My Tuesday in Colorado

After a fun-filled day in Colorado Springs on Monday, Tuesday was a little more mellow (but just as fun). Benny's been awesome about watching the kids and letting me and Niki go do girlfriend stuff. Tuesday after lunch, we headed up to Boulder. I really didn't know much about Boulder except that it's very artsy and "Mork and Mindy" took place there. Who knew that it was home to Celestial Seasonings, makers of fine "herbal infusions" and a few teas too? At Benny's suggestion we headed up there to tour the factory. I love those kinds of tours, and it did not disappoint. There's nothing like standing in a "mint room" where all the mint leaves are stored to keep them from permeating the tea and other herbs. We didn't stand in there for long, as it was like standing in a pool of Vicks Vapo-Rub. Then we moved on to the packaging area. It was amazing to see what those machines can do with little help from humans. Then it was on to my favorite part....the sampling room, where you could try as many of their 70 varieties as your little heart desired. Niki and I are tea lovers, so this part was fun. I highly recommend the white plum tea, the black cherry pomegranate and my favorite: the Marrakes Express Vanilla Spice Black Tea (A good tea needs at least 5 or 6 words to describe it).

I did learn something about tea. I like milk in my tea (as well as a sweetener). As I poured the last of the soy milk they had out (believe me I prefer cow), I noticed that it was curdled. I took it to the counter to say something and she told me that teas with hibiscus will make milk curdle because of the acidity (or something like that). So I happily downed that cup of delicious brew. To my disappointment, when I went to doctor up my next sample cup, I looked into the soy milk pitcher and found lots of curdles...Ewwww!

After the sampling, we checked out the artwork in the tea gallery. They had lots of artsy teapots as well as the original art for the boxes. That would be a fun job. Here's some of the art:

Dress made out of teabags....plus accessories.

Who wouldn't want the White Pear Tea after seeing this Siamese kitty drinking it?