Celestial Seasonings has been blending herbal teas in Boulder, Colorado since 1969, and the factory tour at their headquarters is one of the more unusual things you can do in the area. For $6 a person, you get a guided walk through an actual working tea factory — mixers, packaging lines, and one room you will not forget — plus access to the visitor center, art gallery, and a tea tasting bar. It is a genuine behind-the-scenes look at how a product you have probably had in your kitchen for years actually gets made.
The Tour
Tours depart regularly from the Tour Center entrance and run about 45 minutes. The production floor is the main event — an industrial tea operation with large blending drums that mix the herbs and spices, and long packaging lines that fill, seal, and box the tea bags at speed. The factory largely consists of these two elements: mixing and packaging, repeated at scale. When the lines are running, the machinery fills the space with noise and motion. Our visit happened to fall on a day when the line was not operating, which meant it was quieter — but still fascinating to walk through the scale of the operation and understand what goes into producing tea at this volume.
The Mint Room
The highlight of the tour is a brief stop they build in specifically: the mint room. This is where the peppermint and spearmint ingredients are stored, and the guides open the door to let you experience the smell directly. There is no gradual build-up. You open the door and it hits you immediately — an intense wall of concentrated mint that is both bracing and genuinely memorable. It is one of those sensory moments that sticks with you. Worth the $6 on its own.
The Visitor Center
Before and after the tour, the visitor center has more to explore than you might expect. The art gallery displays the original paintings used on Celestial Seasonings tea boxes — large framed originals of the tigers, botanicals, and fantastical scenes that have been on the packaging for decades. Seeing them full-size and up close is a different experience from the 2-inch version on a tea box.
The tea tasting bar lets you sample current offerings — hot brewed tea served from ornate silver samovars, with tea boxes displayed alongside so you know what you are drinking. The Sleepytime Bear mascot has a prominent spot in the lobby, including a large character for photos.
Practical Information
- Address: 4600 Sleepytime Dr, Boulder, CO 80301
- Tour cost: $6 per person
- Tour length: Approximately 45 minutes
- No photography is permitted on the production floor during the tour
- Note: The production line is not always running — tours still operate and are worth doing either way
- Tea shop and tasting bar are free and open without a tour ticket
The Celestial Seasonings tour is a good example of a factory tour done right: accessible, genuinely interesting, and priced honestly. The mint room alone makes it memorable. If you are passing through Boulder or looking for something off the standard tourist track, it is an easy yes.