Red Rose Tea – Figurines That Came in Tea

Sometimes, a simple cup of tea can be the pick-me-up you need during your busy day. A chai at work, a green iced tea after lunch, or a black Earl Grey before bed can improve your mood, lift your energy levels, and even boost your health with nutrients like caffeine, amino acids, xanthines, and lignins. But, if you’re an avid tea drinker, you might have something much more interesting in your cupboards than just some hot water and leaves. Many tea companies marketed their products by including small figurines in the box of each bag, which started as animals but transitioned into other genres over time. During the massive boom in commercial advertising following World War II, this type of marketing campaign became a common way to get people interested in different brands and types of tea.

One of the first companies to take advantage of this trend was Red Rose, which began including figurines in their boxes in the 1950s. The company would give away the Wade figurines, or “Wade Whimsies,” in each box of tea they sold and eventually estimated that they had given out over 300 million of the small figurines in the United States alone!

As the popularity of these cute collectibles grew, Red Rose expanded their line to include more series and subjects, from dinosaurs to flowers to monuments around the world. Some of these figurines were sculpted by famous artists and are incredibly detailed, while others feature more simplified figures in a bright color that is easy to spot. The Red Rose website still sells older figurines for $5 apiece, and although they aren’t worth more than that, they make great little gifts for tea lovers or collectors.

The company also released a series of tea bags that were designed with certain types of figurines to complement each season. For example, they had holiday-themed boxes that featured snowmen or Santa Claus, and they also had “sparkle” tea bags with a gold glaze that was perfect for gifting.

Some collectors are obsessed with finding a full set of all the figurines that have been produced by Red Rose over the years, and some have found them on websites where people sell their collection for a profit. Others, however, have a simpler goal when collecting these pieces: acquiring the complete set of a particular series that was a favorite of their childhoods.

While there is no evidence that any specific type of tea will positively affect your physical health, there are many benefits to drinking the right kind of tea on a regular basis. In addition to improving your mood and giving you a boost of energy, the act of sitting down to relax with a cup of tea has been shown to reduce stress, which is definitely a good thing! So, next time you need a little bit of zen in your life, consider sipping on a hot cup of herbal or black tea.