Where Does Bigelow Tea Source Their Ingredients?
Rose Hips
Updated September 4, 2026
Bigelow Tea sources only premium ingredients from the United States and from countries around the globe, selecting each ingredient for flavor and quality.
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 (the prestigious region of Zheijang).
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
When selecting premium ingredients, no matter which botanical we are sourcing, the following factors determine the quality: weather, elevation, season, country of origin, regionality, and harvest method. Each of these elements can substantially impact the flavor and quality of the cup.
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 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.
From President and CEO, Cindi Bigelow
"As a third-generation steward of my family’s company, I feel tremendously responsible to ensure our consumers get only the finest cup of tea possible. I have been fortunate to travel to many of the farms and estates from which we source. For example, when we visited the family farm in Calabria to see our bergamot fruit harvested or when we visited our Chilean partners to observe our rose hips being picked, we were able to see firsthand the care, the love, and the passion that goes into our ingredients we source.
The relationships with our gardens over the decades have been built on a common commitment of quality and safety. Those relationships matter deeply to all of us at Bigelow Tea. Our partners understand that we can never compromise on quality. And we at Bigelow understand the importance of honoring the people behind our ingredients. We know that every decision we make ultimately comes down to the tea drinkers who trust us to get it right."
-- Cindi Bigelow, President and CEO, Bigelow Tea
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 Bigelow Tea recipes. For the vast majority of Bigelow teas, we have partnered for over thirty years with the same family-owned lemon grower in California’s Central Valley. Our farmers harvest lemons that produce the ideal balance of tangy brightness and sweetness, applying decades of knowledge and expertise.
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 6000 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.
View the press release here.