Off the Path in Boulder, Colorado

Walk down any of your quality supermarket tea aisles and you will most likely see varieties of a tea brand called Celestial Seasonings. The makers of Celestial Seasonings Teas are one of the world's largest producers of herbal teas. The company is based in the beautiful city of Boulder, Colorado and actually allows visitors an opportunity to drop by and learn more about their organization on a no cost visit. I was fortunate to have the chance to check out this neat little place that does some really big things.

According to the Celestial Seasonings website and the company tour guide, in 1969, a group of young entrepreneurs founded Celestial Seasonings upon the belief that their flavorful, all-natural herbal teas could help people live healthier lives. They harvested fresh herbs from the Rocky Mountains by hand, and then dried, blended and packaged them in hand-sewn muslin bags to be sold at local health food stores. By staying committed to their vision, the founders of Celestial Seasonings turned their cottage industry into a huge success in a relatively short amount of time. Overtime, the company started to travel to foreign regions of the world to discover and purchase all the unique and special ingredients that are found in their teas today. Currently, Celestial Seasonings is the largest specialty tea manufacturer in North America. They serve more than 1.6 billion cups of tea every year, and they source more than 100 different ingredients from over 35 countries to create delicious, all-natural herbal, green, red, white, chai and wellness teas.

I arrived at the Celestial Seasonings plant around 10:30 a.m. This provided enough time for me to obtain my touring ticket and freely sample all of the flavorful teas that were available for tasting. Some of the teas are standard ones you find on your supermarket shelf while others were newer teas not yet distributed. The touring of the facility takes place each hour at the top of the hour. Several varieties of tea were available and I found the mango favored tea to be most enjoyable. After about twelve different tea samples, it was time to begin the tour. The tour began with a historical film that detailed the humble beginnings of the company and how they have grown over the years. As a guest touring the plant, you are required to wear a hairnet and beard covers were also provided for gentlemen. Upon entering the employee work area of the facility, you immediately commence breathing an assortment of aromatic smells. The first few whiffs of air really let you know that you are truly in a tea processing plant. The guide was extremely helpful and knowledgeable regarding the Celestial Seasonings tea industry. She explained the decaffeinating process as well as what determines herbal and non-herbal tea. As the tour progressed, we were allowed to see various tea samples at different stages of the process from the time ingredients enter the plant, get blended, stored, and packaged for shipment. The most memorable portion of the tour involved a visit to the mint storage room. Because some herbal ingredients tend to be stronger than others, they have to be stored in separate locations and sealed in air tight rooms. The peppermint located in the mint storage room was so strong that your sinuses immediately opened up and a few deep breaths of the aroma can leave you with clear lungs for quite a while. After thirty seconds in the room, even your eyes start to water because peppermint can easily penetrate mucus membranes. What an experience! Upon exiting the production area, visitors enter a gift shop to close out the 35-45 minute tour. Many unique keepsakes and souvenirs were available for purchase. However, the greatest treat was being able to purchase the countless selections of popular and rare teas at discounted prices. Finally, as a guest you can linger around and go back to the free tea room or pay a visit to the cafe. The cafe provides numerous choices of fresh and healthy food servings along with Celestial Seasonings tea. You can choose to dine in the colorful cafeteria or sit outside and view the scenery of the great Rocky Mountains.

Overall, if you are seeking a change of pace or just want to see and do something different, I recommend a tour of the Celestial Seasonings facility in Boulder, Colorado. It is a fun and relaxing place to pay a visit while in town. Most of all, the tour is free.