For those of us who ponder the finer points of etiquette, we thought it would be fun to chat with some experts about taking our tea graciously! If you’re at home in your PJs, slurping down a big ole’ mug of your favorite Bigelow Tea, hey, we’re fine with that! But if you’re having a tea party, going out for tea or just want to be “in the know,” advice on tea etiquette abounds. There are books (even some for children!) and videos on tea manners. And while we can’t cover it all today, here’s a start.

The Tea Party Club says there’s an order in which tea party foods are to be eaten: first, scones or muffins, then sandwiches, and lastly, sweets. And always “take small bites. Never stuff the whole sandwich or dessert in your mouth even though it seems small enough.”

Iowa’s Miss Manners, Patricia Tice believes that good manners never go out of style. Tea time is a grand opportunity for sharing special time. She also provided us with some practical thoughts for making a top-notch cup of tea. They include starting with good quality tea (Bigelow Tea can help you there!) using a proper tea kettle, and then importantly, sharing the tea with a good friend. Her advice on what not to do? “Do not use your tea spoon as a musical instrument, banging it against the side of the cup. Banging it is considered bad manners. Don’t do it.”

And as for that “pinkies up!” rule, we wonder if it’s necessary…we suggest that you don’t sweat it. If you naturally extend your pinkie as you sip, that’s OK, and if not, that’s fine too.  Don’t over-think it! So, fortified with sound tea etiquette information, you’re sure to be quite proper and more comfortable at your next tea drinking event!

Image by prudencebrown121, via Flickr.com

Tea party fans—including little girls with their teddy bears—know that sharing tea is a wonderful way to create special moments and to spend time with someone close to you. With this in mind, one dad has decided that it’s time to encourage fathers to have tea with their daughters!

Tshaka Armstrong, one of the dads behind the Dads Talking website, has designated May 13^th and 14^th as a time for fathers to have tea with their daughters. The National Daddy Daughter Tea Date is, as he says, a simple way to help dads connect with their daughters and to help foster healthy, strong relationships.  According to Mr. Armstrong, “one of the awesome tools for connecting with your daughter is verbal communication, and a great place for it is at tea.”

Suggestions for participating in the tea date include hosting a tea party event at your child’s school or at your home … or simply spending time together at a local tea or coffee shop. More information and locations for local tea parties will be available at the National Daddy Daughter Tea Facebook page. And, if you plan to head to a local tea or coffee house, you can post that information on that Facebook page to encourage other dads and daughters to meet you there.

Bigelow Tea knows that sharing tea creates a sense of closeness and facilitates conversation. It’s a perfectly wonderful way for fathers and daughter to connect. We applaud Mr. Armstrong for his efforts, and on May 13^th & 14^th we’ll be smiling a special father-daughter smile as we think of all the girls and their daddies drinking tea and spending time together!

Image via, dadstalking.com

~ Marjorie Ramsay (2008), The Red Hat Society

This Red Hatter poem—clearly written by a Baby Boomer (those “platform shoes and wide bell bottom jeans” gave it away!)—epitomizes the unabashed “joie de vivre,” or joy of living, which forms the philosophy and “hattitude” of the Red Hat Society.  And it all began with a tea party!

Back in 1998, California artist Sue Ellen Cooper celebrated her friend’s 55^th birthday by giving her a red fedora hat and a copy of Jenny Joseph’s poem “Warning,“ about a feisty “older” woman who decided to wear a red hat and purple dress, not caring whether the two colors matched or not!  Then Sue Ellen began to give the same gift to a few other friends, and the Red Hat Society was born! In jubilation, the ladies dressed up in full purple and red regalia and celebrated the society’s formation, at what would be their first of many tea parties!

All of us at Bigelow Tea would like to again raise our teacups to the wonderfully spirited ladies of the Red Hat Society, as they celebrate their 13^th Anniversary on April 25^th! Cheers!

Photo via Redhatsociety.com.

Since I had not seen my mother in over 8 years, my heart led me home.  You see, we live 14 hours away from each other.  It was just around Christmas time and the weather in West Virginia was getting bleak.  The forecast was calling for heavy snow.  So, just to be close to Mama, I stayed with her at the retirement center instead of in a motel. (I had to sleep on the floor.)

My second night there, the snows came.  We awoke to crisp, beautiful white purity covering everything in sight.  Knowing that we couldn’t go anywhere, we decided to make it as wonderful as we could.

During the three weeks that I spent with Mama, we shared our memories of old times.  We laughed.  We cried, then laughed some more.  All this joy and reminiscing started with a wonderful cup of Earl Grey Tea, just like when I lived at home.  Now, every time I drink a cup of hot tea, wonderful memories of Mama flood my heart with joy.

Cheers to everyone at Bigelow for bringing good teas and wonderful moments; a history that I pass on to my children and my grandchildren.

Sincerely, Sherry

It seems that tea lovers really like to speak their minds! Bigelow Tea is thrilled that during February we heard from so many of you through Twitter and Facebook. Our communication channels were packed with great feedback from our tweeps and Friends, and we can’t thank you enough!

On Twitter lots of people were tweeting about their favorite teas. For starters, @AliBabaAuctions let us know that he likes to start the day with Bigelow Earl Grey Tea “with honey and half-and-half.” Sounds good to us! Similarly @WebThingy told us that his “fav tea (I drink it 2x a day at least) is Green Tea w/ Pomegranate.” And @reddpups tweeted that she was “lovin the Chamomile Mango tea right now.” Thanks for letting us know!

Finally, @colinmorris made us chuckle with this one: “Oh, thank god. @BigelowTea has a @Twitter account. Now I can tell them every time I’m brewing their lifesaving chai. (I annoy even myself.)”

Our Facebook page was really hopping too! So many of you posted updates on our page, and we got literally hundreds of responses to some of the questions we posed last month! More than 100 of you responded to one question alone: when we asked if it was possible people were drinking iced tea in February! The answer? A resounding yes! All of this great back-and-forth communication is truly remarkable … and it actually caught the attention of Chris Brogan, a social media consultant to Fortune 500 companies, who put Bigelow Tea’s Facebook page on his list of “Compelling Facebook Fan Pages!”

Way to go, tea drinkers! Thanks for making your voices heard and for letting us know what you like and how you like it. We can’t wait to hear more from you next month!

Image by netzanette via flickr.com

When I was very young, she introduced me to Bigelow’s Constant Comment. The spices and orange flavor made it especially yummy to my young palate.

When I was still in grade school, my mother baked a huge assortment of Christmas cookies every year, and I proudly carried a written invitation to my teacher for afternoon tea and cookies on the last day of school before the holiday break. I would dress in my finest new Christmas dress, and my mother would have the house all decorated, with the dining room table set for just the 3 of us. We would enjoy polite conversation, cookies, and of course, our favorite Constant Comment tea.

I eventually moved away from my home town, and my mother passed away 2 years ago, but I’ll always cherish those “grown up” moments with my mother over cups of Bigelow’s Constant Comment tea.

Louise

Bigelow Tea Drinker

At Bigelow Tea, we truly enjoy hearing from you, our customers–and from tea lovers all over the world! Whether you’re commenting on a blog post, Tweeting about your favorite tea or contributing thoughts on our Facebook page, we are always happy to hear from you. That’s why we’ve decided to post a monthly “thank you” to all our Internet pals!

In December we found our Facebook page hopping with activity! Many tea lovers became our “fans” and entered our exciting sweepstakes. In addition, many grateful customers visited our page to share their love of our teas! Thanks to Barbara Ellen Cornett-Gollwitzer (Spiced Chai tea), Brian Muller (Jasmine Green tea) and Jennifer Palmer (Vanilla Caramel tea) for the shout-outs about their favorite teas!

And there’s tea fan Toby Fauke Smith, who recently expresses his love of Bigelow Teas’ Earl Grey: “It’s my favorite and I’ve tried many including loose leaf tea shop varieties. Bigelow’s is the best!” We admire Toby’s good sense and taste!

This is just a small sample of what you’re saying about Bigelow Tea, and we look forward to highlighting additional conversations in the future. Thanks to all our Facebook fans, Twitter followers, readers and friends for sharing your thoughts, comments, exclamations and compliments with us this month! Happy New Year … and we look forward to connecting with you again throughout the month of January and beyond!

Teacup photo by Cate Sevilla via www.flickr.com

• Perhaps Constant Comment, a complex tea with a surprising hint of zesty orange…?
• Or Earl Grey? Distinctive, sophisticated and refined… very aristocratic!
• Maybe you’re a cup of Decaffeinated Green Tea; relaxed and well centered?
• Or Lemon Lift? Slightly sweet and perky, a ray of sunshine in a teacup…?

We asked, and they answered! Recently, Bigelow Tea reached out to its faithful Twitter “tweeps” to ask for their top tea tips, and they responded with a plethora of wonderful ideas. Here are a few of our favorites!

@QueenEarlGrey told us her favorite tea tip: warming the tea cup before she starts steeping, to “give you more time to savor you warm cuppa” and it makes her hands nice and toasty! She also suggested mixing your cream and sugar together before pouring in the steeped tea. “It’s a little English secret. Shhhhh.” (Sorry we spilled the beans!)

@LisaKennally offered us two great tips; first, she recommends putting your used tea bags into the fridge, and then placing them on your eyes for treating puffiness. Her second tip was to toss a few chocolate chips in your cup of hot tea, swirl, and enjoy a “sweet” treat! (Yum! We are dying to try this with our Peppermint Herb Tea.)

@OnTimeSupplies told us that replacing that mid-morning/afternoon soda or coffee with Bigelow Tea’s black teas offers the same “pick me up” but gets rid of the “sour stomach” that can accompany those other beverages. Meanwhile, @ChanTeaShop raves about the convenience of using Bigelow Tea for “brewing on the go,” and @lazy_literatus recommended choosing types of tea that steep quickly, like “a nice Darjeeling or a Sencha,” which require two-minute infusions, tops.

Thanks so much to all tea lovers who responded to our query….and if you don’t already follow Bigelow Tea on Twitter, we hope you will…we offer Daily Tea Tips and we truly enjoy engaging with our customers. We’d love to receive your comments!

Photo via Marco Arment on Flickr.com

When we talk about “the great ones” in sports, we pepper our stories with plenty of stats and awards; but once athletic supremacy is established, it’s often the character of the athlete that’s key to the final judgment of who’s the greatest. It’s what makes a hero our hero.

Bigelow Tea has the fortune to work with the likes of Joe Torre, Phil Simms and Terry Francona – all heroes on and off the field – then add to that lineup The Great One, and you have a real dream team! “The Great One” will always be Wayne Gretzky and as you may know, he’s not just a Bigelow Tea fan, but a huge proponent of green teas as well!

The instant Hall of Famer held forty regular-season records, fifteen playoff records, and six All-Star records. He is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season (and he did it four times) and ultimately saw his number 99 retired by all teams in the National Hockey League.

Statue of The Great One and the Stanley Cup at the Edmonton Oilers’ Northlands Coliseum.

Following retirement in 1999, he turned on his charitable drive, pouring his energy into The Wayne Gretzky Foundation, assisting disadvantaged youths and sharing his belief that hockey contributes to the physical, emotional and social growth of young people. Great One, yes – and a great guy. With Wayne Gretzky on our team, there’s always plenty of action – like right now, as Bigelow Tea and Wayne have teamed up to give you a chance to skate with The Great One at Wayne Gretzky’s 2011 Fantasy Camp IX!

Enter the online only sweepstakes for free by visiting us on Facebook. (Click here for more information.)

And don’t forget our “Gretzky Green” green teas: four antioxidant-packed flavors, featuring English and French packaging, which also serve to promote healthier, lifestyles for all the busy seasons ahead!

The Gretzky Green Tea Gift Set

Images one and three courtesy of commons.wikipedia.org, and wikipedia