Everyone knows how to make a cup of tea, right? Just boil the water and pour it over your tea bag…well, not exactly. While making a cup of tea is refreshingly simple, we at Bigelow Tea do want you to enjoy each tea variety every time you put the pot on to boil. Watch Cindi Bigelow offer important tips and guidelines for brewing the perfect cup in this wonderful video from our Tea-V channel:

If you’re happy brewing cups of Bigelow Tea with teabags, but still curious about some of our loose tea options, we’re delighted to help you with that, too! First, measuring the tea is important; If you’re making a pot of tea, the general rule is one teaspoon per cup, plus one more “for the pot.”

Drop the leaves straight into the pot if you’re using a strainer; or into the infuser basket if that’s your chosen method. Pour the boiling water over the leaves, and then wait 3 – 4 minutes for black tea, a little less for green, and a little more for oolong. Of course, Bigelow Tea can provide you with necessary (and stylish) options for your loose tea brewing. Our butterfly infuser adds a whimsical touch, and can easily fit in a purse or a pocket!

We also have infuser teapots to suit all needs and styles, including pot options for one person, or inviting over the whole crew for tea! Check out our tea pots made of glass, cast iron, or ceramics.

Curious about our loose tea? Go ahead and try some – and “loosen” up with Bigelow Tea!

When most people think of Jose Feliciano, they think: “Christmas.” At Bigelow Tea, when we think of Jose Feliciano, we think: “friend.” Mr. Feliciano visited us in our Fairfield, Connecticut headquarters and chatted with Cindi Bigelow about everything from growing up in a large family to his feelings about Braille and, of course, how he wrote the incredibly popular holiday song, the indelible “Feliz Navidad.” We promised you we’d share the video of his visit, and here it is!

With his wonderful laugh and his warm personality, Jose charmed our employees. And, when it came to talking tea, he made everyone smile by explaining how much he enjoys sitting with his lovely wife Susan and sharing a cup of Constant Comment tea. We couldn’t be more pleased.

We’re so glad to know Jose and his family, and we hope he’ll come by and visit more often. In the meantime, we’ll continue to hum the sweet melody he strummed on his guitar while singing, “Bigelow Tea, Bigelow Tea. Nothing like a cup of Bigelow Tea…” That little ditty is, quite literally, music to our ears!

Bigelow Tea is proud and excited to be named “Business Leader for Energy Efficiency” by Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP) at its 2010 Energy Efficiency Summit. NEEP created this recognition program in order to highlight the important achievements of businesses, like Bigelow Tea, that participate in energy efficiency programs across the region.

Bigelow Tea was nominated for the honor by both The United Illuminating Company and the Connecticut Energy Efficiency Fund. According to Roger Parisi of United Illuminating, his company “chose Bigelow Tea because they’re an outstanding company that has a top down dedication to conservation, continuous improvement, the environment and the community.”  As an example of this pledge, Bigelow Tea installed 880 photovoltaic solar panels on the roof of its Fairfield, Connecticut headquarters. As Jeff Gaudiosi, Chairman of the Energy Conservation Management Board put it: “RC Bigelow Tea is a great example of what every business in Connecticut should strive for.”

Bigelow Tea’s commitment to the environment is truly an integral part of our business. From using recycled materials in packaging to installing automatic motion sensor lighting in our facilities, Bigelow Tea continually strives to reduce waste and conserve energy. It’s all about our promise to be a good corporate citizen by protecting both our community and environment!

This year, Bigelow Tea turns 65.  And in the United States, 65 is synonymous with retirement.

Does that mean we’re retiring from tea?  Never!

Our family company has been making tea for three generations, and we get better every year.  In fact, in a recent interview with World Tea News, our own Cindi Bigelow explained why she’d never consider taking the company public:

Why would I? We are so committed to this business, so committed to the product, the consumer and the employee. As soon as you bring somebody else in, that focus changes. They’d propose things that we don’t feel are good for the family long-term. Their concern is profit; our main concern is our people and our product.

That’s because Cindi knows what fuels her: she’s committed to the quality of our product and the well-being of our employees.  She’d never sacrifice her values for the sake of a dollar — and that commitment has made Bigelow Tea profitable and sustainable for generations.

Last year, while visiting our Charleston Tea Plantation, Cindi stopped to chat with some of the entrepreneurs in Charleston’s tourist district.  She learned a bit about their businesses, but she also recognized a kinship they share with the Bigelow family: each of them is fueled by the desire to succeed, on their own terms, doing what they love.

(Of course, it helps that some of them keep themselves fueled with tea, too…)

So, as we celebrate our own 65 years of success, we’d like to know: what fuels you to succeed?

Here’s some good news for tea drinkers who prefer to limit their caffeine intake: Cindi Bigelow has put together a brand new video demonstrating how to take your favorite caffeinated tea and significantly reduce its caffeine content.

Cindi has covered this subject before, but now—with updated studies and additional detailed information regarding the decaffeinating process—Bigelow Tea realized that it was a good time for a Tea-V (video) update!

Of course, many Bigelow teas come in decaffeinated varieties, and herbal teas are completely caffeine free. But if your favorite flavor or type of tea isn’t available in decaf, this is a proven way to reduce (by over 50%) the amount of caffeine in your cup. Give it a try!

Bigelow Tea knows that our herbal teas are relaxing and tasty, and that herbal teas have been used for medicinal purposes throughout history. Now, after two years of research and development, Bigelow Tea has introduced four new herbal teas with important nutritional properties, our Herb Plus line.

Why “Plus”? These healthy and delicious teas are fortified with probiotics, Omega3, anti-oxidants, vitamins, and choline…not sure what all those good things do for you? Check out this excellent new video where Cindi Bigelow explains all the healthy benefits of these delicious new teas!

Unleash your inner Irishman (or woman) and celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Bigelow Tea’s fabulous “Greenie Martini!”

Cindi Bigelow demonstrates how easy (and fun) it is to make a celebratory martini with an important and delightful ingredient: Bigelow® Green Tea!  This engaging video ends with a gripping contest of who has the better martini shaker technique – mother or daughter? You’ll have to decide for yourself!

And do check out our full repertoire of NaughTEA libations and recipes – Sláinte!

On January 21st, we hosted our first-ever Bigelow Tea Social in New York City.  The event was a big success, but if you weren’t there, you may be wondering what you were missing.  Stephanie at The Tea Scoop wrote a great recap of her experience, and she’s also one of the happy attendees we featured in our own video recap of the evening.

Maybe we’ll see you at our next tea social?  Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to be sure you hear about our upcoming events!

Believe it! Your Bigelow Tea teabags and the wrappers that envelop them have a significant impact on the aroma and taste of the tea you drink! While many people think wrappers and teabags are simply forms of packaging, at Bigelow Tea the bag and the foil wrapper are carefully crafted components, integral to the overall tea-drinking experience.

When tea lovers got together with Cindi Bigelow for a Tea Social in New York City in January, Cindi talked to her special tea guests about the often-overlooked teabag and its wrapper. Stephanie from The Tea Scoop was at the event, and afterward she shared a fantastic summary of Cindi’s lesson on her blog. Check it out!

As part of the event, participants learned that wrappers (or barriers) are rated from 0 to 10, with a 10 keeping the teabags freshest. Bigelow Tea wrappers are rated a 10. Simply opening the wrapper of a Bigelow Tea bag and enjoying the aroma of what’s inside gives consumers an idea of how important a wrapper can be. As Stephanie at the Tea Scoop happily noted:

“When I sniffed Bigelow, I found the strength of the aroma startling.”

Cindi also asked the guests to tear open teabags and see what’s inside. Some teas contain filler: tea dust, stems, and “prills” of flavoring and small leaves. Bigelow Tea, however, contains tea leaves, real ingredients (like orange rind in Constant Comment) and spices—never dust or prills. As Stephanie at The Tea Scoop put it, “I was completely blown away by the difference.”  Check out Cindi’s demonstration in this video:

Try this at home and see; smell and taste the difference a premium tea bag and wrapper makes. At Bigelow Tea, we take the quality of our ingredients and materials seriously, so we can provide the best tea-drinking experience possible!

As Cindi mentioned a few days ago, we were lucky enough to have Jose Feliciano stop by the Bigelow Tea offices. Not only did we have a chance to sit down and speak with him and his wonderful wife, Susan, but he also gave us an impromptu, private concert!

We can’t wait to share the entire interview with you, which we’ll do in January 2010.  Until then, enjoy this video of Jose singing “Feliz Navidad” along with Cindi Bigelow and much of our Bigelow Tea family! Happy Holidays and stay tuned for full coverage of our visit with Jose!