The Toronto Tea Festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary this weekend. The Tea Guild of Canada and Tao Tea Leaf are co-founders and sponsors of the event. Organizers expect a big crowd to attend educational presentations, cultural demonstrations, and competitions, and there will be products on display from 50 tea vendors, large and small. Rita Fong helped organize the inaugural event. She is a director and manages social media and marketing of what is now the largest tea festival in Canada. She joins us on the Tea Biz Podcast to share insights on this event’s staying power and growing popularity.
Listen to the interview
Toronto Tea Festival Social Media and Marketing Director Rita Fong
#TeaPower Marketing Campaign Targets Young Tea Drinkers
By Roopak Goswami The Food and Agricultural Organisation’s Intergovernmental Group (FAO IGG) on Tea will launch a global health-focused promotional campaign targeting younger consumers looking for an alternative to sugary drinks.
“There has been a global increase in consumer awareness of a healthy lifestyle, and dietary habits are changing in response to known linkages between diet and health. However, many campaigns are focused on health benefits that address the concerns of older generations,” the UN agency on tea said in a background paper on Tea and Health, slated for discussion at the 25th session of FAO IGG.
Ajay Jalan, former president of the Tea Association of India, said, “In current times, health and wellness have become central factors in consumer choices, offering a unique opportunity for the tea industry to tap into new consumer markets, especially among Gen Z and millennials.” Tea Biz correspondent Roopak Goswami writes that the gathering provides a forum for intergovernmental consultation and exchange on trends in production, consumption, trade, and the price of tea, including a regular appraisal of the global market situation and short-term outlook.
“The world market for tea continues to be in oversupply, as yields per hectare have risen without a matching increase in global demand. Critically, the next generation of consumers has a wide range of beverages to choose from, and Tea must compete for a share of throat,” according to IGG. This is the first time IGG has met in Assam, a tea-growing region that contributes around 12% of the world’s tea. The three-day session begins on Jan. 31 and is preceded by Batic 2024, a celebration of Assam’s bi-centenary of commercial tea production.
“Tea Power is the perfect pitch for younger generations looking to increase their performance and energy levels while staying healthy. With carefully crafted messaging, we can create a powerful campaign that will inspire and encourage young people to make tea a part of their lifestyle.”
– UN Working Group on Health & Tea
Tongue in cheek release from US Embassy in UK
British Take Tea Advice with a Grain of Salt
By Dan Bolton
Professor of Chemistry Michelle Francl caused an uproar this week with the publication Wednesday of her book “Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea.”
The text advises tea drinkers to add a pinch of salt to over-brewed tea, a recommendation found in 8th-century manuscripts from China.
She reports that salt ions block the bitter receptors in your mouth, resulting in a tea that tastes less bitter.
The tongue-in-cheek response in media that quoted “agast” British culinary and beverage experts drew the attention of the U.S. Embassy in the U.K.
“American chemist inspires a moment of diplomatic levity with controversial brewing suggestions,” reads a headline in The Guardian. “US Pledges Support for UK After Egghead Suggests Putting Salt in Tea,” reads a headline in Politico.
A satirical release said her findings regarding “the elixir of camaraderie, a sacred bond that unites our nations,” could jeopardize relations, placing diplomacy in “hot water.”
The ambassador cannot “stand idly by as such an outrageous proposal threatens the very foundation of our Special Relationship,” reads the release. The Embassy declared that adding salt is not official U.S. policy and “never will be,” and jokingly chastised Francl, whose advice in the text is sound.
Francl, who teaches chemistry at Bryn Mawr, recommends loose-leaf tea. Those seeking convenience will find a large tea bag allows better infusion than a small one. Dunking reduces the release of tannins, she advises, lending scientific backing to the adage “brew, don’t stew.” Remove the lid from a takeaway cup to enjoy the aroma, she says, and add a squirt of lemon juice to disburse tea scum in the cup.
Francl called for scalding a stout mug before pouring from the pot as the warmth increases the amount of caffeine and antioxidants released. She suggests tea drinkers should not be “miffy” (milk in first). Milk should be warmed before it is added to the tea to prevent curdling. Fancl, who analyzed research papers, ancient texts, and several books on the topic, wrote the book to educate others on how to make a better-tasting tea. She observed with a scolding:
“I’ve had better cups of tea in gas stations in Ireland than very nice restaurants in the U.S., she told Forbes.
China Longjing Tea Harvest West Lake
China Reports Tea Exports Declined in 2023
The value of Chinese tea exports fell by 16.3% to $1.74 billion year over year (y/y) in 2023 compared to $2.1 billion in sales recorded in 2022, according to China Customs. The decline is the second consecutive annual drop in exports by value. Export volume also declined by 2% to 367.5 million kilos.
Export value in 2022 fell by 9.6% y/y compared to 2021. Green tea experienced the biggest drop in value, declining from $1.4 billion in 2022 to $1.2 billion in 2023. In 2022, China exported 26.5% of the global total by value, according to UN Comtrade.
Sri Lanka, the number two producer by value, saw export value increase to $1.31 billion on a lower volume of tea than in 2022, according to the Sri Lanka Tea Board (SLTB). Exports earned $1.26 billion in 2022, reversing declines in 2020 and 2021. Sri Lanka tea shipments accounted for 15.7% of global exports by value in 2022.
Kenya tea exports from January through November were valued at $1.05 billion and are likely to surpass the 2022 total of $1.4 billion, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
India ranked fourth in global tea exports in 2022 but has yet to report full-year statistics. Indian tea exports from January through October were down 1.7% to 182 million kilos. Export value for April through October was also down by 3.6% to $590 million (INRs 4,904 crore) compared to $612 million (INRs 5,086 cr) during the same period in 2022. Export volume for the full year is likely to be around 200 million kilos, according to the Indian Tea Exporters Association.
Live Mint reports that rating agency Crisil expects the Indian tea industry to witness an 8% decline in revenue this fiscal year.
FEATURE
Educational presentations, cultural demonstrations, and competitions, and there will be products on display.
Toronto Tea Festival Celebrates 10th Anniversary
By Dan Bolton
The Toronto Tea Festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary this weekend. The Tea Guild of Canada and Tao Tea Leaf are co-founders and sponsors of the event. Organizers expect a big crowd to attend educational presentations, cultural demonstrations, and competitions, and there will be products on display from 50 tea vendors, large and small. Rita Fong helped organize the inaugural event. She is a director and manages social media and marketing of what is now the largest tea festival in Canada. She joins us on the Tea Biz Podcast to share insights on this event’s staying power and growing popularity. Read more…
Listen to the Interview
Toronto Tea Festival Social Media and Marketing Director Rita Fong
Share this Post Episode 152 | UN #TeaPower Promotion Targets Younger Generations | Tea Advice to Take with a Grain of Salt | China Reports Tea Exports Declined in 2023 | PLUS Toronto Tea Festival Social Media Manager and Marketing Director Rita Fong shares insights on this event’s staying power and growing popularity.
The Toronto Tea Festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary this weekend. The Tea Guild of Canada and Tao Tea Leaf are co-founders and sponsors of the event. Organizers expect a big crowd to attend educational presentations, cultural demonstrations, and competitions, and there will be products on display from 50 tea vendors, large and small. Rita Fong helped organize the inaugural event. She is a director and manages social media and marketing of what is now the largest tea festival in Canada. She joins us on the Tea Biz Podcast this week to share insights on this event’s staying power and growing popularity.
India Tea News for the week ending 26 Jan 2024
Toronto Tea Festival Social Media and Marketing Director Rita Fong
Rita Fong Toronto Tea Festival Social Media Manager and Marketing Director
Festivals are Hard Work and Great Fun
By Dan Bolton
Rita Fong is a member of the Tea Guild of Canada and the Tea and Herbal Association of Canada and is one of the first graduates of a certified tea sommelier program in Canada. She is a seasoned social media marketer, a tea consultant with tea market expertise, a freelance writer, and a former blogger. She tirelessly promotes the festival, has long influenced the educational program, and recruits speakers and vendors. She works full-time in financial services.
Dan Bolton:Tell me, what is behind the staying power? What’s the formula for making this such a good show?
Rita Fong: I think a lot of it has to do with fun. Yes, resilience is a big thing, and it is grinding, but it’s so rewarding. The core group on the planning committee are true tea lovers.
The festival started as an idea by Tao Wu, Tao Tea Leaf’s co-founder, who wanted to organize a big event for tea lovers in Toronto. He started planning and contacting everyone he knew, including Bill Kamula. Bill was his tea instructor from George Brown College and also the Chair of the Tea Guild of Canada. Bill brought in a few of us from the Tea Guild (Carol Ann Savage and me), and we joined forces to help Tao. Carol and Bill have stepped away recently, but Nicci Li, initially a volunteer in the first year, has come up the ranks and is vital as she manages the volunteers and does graphic design. Mingzhu Gao, Tao Tea Leaf’s co-founder, is our show manager.
I’m one of the original committee members. It’s almost like a baby — and like any baby, it’s a lot of work.
My husband would say, “You’re not getting paid? What is this?” He’s really been supportive throughout, though.
I have a day job in finance, but tea drinking has always been like a nice chance to calm down and have a little reprieve and a little chance for a few moments of bliss in the madness of the ups and downs of stock markets and all that. I’ve developed really good friendships in the tea world. And I just find that tea people are so nice, you know, it’s because, with tea, you can make it your own.
Tea drinkers are always learning about different cultures, opening their minds to different things. And that kind of cuts through prejudices and stereotypes. Tea is my own little way of trying to make the world a little bit better.
I think the planning committee felt that we had to do something because specialty tea is a business. They were thinking of how to promote business and how to help other businesses. Tao Tea Leaf has grown from a storefront retailer to a wholesaler to smaller companies and cafes in town and around Canada. Founder Tao Wu has become more like a mentor and advisor for a lot of tea companies. He and Mingzhou Gao launched the company in 2009.
Tea Guild, a not-for-profit, established in 2009, their mandate, in part, is to educate their members and the public about tea and the exchange of ideas and sharing of resources, and the creation of programs and events.
Learning about tea is endless, you can never know enough.
Dan: In the past decade, the number of vendors exhibiting at the show has nearly doubled. More than half (55%) of Canadians drink tea at least once a week and tea imports average around 40,000 metric tons making Canada one of the top 20 largest tea markets globally. Canada’s specialty tea segment is prominent, generating revenue that rivals commodity suppliers. Will you characterize the type of vendors who benefit from exhibiting?
Rita: At the first festival, we had about 30 vendors; now we’re up to 50 last time I checked. In the beginning, it was just really local shops, and then, as we grew, more people started coming. Some of those who attended ended up starting businesses themselves, like Tea Horse.
Tea Horse is located in Thunder Bay, ON. The company blends award-winning teas with sustainably harvested ingredients, some native to Canada. Marc Bohémier and Denise Atkinson, an indigenous woman, co-founded the company.
Marc and Denise were attendees when they first came to the festival, and a couple of years later, they returned as vendors. Shortly after that,they started collaborating with bigger companies like DAVIDsTEA.
Foggy River Farm founders visited the festival just to check out what it’s all about. A lot of their products are herbals. This year they’re coming aboard as vendors themselves.
They’re using pictures of themselves as attendees at the festival back in 2020 as part of their promotion on social media.
Vendors are not necessarily huge, multi-million-dollar companies. A lot of them are smaller to medium family-owned companies. They resemble the core of the festival’s planning committee as they have become like family.
The festival is basically a family business.
My focus, besides helping with organizing and trying to find speakers and vendors is social media. I am the social media director and marketing director.
It’s a very, very tight-knit little community. We help each other with social media. Leveraging off each other, you’re pushing each other. So, everybody does better and it makes the whole community grow together.
Dan: I love that. Social media is an essential way of marketing because they just don’t have big budgets. So, let’s talk briefly about who comes to the show and why they benefit.
Rita: The type of people that usually come aren’t familiar with tea besides maybe Tetley Tea bag, all the way to Pu-erh connoisseurs that have their own humidor, and also, industry expert types. We have a little bit of everything for everyone Being a sommelier, I’m always looking to learn something new and keep growing. So when we’re reviewing applications from speakers, I usually look at something that’s unique or a little more cutting edge.
Dan: How many do you anticipate for the two-day show?
Rita: We’re hoping for 3,000 again that will be a good healthy amount, and that’s what we will be able to support in the venue.
I think the first year we made it to 1000. There were 2,600 at the last festival. At 3,000 over two days, we are busting out of the seams at the library. So, we may need to look for a new local location soon due to fire and occupancy regulations.
Dan: What do you think attracts people to the show?
Rita: I think it’s because we have a great program. It’s very well mixed and is not one-sided or only overly focused on one tea culture. Toronto is such a cosmopolitan, diverse city. We’re trying to get a little bit of everything so that there’s something for everyone.
When I go to industry shows, or when checking out other tea festivals, I act like an ambassador for our Toronto Tea Festival, making friends and building a network. They may not come right away, but slowly and surely, a few years later, they come.
For example, “Tea For Me Please” blogger Nicole Wilson. I met her in the early blogging years when I used to blog. She was a member of the Blogger’s Roundtable, that’s where we met, and she just kept in touch online on Instagram or Facebook and commented on her blog and whatnot. And every year, I’ve said, “You should come, you should come,” and then this year, she’s one of our speakers.
Dan: I meet lot of young people at your show, and that’s encouraging to me because they’re the group currently experimenting with tea. Millennials represent the fastest-growing segment of tea purchasers in Canada in 2020. Unlike their parents, they are likely to drink both coffee and tea, they don’t see one as exclusive. And they are favoring herbals and a broad range of infusions.
So social outreach directed at young people has been a big part of why you’ve been successful?
Rita: I would say so.
In February 2020 we had our show before the pandemic. And then boom, all of Canada was “no more public stuff, no more anything.”
During the two years that we were on hiatus, I would constantly still keep up with social media.
I could see trends; people were starting to explore more tea because when you’re locked down, people look for something healthier to drink. During the pandemic, tea was the perfect solution.
People were able to enjoy and even share, like doing a Facebook Live or Instagram Live, and having virtual tea sessions with another person.
But there’s only so much that the virtual can do to satisfy the human need for contact, so there was a hunger for us to open again. That was perfect timing for us to have the show.
Dan: Rita, a final word?
Listeners within the Greater Toronto Area, there are still tickets available online and at the door. So please come. It’s our 10th year … we’ve got some special gifts in the swag bag for our 10th anniversary.
We’ve got lots of interesting vendors including six from the original festival. Look for a badge at their booth so people will recognize them.
There are lots of speakers and a wide variety of topics as well. There’s even tea and yoga and meditation and tea tasseomancy.
Kevin Gascoyne at Camellia Sinensis will be theredoing some tastings from the Tea Studio, in India.
Linda Gaylord will be giving a talk on Tea, Through Time and Tradition.
Just come, there’ll be lots of fun. You’re going to drink until you drop.
Ed. Note: I will attend both Saturday and Sunday, and I’m giving away free Tea Journey subscriptions to the first 100 tea lovers who greet me by name at the show. I’ll see you in Toronto at the Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street.
Tea Association of India calls for tea to be made the national drink
At the 36th general meeting of the Assam branch of the TAI, the Chairman, UK Singh, reiterated the sustainability concerns of the Indian tea industry. The association called for an aggressive marketing campaign and declared tea as the national drink to support the industry. It discussed the need for “short-term supply restrictions and long-term demand creation.” Growers batted for a Minimum Support Price to support livelihoods. Ruhul Amin, Assistant High Commissioner, Bangladesh was the Chief Guest and Indo-Bangladesh trade challenges were also discussed. The Shillong Times
Tripura to get auction center
The northeastern state of Tripura is all set to get its auction center soon. The state borders Assam and has 60 tea estates that produce 9,000,000 kilos of tea annually. Currently, the tea is sold via Guwahati and Kolkata auction centers. Tea is a major cash crop for the state, and producers have been seeking an auction center for some time now. They have also sought for access to the Sreemangal auction centre in neighbouring Bangladesh.
Tea fields at Gopaldhara Tea Estate, Darjeeling, India
Commerce Minister Meets Tea Industry Stakeholders
Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal met tea industry representatives from Assam and West Bengal on Jan. 6, 2024. The industry sought financial support to tide over the crisis, particularly in wages to be paid during the winter months when gardens don’t see any production. The representation also sought a subsidy for orthodox tea production and greater testing of imported teas for food safety. They have asked for trade delegations to be sent to Iran and other countries to retain old markets and gain a foothold in potential ones. Key to the conversation was the need to resuscitate Darjeeling, which has seen low production, low prices, and an increasing number of gardens being sold due to this financial inviability.
Darjeeling Tea Volumes Down by 9%
In 2023, Darjeeling produced under 6.5 million kilos of tea, down 9% from 2022 and perhaps the lowest “normal year output” in the last 50 years! The reason is multifold – some ten gardens here closed last year, and climate change has also impacted the tea harvest. Despite low volumes, prices have not gone up. Average prices at auctions were INRs 315 per kilo, which is not representative of true prices as only about 1.5mn kilos were sold via auctions, with the bulk of tea sold privately. But it’s indicative of the crux of Darjeeling’s problem.
Share Link: Tea Biz Episode 150 | Commerce Minister Meets Tea Industry Stakeholders | Darjeeling Tea Volumes Down by 9% | Harvest under 6.5 metric tons, lowest in 50 years |
In 2023, the tea industry said farewell to several notable figures. In this episode, we pay tribute to David C. Bigelow, Jr., an industry icon who died in June at 96. A member of the silent generation born in the roaring 20s, David was a World War II veteran and 1948 Yale University graduate who transformed the specialty tea segment. He steered a boutique tea blending business launched in his mother’s kitchen into a multi-million-dollar mass-market brand. Joining us today is David’s daughter Cindi, President and CEO of Connecticut-based and family-owned R.C. Bigelow, a $250 million B-Corp known for innovations that redefined tea service in restaurants and grew the company to become the US market leader in specialty tea.
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Bigelow Tea President and CEO Cindi Bigelow reflects on her father’s innovations in specialty tea.David C. Bigelow, at Avon Old Farms School in Avon, CT
David Bigelow’s Tenacity Established Specialty Tea in US Grocery
By Dan Bolton
The 55 million members of the Silent Generation were hardworking and humble. Survivors of the Great Depression and the horrors of war – they were careful with their money, patriotic, and ambitious. The generation displayed characteristics of thrift, simplicity, patience, and a need for financial security and comfort. Cindi Bigelow is the third generation to lead Bigelow Tea, founded in 1945 by her grandmother, Ruth C. Bigelow. During her years as chief executive, sales have increased from $94 million in 2005 to more than $250 million. Bigelow Tea produces over 100 million-units of tea boxes annually and employs 450 people.
““My father was my mentor for my entire life, personally and professionally. He never wavered from the traits I admired the most. He was a humble, grateful, and kind man. He leaves a big hole for my family, our extended family at Bigelow Tea, and far beyond, but we will continue with the lessons he taught us all… think about others before self.”
– Cindi Bigelow
Dan Bolton: I speak for many who admired your father for his business success, the life he shared with your mother, Eunice, the family he reared, his philanthropy, and the quiet impact he exerted at a time of transformation. He was a man who led by example.
Cindi Bigelow: I just hope to share with the world, especially those in the tea sphere, the story of how my father and my family were so influential in bringing the specialty tea category to where it is today.
Dan: Let’s begin the interview there. Could you talk about his role in expanding distribution and pricing? He pioneered a way of looking at tea that forced it up higher on a shelf in grocery stores. There was always an expensive tea from England, but this isn’t an import; this is tea blended and packaged in the United States – and your dad was doing something quite extraordinary.
Cindi: Well, first, it goes back to him expanding his specialty tea category. My grandmother introduced specialty tea when she created Constant Comment in her kitchen. She also expanded it to include many different flavors. Now, all of those teas were sold in gift shops.
When my father took over, he modified the tea offerings in the specialty tea category as well as their flavor profile.
He was the one who transitioned into the grocery stores, where he had to build an entire shelf presence. With his broker team and distributors, they carved out space for the specialty tea category, which was priced at a premium level because it was not a commodity tea. There was a lot more that went into it.
But it was a very slow build.
His tenacity is why we’re now number one because when it started, no one even knew what specialty tea was, and no one wanted to spend that kind of money on it. They had to go through all kinds of creative ways to get it on the shelf and then keep it on the shelf — it was completely new in the industry.
David C. Bigelow, 33, with his mother, Ruth, and father, David Bigelow, Sr.
Constant Comment
Dan: In 1945, a 2.25 oz jar of Constant Comment sold for less than 75 cents, a “premium” price point. The price had more than doubled by 1960, at a very early stage of consumer awareness of the specialty tea category retail. R.C. Bigelow blends were “top shelf” packed in tins with premium Ceylon tea and ingredients. Sales, however, were a modest $1 million. By 2005, under David Bigelow’s leadership, sales increased to $94 million as the brand transformed into food service and a mass-market favorite that retained its appeal as a premium blend.
Cindi: Well, it wasn’t until the ’70s that my parents started to put the product into foil and then fold cartons. That started because my father’s forays into the food service arena with the individual product team went back. He had been at the University of Hawaii, and they had our product in loose bags in a basket.
They came back and said that just doesn’t seem like the right way to sell it. So, they found a company that could put it in foil. It was not ever done before. And we started producing foil-wrapped tea bags going into boxes that we could now sell in the food service.
That’s when he realized this would revolutionize the tea industry if we could get this on the retail shelf because you can bring the ring down so it’s a little bit within reach of everyone to enjoy a cup of tea, which is still our motto. We want everyone to be able to afford a cup of Bigelow tea, but it is still premium and is no longer in a canister.
So, he moved us into foil wrappers to be able to handle the food service arena brilliantly. At the time, we were first into the food service and away-from-home marketplace.
Then, with that, they recognized that these cartons and foil individual wraps could make a big difference on a grocery shelf, so they started in Arizona and tested it down there, and it was a huge hit. Sales went up three times. From there, it was rolled out throughout the country.
We went from pneumatic machines to IMA machines and Teepack Constanta. He completely revamped the organization in the 70s and early 80s.
Dan: Something else he did to encourage the selection of tea was to put those foil packs in tea chests on the counter or bring them to the table, where the waitress would say, “Please choose from our selection of fine teas.” There may have been a selection of 8 or 10 in the chest.
Cindi: He had a great team of people in R&D (research & development), one who also passed away a few years ago was brilliant in creating the tea display chest, which again completely revolutionized the way the restaurant business, the catering business, everything about it they were not afraid to really push into industries with products with packaging that had not been seen before.
One of the points of this article is to let people understand the impact that he and his team had. If he knew I was giving this interview and using his name and not listing everyone who did all the work, he would be very upset with me, Dan. It’s under his leadership and his drive that our company was able to transform the tea business.
Dan: Who did he pal around with? Was it the guys at the grocery chains like Kroger and A&P?
Cindi: Believe it or not, my parents established really close relationships with the distributors. He was huge down in Florida. I can’t think of the names of all the distributors and brokers. They were so close, so close. Also, they had really good friends in the tea industry.
My father was wonderful, but networking wasn’t part of his MO. And I always admired that about him. He let the brokers and distributors do the work. He believed in letting them take the lead and do what they excel at. He made sure they were educated, they knew who we were, and then let them go.
Dan: Will you help readers better understand the breakthrough years when Bigelow expanded from a niche gift shop and regional brand to reach markets in the big cities and eventually saturation across the country?
Cindi: Well, we weren’t dominant anywhere in the 60s. We were in California, which was a big market for us. It wasn’t a national brand. If you have no sales, you dilute it. Moving into the big cities, there are even fewer sales. So, there was no market where Bigelow was dominant.
We were in gift shops in the ‘60s and on university campuses. A lot of the college kids enjoyed Constant Comment. It was cool to drink, Constant Comment* ” But sales were so small. We finally achieved $20 million in sales in 1985. So, we were a very small company. In the ‘60s, sales were a million and a half maybe.
David and Eunice Bigelow in the tea-tasting lab at Bigelow Tea
Dan: There was a business breakout, though, during the ‘80s
Cindi: Part of that growth was the foldable cardboard packaging and carton boxes on the shelf from the late 70s to the early 80s. At that point, we took off because we were now very stackable. We could have a price that was more thoughtful of the consumer. Then, there were line extensions. My father really got into the herbals in the ’80s and expanded to green teas in the ’90s. There weren’t even any green teas out there. Bigelow tea is the one that would put green tea on the shelf. I still think it is such a great product to consume. It is so helpful. But to be honest, there are many green teas out there that are very hard for the average consumer to enjoy. We are very blessed that our green tea is number one. We have a 40% share, and that is because we believe that our taste profile is a very drinkable, enjoyable tea. The 90s was a real rocking time for us for sure.
Constant Comment in tins
Cindi: Truth be told, Mo Siegel started the herbal business with the launch of Celestial Seasonings. He pioneered the herbal category.
My father looked at it and wasn’t quite sure. He asked, “What is this? Is this where we want to be?” Because he was a tea guy. He was a camellia sinensis guy. And you know camellia sinensis people are camellia sinensis focused, and so he, you know, waited a few years and then with good counsel said, “You know what, I do think we want to get into the herbal arena.”
Today, the herbal category is the largest in specialty tea, hovering around almost 60%. So, we are the number two player. We’re number one in the tea arena, within one specialty tea the number one tea, but in the herbal subset, we are number two, but we are gaining and getting a lot of attention for the good herbs we are launching in that arena. They are experimental.
My father’s foray into the foil wrap, which protects the vulnerable oils, whether it’s the Camelia sinensis or the volatile oils of a chamomile or a mint, that’s what gives you the health profile. That’s what gives you the taste profile. So, putting that into the foil allowed us to put those kinds of mints in there to protect them from losing it and getting exposed to light air moisture. And so, when we did move into the herbal category, we were able to, you know, move in in a big way, and it’s a big part of our business now.
“He didn’t have to pass away for me to appreciate him. He knew I appreciated him every single day, and that’s one thing that I’ll be able to carry with me forward even though he’s gone. He knew how much I loved him.”
– Cindi Bigelow
Dan: So, let’s discuss his character, integrity, and worldview. David is admirable, in part because of context, as these guys were beaten down by the depression and fought a war. Your dad was a Japanese military interpreter. The survivors came home, earned degrees, started businesses, built companies, and prospered. The death and destruction, fears and dreams, and experiences changed their point of view and made them better human beings. In the family business, you describe your dad as a mentor, someone you admire. That’s a good starting point.
Cindi: Well, I think, watching him in action, watching him listen to people, watching him ask questions, watching what an amazing conversationalist, watching how much fairness meant to him, you know, making sure everybody has a voice, watching his reaction if he was getting what he considered to be an untruth or sort of a slippery slope answer.
You know, all of those are really what formed who I am today: having a father who wasn’t greedy, having a father who didn’t focus on making money, having a father who never talked about money, having a father who would be generous with you, but just was overall all careful with the dollar.
I don’t say that in a way that he was afraid to spend it, but he just didn’t need to buy many things. We had one nice car. I remember when we got a Lincoln Continental in the 70s. He was very proud of himself and the Lincoln Continental, just in his own way.
He was always there whenever I needed somebody or something. So that’s how I’ve tried to be with my own family: when that phone rings, I pick that phone up. They want me to drive up. They want me to go somewhere. They want me to fly somewhere. I do whatever it takes. Your family is first, and I learned that from him.
I run this company where it isn’t about making money. I mean, you have to make money. You must be able to buy the things you need. Money, to me, means paying the employees a bonus.
I learned that from him.
Dan: So, let’s talk about his philanthropy for a minute. He cared about his neighbors, community, and schools. He established a local foundation to support local causes. Your company donates more than $800,000 a year.
Cindi: Well, he loved to share the story of when he started the Bigelow Tea Community Challenge 36 years ago. He was motivated by me; he said, “You know, I’m watching my daughter give so much money back to the community.” He rallied this community around this event, donating more than $2 million to charities in Connecticut (See below).
He said, “I want to do it in a bigger way.” And not in a competitive way. So he started to put funds in place that he was able to distribute to the community, with the largest being the Bridgeport Public School system. So yeah, for a good 20 years, he has been very, very philanthropic, and you know, it’s very sweet to talk about what triggered him. You know, he was not a man to have an ego, right? So he said, “I like what she’s doing. I want to do that, too. So, it became a big part of my parent’s life. And it’s something that they’re very proud of, and it is a great legacy.
The Foundation will continue focusing on education in the Connecticut Bridgeport area. He really did love that he would always be so impressed he would go whether it was the high schools we would be putting on performances. Dad and Mom would be funding the costumes, lighting, and music, and he would be so proud when he came back about what he saw and always so impressed with the students. He would go to the STEM programs, the robotics, the girls that code, and my mother as well. They were so touched by what they saw in the community, and they got to see firsthand, and he got to see firsthand, before he passed for many years, the good work of his Foundation.
Eunice, Cindi, and David C. Bigelow
Dan: He made a difference in his 96 years in tea and leaves a legacy in your work.
Cindi: Oh my God, everything I do rests on the shoulder. He’s the first one to tell you that everything we do is on somebody else’s shoulders. And you need to honor that.
I think your original question was, ‘What was it like being his daughter?’ You know, he did do it all. He wasn’t a different guy in the office than at home. He did have a little bit of a temper when he thought you weren’t telling the truth. But he was a very kind individual that was very engaged. I always knew he had my back. He was always there for me.
The company felt the same way. I never felt shortchanged, not for a minute, not for a minute. The company certainly felt loved by both my mother and my father. And so it truly was a family. I mean, I didn’t know any better.
I was very little, wearing an outfit and handing out Christmas presents, as was my sister to everyone at the Christmas party, and my mother said to me, ‘You have to stop kissing everyone. You’re just going to get sick.’ I didn’t know anything except for the family business.
He loved tea so passionately that I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to do it like he did. He was passionate about the product, right? I consider myself more of a businesswoman who loves tea, and I think I’m pretty good with tea, but he was a tea person who ran a business — different story. So yeah, I was very lucky. I was very lucky.
I was very fortunate to have good schooling leading up to my running the company, but he was a great teacher. Perhaps my greatest teacher.
*Yes, it is true that musical composer and singer Leonard Cohen, in his famous love song Suzanne, was inspired by the brand. Cohen told NPR in 2016 that the line, “and she feeds you tea and oranges that come all the way from China,” was, in fact, inspired by Constant Comment. “She fed me a tea called Constant Comment, which has small pieces of orange rind in it, which gave birth to the image,” he said.
Related: David C. Bigelow’s Obituary published in the Palm Beach Post
David’s Favorite Tea
“He loved our Ceylon Premium Tea, which was really put together for the airline industry,” recalls Cindi Bigelow. We sold a beautiful Ceylon product in that category, and he loved that tea. It was his absolute favorite. And, you know, you’d compete with other companies to sell to the airline industry, and you couldn’t quite describe to them that the price they were getting for that outstanding Ceylon tea was like nothing else you would ever imagine—people who know this tea love to sell it for you. So, that was his favorite. He had that every single morning. True story: During COVID-19, we had difficulty getting that tea and had some difficulty shipping from Ceylon. What we could get was different from our gold standard, and he absolutely knew that, and he stopped drinking it just like that. “I’m not drinking it until we get the good stuff back,” he said.
Seventy-nine sponsors contributed to the 2023 campaign, including several prominent tea industry suppliers. Beneficiaries include YMCA of Fairfield, Mercy Learning Center, Cardinal Shehan Center, Neighborhood Studios of Fairfield County, Center for Family Justice, Connecticut Food Bank, Operation Hope, Burroughs Community Center, Grasmere by Park, Caroline House, Bridgeport Rescue Mission, Janus Center for Youth in Crisis, Norma Pfriem Breast Center, Bridge House, CT Challenge, Taylor YMCA, Camp Hi Rock, Horizon’s at GFA, McGivney Community Center, Pivot Ministries.
Photos are courtesy of Bigelow Tea—special thanks to Cindi for sharing family photos.
Share this post Episode 148 | In 2023, the tea industry bid farewell to several notable figures. In this episode, we pay tribute to David C. Bigelow, Jr., an industry icon who died in June 2023 at 96. David transformed the specialty tea segment in the US, steering a boutique tea blending business launched in his mother’s kitchen into a multi-million-dollar mass-market brand. Joining us today is David’s daughter Cindi, President and CEO of Connecticut-based and family-owned R.C. Bigelow, a $250 million B-Corp known for innovations that redefined tea service in restaurants and grew the company to become the US market leader in specialty tea.
