Well we all went up to Boulder, Colorado and met up with my Brother who is currently living up there and had the day off. Taking him out for a quick brunch, we all sat around the table eating eggs and trying to figure out exactly what to do since it looked like it was going to rain. Our original plan was to go on a hike, but like I just said it was going to rain. Except for when I go with certain friends, hiking in the rain is usually not as much fun as hiking in sunshine. And our plan had amounted to the idea of just go to one of the homes and celebrate it inside.
That was, until I was able to sway my family to the idea of taking a tour at the Celestial Seasonings Factory located just up the road. Okay, I'll give my Brother some credit for getting tea for breakfast, to where I saw the Celestial Seasonings bag and asked if he had been to the factory.
The Celestial Seasonings Tour
To be up-front and honest, I am just going to say that this was not my favorite part of today. And to be fair to Celestial Seasonings for letting me take the tour, I'm also going to just say now that most of the factory just was not running while I was there. This left me feeling that there was more to be wanted.
Anyway, the tour begins with a quick video on the history of Celestial Seasonings, which was okay but served more as a reason for people to get their bathroom break in before we got moving. Next they were passing out hairnets and telling us to put them on, because they did not want us ruining the ingredients. For some of the men, myself included, they asked us to wear beard nets. I don't really have a beard, but the beard net was actually pretty funny so I did not mind wearing it. Besides, I was not the only one on the tour who was forced to wear one.
Next we went behind closed doors and saw the tumbling machines, which were not working. We followed the tour guide down the hall of herbs, as I call it, to the quarantine room, which is where they quarantine new herbs until they know there are not any living or dead creatures inside of them. And lastly before hitting the factory floor, it was the peppermint room. Just for those that don't know, peppermint is one of the strongest types of mint out there and in a lot of processes that use peppermint they actually have to keep it in a separate room. It smelled amazing and cleared the sinuses like magic. This was by far my Mom's and my favorite part of the tour.
After that it was the factory floor, which had machines lined with the boxes but nothing on because they were all broken. Oh well, the whole place smelled great and I'm still happy I got the experience. Oh yeah, and it's free!!
The Celestial Seasonings Shop
As it is with anything, the factory tour shot us out at the gift shop where we got to finally take off our hairnets and beard nets. I bet you'd never guess, but the gift shop had boxes upon boxes of celestial seasonings tea to sell! I sort of wish we would have picked some up, but then again I can go into any grocery store in the United States and pick up their tea now. Or at least for the most part.
What was cool about this gift shop were all the mugs that they had around! I was actually thinking of getting my friends Vicki and Laurel a mug for different, but important reasons. Fact of the matter was that I just could not find the perfect mug for either of them, and I know them both well enough to know what they like and actually have the skill set to pick out the right mugs. So then I tried finding a wooden plaque that I thought described my friend Vicki. I found one that I thought was pretty close to her liking, but I could not be sure. To both of my friends, I just want them to know it truly is the thought that counts... and I'll probably keep looking anyway. I also thought of my friend Jodi, but she loves coffee more than tea so it was impossible.
In the end, I bought absolutely nothing. Instead, I would rather invite all my friends to come back up to Boulder with me. We'll take the tour, explore the shop, and also...
Tea Tastings
This. This is the whole reason to go, the best part of the trip, and thing that made going to the factory for a tour a real -extended- Mother's Day treat! They have every single flavor of tea that Celestial Seasonings makes on hand and available for tasting for free. Let me repeat that on it's own line because it honestly is that important.
My Mom and I took off towards the counter and started working our way through the very long list of Celestial Seasonings teas. From hot beverages to cold drinks, we worked our way down and swapped cups often to taste all the different assortments quickly and swiftly. It's funny, more than twenty-five flavors of tea and in the end we still walked home with nothing... if you don't count what my Mom got in the gift shop. Still, it was a great way for me to try out all the teas I really wanted to know more about and get to see if they were as good as I had hoped. I have a few more I want to go and buy now, but this was the best way to figure it out.
In the End
It all comes down to this, the factory tour is completely worth it since it is free and fun! The tea tasting is still the best part, but you can do it both before and after your tour starts, so there's no rush to gulp down as many as possible.
To be up-front and honest, I am just going to say that this was not my favorite part of today. And to be fair to Celestial Seasonings for letting me take the tour, I'm also going to just say now that most of the factory just was not running while I was there. This left me feeling that there was more to be wanted.
Anyway, the tour begins with a quick video on the history of Celestial Seasonings, which was okay but served more as a reason for people to get their bathroom break in before we got moving. Next they were passing out hairnets and telling us to put them on, because they did not want us ruining the ingredients. For some of the men, myself included, they asked us to wear beard nets. I don't really have a beard, but the beard net was actually pretty funny so I did not mind wearing it. Besides, I was not the only one on the tour who was forced to wear one.
Next we went behind closed doors and saw the tumbling machines, which were not working. We followed the tour guide down the hall of herbs, as I call it, to the quarantine room, which is where they quarantine new herbs until they know there are not any living or dead creatures inside of them. And lastly before hitting the factory floor, it was the peppermint room. Just for those that don't know, peppermint is one of the strongest types of mint out there and in a lot of processes that use peppermint they actually have to keep it in a separate room. It smelled amazing and cleared the sinuses like magic. This was by far my Mom's and my favorite part of the tour.
After that it was the factory floor, which had machines lined with the boxes but nothing on because they were all broken. Oh well, the whole place smelled great and I'm still happy I got the experience. Oh yeah, and it's free!!
The Celestial Seasonings Shop
As it is with anything, the factory tour shot us out at the gift shop where we got to finally take off our hairnets and beard nets. I bet you'd never guess, but the gift shop had boxes upon boxes of celestial seasonings tea to sell! I sort of wish we would have picked some up, but then again I can go into any grocery store in the United States and pick up their tea now. Or at least for the most part.
What was cool about this gift shop were all the mugs that they had around! I was actually thinking of getting my friends Vicki and Laurel a mug for different, but important reasons. Fact of the matter was that I just could not find the perfect mug for either of them, and I know them both well enough to know what they like and actually have the skill set to pick out the right mugs. So then I tried finding a wooden plaque that I thought described my friend Vicki. I found one that I thought was pretty close to her liking, but I could not be sure. To both of my friends, I just want them to know it truly is the thought that counts... and I'll probably keep looking anyway. I also thought of my friend Jodi, but she loves coffee more than tea so it was impossible.
In the end, I bought absolutely nothing. Instead, I would rather invite all my friends to come back up to Boulder with me. We'll take the tour, explore the shop, and also...
Tea Tastings
This. This is the whole reason to go, the best part of the trip, and thing that made going to the factory for a tour a real -extended- Mother's Day treat! They have every single flavor of tea that Celestial Seasonings makes on hand and available for tasting for free. Let me repeat that on it's own line because it honestly is that important.
ALL OFF THE TEA TASTINGS ARE FREE!
My Mom and I took off towards the counter and started working our way through the very long list of Celestial Seasonings teas. From hot beverages to cold drinks, we worked our way down and swapped cups often to taste all the different assortments quickly and swiftly. It's funny, more than twenty-five flavors of tea and in the end we still walked home with nothing... if you don't count what my Mom got in the gift shop. Still, it was a great way for me to try out all the teas I really wanted to know more about and get to see if they were as good as I had hoped. I have a few more I want to go and buy now, but this was the best way to figure it out.
In the End
It all comes down to this, the factory tour is completely worth it since it is free and fun! The tea tasting is still the best part, but you can do it both before and after your tour starts, so there's no rush to gulp down as many as possible.
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