal and prevent certain illnesses. It’s amazing that Pomegranate, around since the beginning of time, has only risen to superstar status in recent years!

Bigelow Tea knows firsthand that we’re more health-conscious than ever. Medical research reports are cropping up everywhere, espousing the multiple health benefits of pomegranate.  Studies confirm that the antioxidants found in pomegranate can significantly contribute to the prevention and treatment of certain life-threatening diseases, such as prostate cancer. Other clinical trials have determined that the high level of polyphenols contained in pomegranate can help to reduce bad cholesterol levels. In the practice of alternative medicine, pomegranate extract is being used to treat chronic inflammatory conditions, like arthritis.

Bottom line: pomegranate is great for us.  As we embrace organic foods like pomegranate, we are finding inventive ways to incorporate them in our own food and libation rituals. Whether beginning the day with a relaxing cup of Green Tea with Pomegranate, sipping some refreshing Pomegranate Blueberry Iced Tea in the afternoon, or gathering with friends to drink Pomegranate Cosmopolitans at cocktail hour, it’s all good.

At the end of the day, we are giving our health and well-being the respect it deserves. In doing so we nourish our body, mind and soul. Speaking of mind and soul, what better way to erase the stresses of the day than to brew a pot of Organic Green Tea with Pomegranate & Acai and curl up with a good book? Here’s to healthy living!

There is nothing more uplifting than the beginning of spring — especially after a long, cold winter! Sweet scents of hyacinth and vibrant tulips and daffodils fill us with a sense of well-being and renewal. Our cups runneth over. Speaking of cups, Bigelow Tea is celebrating springtime with our most exquisite Spring Catalog to date. It showcases a fabulous collection of Bigelow gifts, from colorful “On the Go” Tote Bags to the beautifully crafted Flavored and Herb Tea Chest. Green tea drinkers can go green with Bigelow’s All Green Tea Basket, a seagrass basket lovingly filled with Bigelow delights, including the ever-popular Green Tea with Pomegranate.

“On the Go” Tote Bags

Flavored and Herb Tea Chest

All Green Tea Basket

There’s something for everyone: discerning teacup collectors can enjoy Spode® Flower of the Month Teacups with their favorite Bigelow Tea, and organic tea aficionados can relax with treats from the Amber Spa Basket and Organic Tea For Two.

April — Flowers of the Month by Spode®

Amber Spa Basket

Organic Tea For Two

We at Bigelow Tea have put a lot of TLC into the creation of this catalog. Celebrate this glorious season with tea — whether planning the first of many spring tea parties or simply enjoying a beautiful sunset on your back porch while sipping some American Classic Tea®.

60+ years ago, Ruth Bigelow, with her unabashed passion for tea and adventurous taste buds, created a zesty tea, Constant Comment®. Her children and grandchildren were inspired by her. To read more about a true “American classic” and the family-owned company that she founded, read My Mother Loved Tea, written by her son, David Bigelow. And, yes, you can order it from the 2009 Spring Catalog.

Thanks to Babel for the image.

Who couldn’t use a little escape every once in a while? Even if it is just in your mind! Sit back, close your eyes and imagine yourself admiring the beauty of the Taj Mahal or shopping in the markets of New Delhi. Need some extra-sensory help to take you there? Bigelow Tea Chai will definitely help! Our delicious Vanilla Chai, Spiced Chai, or Green Tea Chai can give your taste buds that extra jolt they need to propel you into your Indian vacation reverie.

Songstress Sarah McLachlan and her husband, Ash, love the sweet taste of chai as well. Looking to learn more about chai tea and its Indian roots? Check out our Chai — The Spice of India book, which has 22 recipes and stories of the Chai experience from India and beyond. There are so many possibilities like a Spicy Apple Chai or Chocolate Chai. Or to turn a sweet treat into an adult beverage, try our Chai Mar-Tea-ni!

Preserve our planet with material reduction.

Trees, glorious trees! We enjoy their beauty, appreciate their shade and plant them as living memorials for loved ones. They provide a safe habitat for wildlife, improve our air quality and moderate our climate. Trees sustain us – with antioxidants contained in their fruit, nuts and, yes, their tea leaves! There is nothing more serene than the sound of leaves rustling gently in the summer breeze.  Trees keep us centered.  And in return, we need to protect, respect and replenish them.

Arbor Day dates back to 1872, when Nebraska journalist and politician Julius Sterling Morton, who devoted his career to improving agricultural practices, believed the economy and environment would benefit from planting trees. He proposed a special day dedicated to planting trees and raising public awareness. His birthday, April 22, became the annual Arbor Day for the State of Nebraska. As the idea spread past the Nebraskan border, other states followed suit and, today, Arbor Day is celebrated nationwide.

We at Bigelow Tea are committed to following sustainable farming practices. In 2003, Bigelow Tea purchased the Charleston Tea Plantation, America’s only tea garden, to save it from real estate development. Our work at the Charleston Tea Garden is a labor of love: crops are healthy and pesticide-free and our plantation staff is an integral part of the Bigelow Tea family

Hard work and dedication means sustainable choices today for tomorrow. The “fruit” of our labor: American Classic® Tea.

At Bigelow Tea, we do not waste our resources. We’re almost 100% paperless and fully dedicated to recycling — in fact, 85% of our packaging is biodegradable or recyclable. Anything that can be recycled is recycled. Simply put, we practice Sustainabili-Tea — everyday.

Today is Earth Day and I want to share with you a very fun visit I recently had by a young group of students. They called their organization EDGE-Environmental Development of Green Energy. They were putting together a video as part of a Connecticut Challenge contest. The students were from Hill Regional Career High School in New Haven. Their documentary was based on companies in this area that are trying to make a difference in relation to energy use. I have to say, the young people of today are truly impressive. When I was in high school I was not visiting local businesses, learning what they are doing to help the environment, creating a video and getting out the good news via a documentary for the internet and TV!

I had such a wonderful time sharing with them all the things we are doing here, both big and small, to reduce packaging, to increase recycling and to reduce our energy needs. They really liked the part that all of our employees are so supportive of the company greening efforts and how our movement is truly being driven from all sides of this organization.

I have to say, I am extremely proud of our efforts but I am even more proud that these young students cared so much to find us and to take the time to learn about what we are doing. I am not sure when the CT Challenge Film Festival will take place, but I am really rooting for EDGE! If I can get a copy of their final film, I will happily put it on our blog for you all to enjoy as well….Happy Earth Day!

Cindi Bigelow

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.com.

“Earth Day is the first holy day which transcends all national borders, yet preserves all geographical integrities, spans mountains and oceans and time belts, and yet brings people all over the world into one resonating accord…”
—Margaret Mead

In 1962, U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, made it his mission to raise political and social consciousness about environmental issues. After years of demonstrations and speeches in the turbulent 60’s, Earth Day arrived: April 22nd, 1970. Decades later, politicians and scientists are still working to raise our awareness of environmental issues, like Nobel Peace Prize Winner and former Vice President Al Gore, in his book, An Inconvenient Truth.

At Bigelow Tea, our respect for the environment is reflected in everything we say and do, which is why we established a Sustainabili-Tea program. As part of this program, we formed the Trash Hippies (named after the 60’s and 70’s green protesters), a team whose goal was to reduce (by 30%) the amount of trash going to landfill from the Boise Idaho facility. By saving, separating and categorizing all trash into recyclables and non-recyclables, we not only achieved our goal, but exceeded it by an additional 10% – recycling 57,700 lbs of product that would otherwise have gone to the landfill! We continue to recycle: white paper, material cores, brown paper and plastic bags — even utensils and plates in the lunch room! Going green has become a way of life for us.

In the sage words of famous anthropologist, Margaret Mead: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world.” We at Bigelow Tea are profoundly committed to sustaining the precious bounty that is our planet Earth. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do.

Photo courtesy of Redhatsociety.com.

“When I am an old woman I shall wear purple with a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me.”
—Jenny Joseph

Tea seems to be the libation of choice for the ladies with “hattitude.” Free of the inhibitions, which plague the self-conscious “under-fifties” crowd, the Red Hat Society women enjoy celebrating age, friendship, and fun at gatherings that inevitably revolve around tea. They transformed the Tea Party into an art form!

Red Hat Society was founded in 1998 by California artist Sue Ellen Cooper, who set the wheels in motion by giving her friend a 55th birthday gift: a red fedora hat and a copy of Jenny Joseph’s poem, “Warning” (quoted above). The idea caught on and, not surprisingly, word spread. Now, over a decade later, the Red Hat Society has become the largest social networking community for women, with over 30,000 chapters throughout the world. Television shows, stage productions and comic strips have all tipped their hats to the Society. Wherever they go, they seem to cause a stir — people gape at the audacity of their attire and envy their joie de vivre, while newspapers photograph them for the social columns.

At Bigelow Tea, we have been fortunate enough to host a group of Red Hatters from Nampa, Idaho at our Boise facility.  These discerning tea aficionados were interested in how teas, like “Constant Comment”®, are made. A fabulous time was had by all, and several cups of Bigelow Tea selections later the ladies went on their merry way.

To all the Red Hatters out there (and the under 50 Pink Hatters too): come visit us again at Bigelow Tea – it’s always Teatime here!

Thanks to Just Entertainment for the image.

Last June, Jessica Alba gave birth to a baby girl, Honor Marie Warren.  However, before she arrived, Alba celebrated with tea and some close friends! We’ve mentioned tea party bridal showers during National Wedding Month and it looks like that trend carried over into baby showers, too! Jessica’s was held at the Ever After Tea House.  With the help of some famous friends, Alba enjoyed iced tea, chocolate-dipped strawberries and skewers of tiger shrimp.

Interested in throwing a baby shower tea party? While not everyone is able to afford gift bags as elaborate as Jessica’s, which were recyclable totes full of high-end goodies, you can still be sure that your guests are satisfied with our delicious tea options and recipes!  Since spring is here, you could start off with some of Bigelow Tea’s delicious iced teas. For the moms-to-be, we even offer Perfect Peach® Herbal Iced Tea and stimulating Red Raspberry™ Herbal Iced Tea, always caffeine-free. For some meal and tea drink ideas check out these delicious recipes. The Spinach Salad Spectacular with Raspberry Vinaigrette is a wonderful light meal for the upcoming summer months!

Retail grocers have reason to celebrate! Bigelow Tea — the number one specialty tea manufacturer in the United States — has joined forces with Van Houtte, the number one gourmet coffee brand in Canada, to develop the U.S. K-Cup market in a big way.

The partnership began about 8 years ago when Van Houtte provided sales and distribution to help Bigelow Tea penetrate the Québec Food Service market. Following that success, Bigelow and Van Houtte formed an alliance to produce Bigelow Tea K-Cups. In the past four years, Bigelow’s K-Cup business has grown over 45% per year.

Now, Bigelow Tea and Van Houtte are launching a national K-Cup campaign in the currently under-developed U.S. Retail Grocery channel. K-Cups fit the increasingly popular Keurig brewing systems, for an at home café experience.

“The K-Cup business is one of the fastest growing segments in the United States,” says Cindi Bigelow, President of the family owned Bigelow Tea company. “It makes sense for Bigelow, the tea category leader, to expand on the opportunities of this popular brewing system. Now American tea drinkers who like instant-brew convenience don’t have to settle for anything less than Bigelow flavor.”

The Bigelow K-Cups include these consumer favorites:

• English Breakfast
• Green Tea
• Earl Grey
• Cozy Chamomile®
• Mint Medley®
• Green Tea with Pomegranate

Perhaps the least surprising thing you’ll hear all day is that soda and acidic fruit juice aren’t exactly good for your teeth. More specifically, the two damage the enamel on your teeth in a way that will eventually result in long-term damage, requiring the intervention of a dentist to address the issue.

However, as this blog is notorious for revealing, tea comes to the rescue yet again. A study done in November 2008 showed that while acidic drinks erode teeth quickly, tea does about as much damage as tap water. The article “claims that more regular intake of acidic drinks can therefore lead to increasing need for treatment, particularly in older consumers, who may face increased expenses as a result.”

Researchers used orange juice, soda, green tea and black tea in the tests. Their findings revealed that “soda was found to have resulted in greater cusp tip height reduction” and “the fruit-based drink proved to have led to higher levels of cervical enamel loss.” When the results from the tea test came back, they found that tea eroded enamel less than half as much as either soda or orange juice.

So, next time think twice about what you’ll be pouring into a glass. Take a look in the mirror, smile, and grab the tea. Not to mention that if you grab either green or black tea you’ll be treating yourself to an amazing amount of health benefits as well.  Seems like a no-brainer.