As we celebrate the Fourth of July at Bigelow Tea, the red, white and blue continue to inspire us!  It’s a day to wear a red T-shirt and blue jean shorts, maybe lay out a tri-colored tablecloth, hang the stars & stripes and perhaps make a simple red, white and blue dessert like strawberries, blueberries and whipped cream!  With the patriotic colors and spirit of Independence Day, we thought we’d share suggestions for red, white and blue teas to drink too!

Red: our Red Raspberry Herbal Iced Tea with raspberry, elderberries and rose hips, is delicious and refreshing!White: Bigelow Tea makes an all-natural, organic White Tea With Raspberry & Chrysanthemum that’s smooth and delicate … and Blue: one of our most popular herbal teas, Blueberry Harvest, is bursting with blueberry flavor! And blueberries happen to be packed with antioxidants, so feel free to indulge!

For a truly patriotic blend, we’d love to suggest our American Classic Tea, grown and produced right here in the U.S. of A at our Charleston Tea Plantation! We wrap this singular blend in red, white and blue packaging and send it to the men and women serving in our armed forces as part of our Tea for the Troops initiative. Check out our Facebook page and specially created tab regarding Tea for the Troops for more information, and maybe leave an Independence Day note for them on our wall!

So, as you enjoy your red, white and blue tea on Independence Day, don’t forget to take a moment to remember those who fought to give us our freedom … and those who continue to serve and protect us today.

Happy Fourth of July!

Images by Patrick Hoesly, via Flickr.com and DVIDSHUB, via Flickr.com

At Bigelow Tea, we keep away any summertime blues with blueberry mania!  Blueberries are tasty, lovely to look at, extremely nutritious, and they can be used as a key ingredient in so many different foods and libations – like tea!

July is National Blueberry Month, and we thought we’d share with you our love of this little blue fruit! If you like to garden, maybe you’ll want to try your hand at planting your very own blueberry bush! If that’s a bit too much effort, we hope you’ll give one of these two blueberry-inspired recipes a try.  First, taste our refreshing Fabulous Melon and Blueberry Fruit Salad and then sample some thirst-quenching Pomegranate Blueberry Iced Tea. Enjoy!

Fabulous Melon and Blueberry Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

6 Bigelow Blueberry Acai Herb Plus Tea Bags
½ cup water
4 tablespoons lime juice
3 teaspoons sugar
1 pint blueberries
1 cup honeydew melon balls
1 cup cantaloupe melon balls
1 cup watermelon balls
Mint leaves for garnish

Yield: Serves  4

Instructions:

Add lime juice, water, sugar and Blueberry Acai Herb Plus Tea Bags to a saucepan; simmer  10 minutes, to infuse flavor.  Squeeze, to extract as much liquid as possible, then remove teabags.  Cool.

Add fruit to large attractive bowl, pour syrup over fruit, toss gently.  Garnish with mint leaves.

You can use any assortment of fresh fruits, depending on what is in season.

Add a different flavor sensation by substituting one of Bigelow’s Herb teas such as Red Raspberry or Pomegranate Pizzazz .

Pomegranate Blueberry Iced Tea

Ingredients:

1 quart boiling water
2 Bigelow Pomegranate Pizzazz Herb Tea Bags
1 Bigelow Wild Blueberry Acai Herb Plus Tea Bag

Instructions:

Bring 1 quart of water to a boil, add 2 Pomegranate Pizzazz and 1 Wild Blueberry Acai Herb Plus tea bags; steep for 10 minutes. Pour into pitcher; refrigerate until chilled. Serve in a tall glass with ice.

Sweeten to taste, if so desired.

Image (top) via Losingitandlovingit.com.

Be among the first of your friends to win and then try Bigelow Tea’s Coconut Water and Green Tea Mixes (yes, you will receive all 3 flavors: Bigelow Coconut Water and Green Tea Mix, Bigelow Coconut Water and Pomegranate Acai Green Tea Mix, Bigelow Coconut Water and Mango Green Tea Mix), all-natural, delicious and nutritious, and just in time for summer! Enter our sweepstakes on Facebook or the website starting today, June 20 -24, to win a handy reusable gift basket featuring all three tea-licious flavors (total value – $24.95).  One winner will be chosen by random in our drawing.

So have you heard the buzz about coconut water!?  Check out our new video featuring Cindi Bigelow who explains our coconut water and green tea mixes which are convenient, healthy, and only 50 calories per drink.  As Cindi demonstrates in the video, you simply pour the flavor crystals into a water bottle (Cindi likes to use a reusable bottle!) and shake it up for a refreshing drink that’s loaded with potassium. Great for the whole family, and we’re proud to say there’s no high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners!

Good luck, and get “shakin”!

The languid days of summer will officially begin with the summer solstice on June 21, and here at Bigelow Tea we’re in the mood to celebrate! A summer solstice tea party feels like the perfect pick-me-up after a long winter and busy spring.  After all, summer is for relaxation, rejuvenation, and reconnecting with friends and family – all of which tea helps to promote!

As one blogger noted, a summer solstice tea party is a simple way to evoke “the wonder of a childhood summer day” and perhaps even start a lovely new family or neighborhood tradition. Whether you prefer a formal or informal tea, Bigelow Tea has tons of ideas for creating your own unique event.

For starters, take advantage of the warmer weather and lush flowers by bringing the party outdoors! Then, consider special plates and cups; this is the time to break out your grandmother’s tea service, along with your pretty china! You can also adorn a buffet table with cheerful linens and a beautiful centerpiece of flowers, greenery or fresh fruit.

Try serving several different types of tea – hot, iced or both! Earl Grey, Plantation Mint or Chamomile Mango Herb would be special at a formal tea, while French Vanilla and Perfect Peach Herb could set the tone for a more informal gathering. All of our teas can be served iced, but Bigelow Tea also makes convenient quart-size ice tea bags in three luscious flavors; each tea bag makes a full pitcher of tea. Or try one of our wonderful “Winning Combination” iced tea recipes, such as I Love Lemon and English Breakfast. The possibilities are endless!

For more inspiration, check out our extensive collection of tried-and-true food and beverage recipes. So go ahead – indulge your imagination and have fun with tea all summer long! And follow us on Twitter to keep the ideas brewing!

Peel an orange or bite into a cherry tomato to celebrate National Fruit and Vegetable Month! For many people, June is the beginning of the serious gardening season. The first fruits, such as strawberries, make an appearance and veggies like tender lettuces start sprouting. There’s quite simply no better time of year to celebrate nature’s bounty!

Not only do fruits and vegetables color our plates and taste terrific, but they contain essential nutrients that can lead to better health. Bigelow Tea definitely has a soft spot for herbs and fruits. In fact, many of our teas contain flowers (like chamomile), herbs (like mint) and fruit (like raspberry, pomegranate, blueberry and more)! In addition, tea in general is full of antioxidants, which are reported to have myriad health benefits.

As you grocery shop this month, try to fill your cart with melons, greens, berries and other fresh fruits and vegetables … and, while you’re at it, toss a little Bigelow Tea into the carriage too. We hope you have a healthy, tasty and colorful month as you enjoy your fruits and vegetables!

Image by muammerokumus, via Flickr.com

Spring is in full swing, and summer is nearly upon us. Here at Bigelow Tea we know that summer doesn’t commence properly without first recognizing Memorial Day, honoring those who have served in the armed forces, and who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. As the unofficial start to the summer, Americans celebrate these dedicated men and women of the Armed Forces on Memorial Day with traditional warm-weather pastimes like parades, barbecues, and special time with family.

In 2009, the spirit of recognizing the brave men and women who help protect our country, Bigelow Tea proudly introduced our Tea for the Troops program. Our American Classic Tea (grown on American soil, at our Charleston Tea Plantation on Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina) is specially packaged and shipped to American soldiers hard at work overseas. To learn more about this program, please join us on Facebook where we featured up to date photos and letters from our troops.

On Memorial Day 2011, Bigelow Tea would like to once again extend our sincerest gratitude to all the service men and women stationed domestically and overseas. We are infinitely pleased that our teas have brought some measure of enjoyment to the soldiers who defend our freedoms and keep our country safe. Therefore, we encourage our fellow Americans to reflect—over a delicious cup of tea, of course— on the sacrifices of those have served, and those who serve now. A safe Memorial Day weekend to all!

Image via The National Guard

Bigelow Tea loves to entice our customers with new blends that deliver both the pleasures and the health benefits of tea. We’ve all got our Bigelow Tea favorites, but we certainly like to switch it up sometimes! So we couldn’t be more excited to introduce three new delicious varieties infused with today’s hottest “superfruits.” And tea drinkers limiting caffeine will be delighted with two of the options. Drum roll, please…

• Bigelow Black Tea with Pomegranate

a rich, satisfying black tea with the  naturally luscious fruit flavor of pomegranate

• Bigelow Decaffeinated Green Tea with Pomegranate

a delicate, decaffeinated green tea gently infused with the naturally sweet flavor of  pomegranate

• Bigelow Decaffeinated Green Tea with Wild Blueberry & Acai

a delicate, decaffeinated green tea with a lively berry twist

“We are thrilled to add three new winners to our portfolio of over a hundred tea varieties,” says company President Cindi Bigelow. “Our newest introductions once again demonstrate the unsurpassed skill of Bigelow’s master blenders in creating teas with exquisite, natural fruit flavors. With three of today’s most popular superfruits as ingredients, we know these new blends will create fresh excitement in the marketplace.”

The new tea blends pack a powerful antioxidant one-two punch. Green and black teas contain polyphenols, a type of antioxidant reported to help reduce the risk for some cancers, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Add to that Pomegranate, acai and blueberry, superfruits that have high concentrations of antioxidants known as anthocyanins. Then add to that delicious!

Bigelow Tea’s Pomegranate line is already wildly popular, now in every specialty tea category – Flavored Black,Green, Decaffeinated, Caffeine-free Herbal and Iced. So whether you drink tea for health benefits, flavor or enjoyment, Bigelow Tea has you covered, and now with three exciting new blends!

Friends superstar alum Jennifer Aniston and former “Ginger Spice” Geri Halliwell have more in common than their healthy personalities. They also share a love for tea! In fact, celebrity tea watchers here at Bigelow Tea were delighted to read in the  Daily Mail that stars like Jen and Geri are helping to drive a boom in herbal tea consumption. Herbal varieties infused with health-promoting additives are particularly hot right now (just check out our Herb Plus line of teas to see for yourself).

Sure, Jen sports a bikini in her latest movie, Just Go With It, and Geri is the perfect model for her new swimsuit line. But we’re thrilled to see that celebrities and ordinary folks alike are paying attention to their health – not just their waistlines – and making all kinds of tea part of a healthy lifestyle! Geri’s pal “Posh Spice” has also talked about drinking green tea to help her stay fit on our Bigelow Tea blog!

Bigelow Tea is right in step with Herb Plus, a line of four fantastic teas that Cindi Bigelow describes in this informative video as the “next generation of herbal teas.”

Herbal teas are known to offer a variety of health benefits, but Herb Plus teas include important new ingredients, based on painstaking research and development over two years. We researched not only the best supplements, but also the ideal way to deliver them for maximum body absorption. Lemon Ginger, for example, contains probiotics to help maintain a healthy digestive tract. And Pomegranate Blueberry contains  Omega 3, linked to heart health. Of course, any new Bigelow Tea has to taste great, and these luscious flavors won’t disappoint!

So whether you’re interested in the reputed health benefits, or simply taking good care of your taste buds, it’s all covered with our delicious Herb Plus tea!

Images: by Angela George via Wikimedia Commons

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

Nothing warms a cold winter night like a favorite cup of Bigelow Tea…and what better beverage to share thisValentine’s Day with your loved one!

This February 14^th, as part of our ongoing Bigelow Tea Facebook Sweepstakes, 14 winners will receive two boxes of these delicious seasonal teas, a total of 40 tea bags of sharing! This month’s gift is a befitting assortment of Bigelow Tea’s Sweetheart Cinnamon Herb Tea and White Chocolate Kisses Tea – the perfect pair, just like you and your sweetie!

Bigelow Tea’s Valentine’s Day Sweeps will run from February 7^th to February 13^th, with the winners announced on Valentine’s Day. To enter: visit Bigelow Tea’s Facebook page, and “Like” us by clicking the icon next to our name at the top of the page. Then visit the sweepstakes tab and enter your name for a chance to win this great Valentines gift duo from Bigelow Tea!  (A $6.59 retail value.)

We hope you enjoy this month’s sweepstakes, and take advantage of the chance to spend some time with a lovely Tea CUP-ple on Valentine’s Day!