When my daughter was living in Boulder, she and I spent a Saturday morning touring the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory. They offer a free tour of the plant as well as free tea tasting.
Celestial Seasonings is the second largest tea seller in the US, and all Celestial Seasonings teas are made at this one factory in Boulder.
The 30 minute tour was really interesting. There was a good sized group of people and as we were led through the plant our tour guide explained everything. Over half of the ingredients arrive at the factory in their raw form. They and are then processed according to the specifications for the use of that herb or root.
The peppermint that comes in must be kept in a separate, sealed room because the smell is so intense. We got to go into the room, and it was beyond intense! My eyes were watering; other people were coughing and sneezing. We did not stay but a minute, it was just meant to show how powerful peppermint is.
The processed ingredients are then moved to the blending room where they are mixed with other ingredients.
Interestingly, Celestial Seasonings employs a man named Charlie Baden as their Blend Master. He has been with them since 1975 and according to our tour guide Mr. Baden has such a fine palate, he can taste a vanilla bean and tell if it is from Madagascar, Indonesia, and other places.
As we moved out into the actual factory, I was amazed to see the amount of robotic equipment they have. We were there on a Saturday so everything was quiet but during the week you can see the robotics at work.
They make their own tea bags and boxes and once things start heading down the line, over fifty thousand boxes of tea have been packed and shrink wrapped in under an hour.
The plant runs 5 days a week 24 hours a day. Because of the efficiency of their robots, they only need to run 5 days instead of the 7 days a week needed to maintain their supply.
Once the tour was over, we were given sample cups and free reign over almost 75% of their teas.
I have a lot of trouble falling asleep at night so lately I have been looking into finding a calming tea to drink before bed. The first thing everyone I spoke to suggested was Celestial Seasonings Sleepy Time Tea. Since our tour ended at the gift shop, I bought myself a box. And it works very well.
I also really enjoyed seeing their artwork in a larger format than on the boxes.
I could not find much about it. But I am under the impression that multiple artists have contributed to the collection. Again, I don’t know if this is a fact.
It was a remarkably interesting, informative morning spent learning about and tasting all types of tea.
The factory is open 7 days a week. If you are ever in Boulder and have a little time on your hands, Celestial Seasonings is an excellent way to spend an hour or so.
