Bigelow Decaffeinated English Teatime Tea Versus Red Rose Decaffeinated Tea

In this review, I am comparing two different brands of black tea, Bigelow and Red Rose.

Bigelow Decaffeinated English Teatime Tea

First, we have the old brand of tea, Bigelow. More specifically, I am using Bigelow's English Teatime Tea, the decaffeinated version.

History & Origins

Six decades ago, Bigelow tea was introduced. Tea connoisseur, Ruth Campbell Bigelow found a special colonial tea recipe that blended tea with orange peel and spices. After much testing, she tried to re-create that tea and it was a success. Everyone loved her tea and one person told her that the tea caused constant comments. Ruth used this and named her first tea, "Constant Comment," which is still called by that name today.

Ruth's son and his family have carried on the tradition of Bigelow tea, creating delicious new tea flavors in their regular tea, herb teas, green teas, and iced teas. The Bigelow Tea has grown into a hugely successful company with dozens of varieties that are available in almost every supermarket in the U.S.

Red Rose Decaffeinated Tea

The second brand of tea is an even older brand, Red Rose tea. I am using their decaffeinated black tea.

History & Origins

The Red Rose tea company was created long ago, back in 1894 in Canada by Theodore Estabrooks of New Brunswick. Up until that time, tea was sold loose from tea chests by local merchants. Harding began the innovation of packaging tea in tea bags for individually brewed cups of tea. This tradition continues today with Red Rose tea.

In 1932, Red Rose was sold to the English company, Brooke Bond & Company. In the 1890's, the company began delivering tea in vans for its delivery. Spreading into the Indian tea market, Red Rose became part of a global tea company.

In 1985, Unilever NV bought Brooke Bond Foods, Inc., but then Unilever sold only the U.S. branch of Red Rose to Redco Foods, Inc. In 1988, U.S. Red Rose tea production moved to Little Falls, New York.

Today, Red Rose is still blended the same way with same black teas from Sri Lanka, Kenya, India, and Indonesia.