My Mother Loved Tea: The Story of Ruth Bigelow

by David C. Bigelow

One day in 1945, Ruth Bigelow shared her private recipe tea with a friend. The friend in turn served it to a group of women who had nothing but constant comments about the delicious hot drink, and an American tea icon was born. Today, Bigelow Tea has expanded its product line far beyond its flagship Constant Comment Tea to include black teas, traditional teas, flavored teas, herbal teas, decaffeinated teas and organic teas. A selection of Bigelow Teas can be found virtually anywhere that tea is sold. Bigelow Tea owns the only tea Plantation in North America. The Charleston Tea Plantation on Wadmalaw Island in South Carolina is now open to the public for all to see and hear how tea is made. The 127 acre tea farm is the home of American Classic Tea. The Bigelow Tea Company is still owned and managed by the Bigelow Family who approach the manufacture of Bigelow Teas with the same passion and enthusiasm Ruth Campbell Bigelow possessed when she founded the company more than 60 years ago. If you're a tea-lover, you'll find this illustrated account of Ruth Bigelow's life and legacy fascinating.

Genres: Tea, Nonfiction

101 pages, Hardcover

First published January 19, 2009

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m an avid drinker of Bigelow tea, so I probably found this book more interesting than the average person would. This 94-page volume contains no full-text pages, even though the print is large. Along with the interesting old photos, there are borders and patterns and repeated logos that are rather distracting. However, without them, the text couldn’t fill a book.

The story of how the tea company was built is interesting, but the author is obviously not a writer. An editor or ghostwriter would have been a good idea. Beginning in the 1930s, the author’s parents began an unlikely business selling a Chinese seasoning mix to restaurants in NYC’s Chinatown. Note that a significant part of this mix is called “glutamate” in the book, which is also known as MSG. Ruth Bigelow’s even more unlikely idea, orange spiced tea, launched a new business largely because of her persistence. During this time, no one considered drinking anything other than plain black tea. With her talent in market development and husband David’s abilities in product and package design, it’s only a matter of time before business skyrockets, the Great Depression notwithstanding.

There’s also a very abbreviated history of tea, list of purported health benefits, and a few tea recipes. Although not the best-written discourse, the story of the company and the historical photos might be of interest to those who enjoy Bigelow tea. The rest of the text seemed to be just filler.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This dear little book was given to me by a precious friend to whom I introduced my favorite tea, "Constant Comment". She bought it for me when her family recently toured the tea plantation near Charleston that is now owned and operated by Bigelow. The story of the development of Constant Comment and the entire Bigelow Company starts out quaint and becomes amazing -- a tiny, family-owned business becomes an international success. This is a nice book for any tea-lover, a quick read, full of pictures and fast facts.

[Cody Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

An informative, inspiring, and insightful book about the story of Bigelow Tea! The reader will be told the story of the company, it's humble beginning, and the perseverance of its founders. It is inspiring in that the original founders truly had a passion for this business and supported each other in such an incredibly sweet way - it really inspires the reader to reexamine their own passions and motivate them to take them back up!

The book is short and easy to read. The story is almost too short by providing the reader with a brief history hitting the highlights and turning points in company and tea history, while explaining the biggest issues they ran into throughout the decade. The briefness, or maybe the story itself, gives the reader a sense of awe and a need to learn more. I do wish the book was long, but only because the story was so captivating.

[Leslie Goddard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very quick read. It has some great vintage photographs and images of old Bigelow tea products. The writing feels very promotional, suggesting the book was written perhaps as a gift for Bieglow consumers.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically a 100 page advert for Bigelow Teas. It focuses on the making of and subsequent sales hit of the Constant Comment flavor, which is just a mixture of black tea, dried orange, and some spices. Does give a look at how tea became more popular in America during the 20th century. Generously illustrated, often with color photos.

However, if you drank tea in the UK for any length of time, you know that most American brand teas suck, because they're so weak. Bigelow is one of the best of the American brands, but it's also one of the most expensive.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a free gift which I received from the Bigelow Tea Co. It's really an easy read and an interesting story of how the Bigelow Company got started. It gives an interesting history on tea drinking habits in the US.

I would recommend reading it simply because it is quick to read and it does give a short overview over some interesting topics