Budding Products: Bigelow, VitaCup, Village Tea Company

Bagged Tea News

Girl Scout Cookie Teas Return

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Bigelow has brought back two tea flavors that were inspired by Girl Scout cookies: Thin Mints and Caramel & Coconut. A licensing agreement between Bigelow and Girl Scouts of the USA made the blends possible, which were initially introduced in 2015. “Once a Girl Scout, always a Girl Scout,” said Cindi Bigelow, president and CEO of Bigelow Tea and Girl Scout alumna said via press release. “Our Girl Scout Cookie flavor-inspired teas reflect the Bigelow Tea blenders’ never-ending quest to delight consumers with these highly popular flavor innovations in a way that’s very special to me. We’re pleased to have them back!” Inspired by Girls Scouts Thin Mints cookies, Bigelow Girl Scouts Thin Mints Herbal Tea is a caffeine-free blend of mint and chocolate. The tea is meant to invoke relaxation. Bigelow Girl Scouts Caramel & Coconut Black Tea is an energizing blend of black tea, caramel and coconut. Both teas are sold in boxes of 20 tea bags that are made in accordance with Bigelow’s sustainability principals. The teas retail for about $3.99 per box.

VitaCup Combines Tea and Coffee with Vitamins

Photo credit: VitaCup.com
A new company called VitaCup launched K-Cup-style tea and coffee pods containing vitamins. They currently come in three varieties: Green Tea, French Roast and French Vanilla. Brandon Fishman, VitaCup founder and CEO, decided to create vitamin-infused beverages after experiencing a vitamin deficiency himself. He suffered from exhaustion and learned from his doctor that he was lacking in B12 and B1. Taking vitamins improved his condition and he decided to incorporate vitamins into the daily morning ritual of drinking tea or coffee. “I spent years feeling lethargic and unproductive and all it took to feel better was a daily dose of vitamins,”  Fishman said in a company press release. “I’ve always started my day with coffee and when vitamins became part of my routine, it inspired the concept of VitaCup.” The Green Tea cup contains matcha and moringa, as well as a blend of vitamins B1, B5, B6, B9 (folic acid), B12, D3 and antioxidants. The same vitamin blend is in the coffee pods, too. The pods come in multipacks of 16, 32, 64 and 128 cups that cost from $25 to $150. For more information, visit VitaCup.com.
Tea Food News

Village Tea Company Partners with Eagle Creek Brewing Company

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The Village Tea Company is going to have its tea featured as an ingredient in a new beer called the Georgia Tea Party Sweet Tea Amber Ale, made by the Georgia-based Eagle Creek Brewing Company. Eagle Creek is known for its craft beers, and Village Tea is an organic tea purveyor. “We are honored that Eagle Creek selected our tea, as this sort of collaboration fits squarely in line with our mission to introduce more people to loose leaf tea in nontraditional ways,” a Village Tea Company representative said in a company press release. “This is also a great opportunity for us to tap into the excitement and creative energy around the everexpanding U.S. craft beer market and potentially other ready-to-drink tea-based products.”