Celestial Seasonings mint factories reopening Boulder campus to public

Those who have been missing being hit by the overwhelming scent of mint in the Celestial Seasonings tea factory’s mint room or having the option to buy harder-to-find tea flavors will soon get their chance.

Boulder’s Celestial Seasonings is restarting its popular tea factory tours — though they will no longer be free — and reopening its gift shop to the public starting Aug. 12, according to a message on the company’s website.

Celestial Seasonings, located on Sleepytime Drive in a Gunbarrel neighborhood, stopped offering tours in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The gift shop and cafe also were closed to the public. It appears the cafe’s closure will continue.

The first-come-first-served tours will be $5 a person and take about 45 minutes, according to the website. Guests also are invited to visit the Tea Bar for complimentary samples of the company’s 100-plus tea varieties.