Fairfield, Connecticut, March 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bigelow Tea, America’s number one family and woman-owned tea company, sources only premium ingredients from the United States and from countries around the globe, choosing each ingredient for flavor and quality. From carefully selected gardens in Sri Lanka, India, and China to family-farmed botanicals in Italy, California, Oregon, and Thailand, every ingredient that goes into a Bigelow tea bag reflects a commitment to quality that spans generations. Visit Where Does Bigelow Tea Source Their Ingredients for more.
Tea Plant Origins
Camellia sinensis is the plant whose leaves are used to make all traditional teas including green, black, white and oolong tea. The differences between these teas come from how the leaves are processed (exposed to air), not from different plants. The Camellia sinensis plant is typically grown in tropical and semi-tropical parts of the world.
Bigelow Tea sources the vast majority of its green and black teas from Sri Lanka (top of the mountains 6,000 feet above sea level), India (Assam and Darjeeling regions) and China in the prestigious region of Zhejiang.
Other Botanical Ingredients
Herbal ingredients, which are fruits, spices, herbs and flowers, are responsibly sourced for their quality flavor profile. This requires a deep understanding of the various influences on the taste profile such as weather, elevation, season, country and harvest method. Because of this complexity, Bigelow Tea partners with growers who are experts in their specific crops.
Sourcing and Evaluation
As is standard in the world of botanicals, every crop has variation. Bigelow Tea uses a team of seasoned trained experts to evaluate each individual ingredient for flavor and quality from crop to cup.
Supplier Relationships
Bigelow Tea maintains long-standing relationships with its growers and suppliers, many of which span decades. The Bigelow family visits sourcing partners directly, working with tea estates and farms across multiple continents. These relationships include tea estates in the Assam and Darjeeling regions of India, as well as Sri Lanka and China. In Calabria, Italy, the Bigelow family has maintained relationships with a family-owned organic bergamot orchard for generations. The company also works with family farms in Vietnam and Thailand. Within the United States, Bigelow Tea has strengthened bonds with family farms in Oregon, Nebraska, and California.
The following are examples of ingredient-specific sourcing partnerships that Bigelow Tea has maintained over time.
Bergamot Oil: Calabria, Italy
Bigelow Tea has worked with the same third-generation family bergamot farm in Calabria, Italy, for over 40 years. The bergamot fruit is grown using natural methods in orchards that have been in existence for over 80 years. Calabria is where approximately 80% of the world’s citrus bergamot fruit is grown. The oil used in Bigelow Earl Grey is 100% real, cold-pressed bergamot oil from organically grown fruit.
Lemon Peel: Central Valley, California
Lemon peel is a key ingredient in over 20 Bigelow Tea recipes. Bigelow Tea has partnered with the same family-owned lemon grower in Central Valley, California, for over 30 years. That grower has operated its groves since 1947. All lemon peel used by Bigelow Tea is 100% grown in the United States and meets USDA, FDA, and California standards.
Mint: Pacific Northwest, United States
Bigelow Tea’s mint is 100% American grown, sourced from a multi-generational family of growers in the Pacific Northwest. This partnership began in the 1960s when Bigelow Tea first developed its mint tea recipes. The mint is harvested twice per year.
Rose Hips: Chile
Bigelow Tea sources rose hips from Chile, where the geography and climate produce a distinct flavor profile. The company’s rose hip partner established its family business in 1975 and harvests approximately 20 million pounds of fresh rose hips annually, employing around 3,000 seasonal workers who hand-pick the fruit over an eight-week period. Bigelow Tea worked with the Chilean family decades ago to create a special combination of rose hips from specific regions to deliver a sweet, tart flavor that is robust in color.
Chamomile: North America
Bigelow Tea sources chamomile 6,000 feet above sea level in the central mountains in Mexico. The high mountain conditions provide nutrient-rich volcanic soil as well as bright sun in the morning and cool mist in the evenings. These are the conditions that provide the sweet and full-bodied flavor that the Bigelow consumer has come to know and love from the family company. Bigelow Tea has worked with the same families to grow the chamomile for over 40 years. The flowers are hand-cut, carefully sun dried, and then separated by hand to ensure the highest percentage of pollen in the recipe which provides the flavor and quality needed in every cup.
Butterfly Pea Flower: Thailand
Bigelow Tea sources butterfly pea flower from small, women-owned farms in Thailand. This exquisite blossom is gently plucked by hand, carefully harvested to protect each petal and dried in the warm sun.
A Message from Cindi Bigelow, President and CEO
“Every ingredient in our blends are chosen because they are the finest available,” says Cindi Bigelow, third-generation president and CEO of Bigelow Tea. “For over 80 years, our family has built relationships with growers and farmers around the world. We know their commitment to quality which is why we have worked with many of them for decades. That is how we ensure that every cup of Bigelow tea delivers the flavor and quality our tea community deserves. Every ingredient has a story behind it, a story of passion and dedication. This is what our consumers have come to rely on, cup after cup.”
About Bigelow Tea
Based in Fairfield, CT and 100% family and woman-owned, the Bigelow Tea Company pioneered the specialty tea category 80 years ago. The third-generation company takes pride in its heritage and successful growth from a one-product, entrepreneurial venture into America’s #1 leading tea company brand.
Producing over 2.4 billion tea bags annually in the company’s three blending and packaging facilities in the U.S., the Bigelow Tea line includes more than 150 varieties of Flavored, Traditional, Green, Herbal, Decaffeinated, steep by Bigelow Organic, Bigelow Benefits Wellness teas and Bigelow Botanicals Cold Water Infusion including its flagship specialty tea flavor, “Constant Comment”®, an all-time American favorite. Bigelow Tea products are available nationwide and internationally as well as on www.BigelowTea.com. Follow Bigelow Tea in social media, @bigelowtea.
- Cindi Bigelow, President and CEO of Bigelow Tea, Visits a Women-Owned Butterfly Pea Flower Farm in Thailand
- Organically Grown Bergamot from a Third-Generation Family Farm in Calabria, Italy