Any RuPaul’s Drag Race fans in the house? If you’re familiar, solidarity. If not, the general premise is that a bunch of drag queens compete in a series of challenges to win a bunch of money and fame, all while being much better looking women than I am. I am ok with this, because when I get ready for work at 6 am, my goal is to look moderately awake, so they can be pretty enough for the both of us.
Those familiar with Drag Race will know that a common phrase used on the show is “spill the tea”. There are many definitions of this, from the ultra technical “to disclose information, especially of a sensitive nature”, to the more casual “partaking in gossip”. In the world of Drag Race, it is likely the latter.
The “tea” in this context is something to chit-chat about with your friends. In that respect, Bigelow’s Constant Comment was quite the source of “tea” upon its creation.
Once upon a time in 1945, Ruth Campbell Bigelow was experimenting with tea blends for weeks on end and happened upon a blend of black tea, orange rinds, and sweet spices. She gave the blend to her pals, who reported that the blend “was a source of constant comment”. The result:
Due to tea being drunk and spilled, Bigelow’s Constant Comment blend was born and stands as Bigelow’s most popular tea. I was always a huge fan of their mint green tea, but hadn’t ventured to their popular, chatter-inducing blend. Needing a new nighttime tea (hence the decaf), I decided to see what all the fuss was about.
If you venture to Bigelow’s YouTube or Instagram, you may have seen their how-to video for making the Constant Comment Latte. I’d describe it, but the video’s too darn cute not to include. For your viewing pleasure:
Rather than do my usual “brew up, add sugar and milk” schtick, I decided to give their method a shot. I don’t have any fancy glass mugs, but it’s about the taste, not the visual aesthetics, right? In my humble kitchen, that’s how it works.
According to the video, we need:
8oz hot water
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup frothed milk
Sprinkle of cinnamon on top
Firstly, if you want to feel like a pseudo-fancy barista, the milk frother helps. It’s a battery-operated swizzle stick type dohickey that spins your drink around to get frothy. You can get them from pretty much any store with kitchen stuff (ours is from IKEA) or the internet. I’ve tried using it in my tea after I’ve added everything, but certainly did not achieve the level of froth here. Thank you, Bigelow, for the pro tip.
As for the flavor, the best way I can describe it is “zingy”. While the Bigelow family is protective of the recipe, the orange flavor is certainly present without being super fruity. As far as the undisclosed “sweet spices”, if I had to guess, I’d say cloves are involved. Something about it feels almost Christmas-y to me. Since my cup is pretty big, I probably would have let it steep a little longer and maybe added a bit more sugar. Regardless, it’s a very flavorful tea and balances a warmer, fruity flavor with a nice blend of spices. For those of you who like spice, but not quite to the extent of some of the more cinnamon-based teas, like Harney & Sons’ Hot Cinnamon Sunset, this could be a great option.
Ruth Campbell Bigelow was certainly onto something when creating Constant Comment. In her experimenting, she created a blend whose popularity spread primarily through word of mouth. While some of the tea spilled elsewhere may be a little more on the gossipy side, Constant Comment is worth all the hype. #TeaProudly
Geeky Tea Time 