Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory Tour

I had no idea this factory was located in Boulder, CO or that they gave free tours. It wasn't something I think we would have sought out ourselves, but friends mentioned it and so we gave it a go, and it is definitely worth checking out. You can't beat a free tour. And even better than that, you can sample their teas in the tasting room to your heart's content. Seriously, there are a lot of tea varieties to try. There's a whole line of self-serve teas on the counter, and then you can request any of the other teas on their board as well and then drink it plainly or doctor it up with some honey and/or cream. Mmm. The chai varieties were my personal favorite.

The tour itself consists of a little introduction and background on the company. Then they take you into the factory itself where you see boxes and boxes of ingredients. Then you stop by the room that contains all the tea itself (separated from other ingredients because of how absorbent it is. Next is the mint room. Bags and bags of peppermint are stacked in this room and the smell is very potent. They warn that your eyes may water though I can't say I felt that. It just was a very thick minty smell. You can of course opt out of going in this room or walk out anytime if it's too much for you. Finally, we made the round of the main factory floor where the tea is put into the tea bags, boxed, packaged, and wrapped.

No picture taking is allowed in the factory itself (as one of the employees put it when I inquired, "for all we know you could be from Lipton or something"). So here are some cell phone pictures of us in the tasting room and getting ready to go on the tour (why yes, we know how to rock those stylish mandatory hair nets and one of us was very debonair in a beard net - I'll let you guess who). Thanks to our friends Z & J for use of a couple of these pictures.

The Basics

Who: If you like drinking tea, learning about it, or are curious about how it is made, this is the place for you. Minimum age requirement for the tour is 5 years old.

What: Celestial Seasonings provides a free tour of their factory and lets you try out their teas in their tasting room.

Where: The factory is located in Boulder, CO (4600 Sleepytime Drive, Boulder, CO 80301).

When: You can take the tour on Monday - Saturday (10-4) or Sunday (11-3). Tours depart every hour.

Why: A visit here is interesting, informative, and tasty!

How: Just show up and they will get you on the next available tour.