Celestial Seasonings Green Tea Cracks Bitterness Code

Celestial Seasonings New Green Tea Cracks the Bitterness Code, Sleepytime Gets a New Flavor
(from a press release)

Celestial Seasonings has developed a line of delicious green teas that eliminate the bitterness sometimes associated with green tea, and has introduced new Sleepytime(R) Vanilla, the bestselling herbal tea's first new flavor addition in more than 20 years. Coinciding with the tea maker's 40th anniversary, these new products continue the longstanding tradition of innovation from Celestial Seasonings, which includes virtually inventing the herbal tea category in North America and first introducing green tea to mainstream consumption.

The mature tea leaves with which regular green teas are made naturally contain high levels of tannins, which can sometimes cause bitterness. Celestial Seasonings created its smoother green teas by adding Bai Mu Dan white tea, whose delicate, silky flavor profile comes from selecting only the tender buds and low-tannin young leaves of the camellia sinensis plant. The white tea infusion creates a balanced and satisfying taste with the healthful antioxidants for which green and white tea are both known. New Celestial Seasonings Green Tea is available on store shelves in nine varieties, including Authentic, Honey Lemon Ginseng and Goji Berry Pomegranate.

Also available on store shelves now is Sleepytime Vanilla, the first new flavor addition to the Sleepytime product family in more than two decades. The new variety adds rich and creamy vanilla, a favorite flavor among specialty tea drinkers, to original Sleepytime's soothing blend of chamomile, spearmint and lemongrass. Since its introduction in 1972, more than 2 billion tea bags of the original Sleepytime have been sold, making it the all-time bestselling specialty tea in North America.

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Celestial Seasonings Brings Morning Thunder To Canada

Wake Up and Smell the Tea, Canada! Celestial Seasonings Launches Morning Thunder to Help Canadians Start Their Days with a Roar
(from a press release)

Tea lovers across the country are raising their pinkies to the launch of Celestial Seasonings' latest tea flavour, Morning Thunder. Waking up will never be the same, as the newest tea to hit the Canadian Market delivers the perfect balance of caffeine to help kick-start the day. With all-natural and ethical trade ingredients at the heart of Morning Thunder - an earthy combination of maté and mountain-grown black tea for a robust, earthy brew - Canadians can drink up the health benefits without any artificial colours, preservatives, or calories.
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Celestial Seasonings & Virtual Trees

Celestial Seasonings Asks Tea Drinkers to Make a Difference by Planting Virtual Trees Online
(from a press release)

By simply purchasing tea or clicking on a mouse, Celestial Seasonings tea drinkers can support the planting of trees in developing countries and help promote environmental and economic sustainability around the world.

Celestial Seasonings will sponsor the planting of more than one million trees through a new partnership with the nonprofit organization Trees for the Future. Tea drinkers can join Celestial Seasonings in planting trees in two ways: by purchasing the brand’s all-natural teas between now and March 31, 2009, and by visiting this Web site, where they are given the opportunity to participate in a free interactive program that turns virtual trees into reality.

Image: Celestial Seasonings

The Collectible Teapot & Tea Calendar 2009 (Wall Calendars)
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Celestial Seasonings Introduces Saphara Whole Leaf Tea

New Saphara Tea Provides a Journey for the Senses for Premium Tea Drinkers

(from a press release)
Celestial Seasonings, a leader in the specialty tea category, takes tea drinkers on a journey for the senses with Saphara, a new line of 100 percent natural whole leaf teas packaged in pyramid tea bags. Available this fall, the premium line features herbal, green, black, white and red teas and is USDA Certified Organic and Fair Trade Certified.

Inspired by the ancient art of crafting tea, Saphara features full-leaf botanicals and real fruit pieces that enhance tea flavor, color and aroma. Saphara's silken pyramid bags are specially designed to allow water to flow around and through the ingredients, revealing the depth and complexity of the unique flavors.

The teas retail for $6.99 each and are available in six distinctive flavors: Mango Ginger Decaf Green, White Tea with Schizandra, Tropical Rooibos, Premier Estate Assam, Gen Mai Cha and Blackcurrant Hibiscus. To learn more about Saphara and to download music that correlates to each tea free of charge, visit the Saphara Web site.

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Unwrapping Celestial Seasonings

Itching for a look at what goes on behind the scenes at the Celestial Seasonings tea factory? If you find ever yourself in Boulder, Colorado you could take the grand tour.

If Colorado isn't going to be on your itinerary any time soon keep an eye open for a 2003 episode of Unwrapped that's still be making the rounds. It's called Spices and it features a look at how the business of tea-making is carried out at CS. Even if the topic isn't tea, you should be watching Unwrapped. It's a fun show.

Since it's still Assam Month, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention some of the CS offerings that contain Assam tea:


English Breakfast
Devonshire English Breakfast
Marrakesh Express Vanilla Spice
Victorian Earl Grey

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Happy Birthday to CS

Celestial Seasonings, that is. They're 35 years old this year. Read a profile of the tea maker that recently appeared in the Jackson Hole Star-Tribune, among other places.

If you ever happen to find yourself in the Boulder, Colorado area, be sure to take the CS grand tour and check out their tea shop. More info here.

Tea Review 18 - CS Country Peach Passion

Celestial Seasonings Country Peach Passion
Celestial Seasonings Teas

Country Peach Passion sounds like it should be a good old-fashioned dose of down home herbal tea goodness - or something like that. In reality, it falls victim to a problem I've mentioned before in connection with fruity herbal teas - Overly Tangy Syndrome.

"Natural peach and passionfruit flavor with other natural flavors" is seventh on the list of nine ingredients, followed only by peaches and citric acid. This is about par for the course with herbal teas, as are the first six ingredients - rosehips and hibiscus (surprise, surprise), orange peel, roasted chicory, chamomile and blackberry leaves.

Perhaps a more cultured palate could pick out each one of these individual flavors, but for me it was all just a big mishmash of stuff - and did I mention that it was too tart? And no, I didn't oversteep it, thanks very much.

Anyway, it's Celestial Seasonings, so it's all natural and recycled and environmentally friendly and made from free range herbs and not tested on cute little fuzzy bunnies and no baby seals were clubbed in the making of this tea and whatnot, so you can feel really good about yourself and the world while you're drinking it.

Kind of on the so-so side as a standalone tea, but not so bad in a blend with something else that will tend to cut the tanginess. Provisionally recommended.

Contents: 20 bags per box
I paid: $1.99

Tea Review 9 - Celestial Peach Apricot Honeybush

Peach Apricot Honeybush
Celestial Seasonings

Celestial Seasonings is the second largest tea seller in the United States, after Lipton. They are probably best known for their line of herbal "teas," but over the years they have branched out into traditional varieties as well. Based in Boulder, Colorado and now a part of the Hain Celestial Group, the company has been doing their thing since 1968.

You can probably find Celestial Seasonings in just about any grocery store in the nation, though you may not necessarily run across Peach Apricot Honeybush. Honeybush, for the unitiated, is derived from a plant of the Cyclopea species. Like rooibos, also know as red bush, it is only grown in one specific region of South Africa, where its leaves, stems and yellow flowers are harvested to make tea.

Peach Apricot Honeybush contains honeybush - of course - peach and apricot flavor, with other natural flavors, dried honey, linden and vanilla bean. It contains no artificial colors or preservatives and is packaged in 100% recycled boxes.

Recommended preparation time is 4-6 minutes in boiling water. I steeped a bag closer to the high end of that range, but with water that wasn't quite boiling. The end result was a clear reddish-brown brew with a very pleasing look.

As for the taste, I have to admit that I didn't pick up much of the peach flavor, or the apricot or vanilla, for that matter. I caught a bit of the honey early on, but there was no hint of sweetness in the after taste. Ultimately, I felt like I was drinking a straight rooibos, with perhaps just the faintest touch of peach or apricot - not that that's a bad thing.

I also used this one to make iced tea. It works great, mixed with three parts to one part of lemon ginger or wild raspberry.

Contents: 20 tea bags per box.
I paid: $3.29

Tea News - New From Choice and Celestial Seasonings

Choice Organic Teas is rolling out a new variety. Dragon Well Green Tea is scheduled to be released in mid March as part of the Choice Organic Teas Fair Trade Certified® line. Choice also announced, earlier this year, that all of their Rooibos offerings will be certified organic and Fair Trade Certified™ as of August 2005.

Also on the new release front, according to a blip in the Rocky Mountain News, Celestial Seasonings is releasing three new ones - Sweet Apple Chamomile Herb Tea, African Orange Mango Rooibos Tea and Blueberry Ice Cool Brew Iced Tea.