Aug. 11—Starting Saturday, the public is again invited to peek inside Boulder's Celestial Seasonings factory as it mixes, blends and packages tea to produce up to 10 million individual tea bags a day.

Celestial Seasonings is restarting its popular tours — though they will no longer be free — and reopening its gift shop to the public after a closure that stretched more than three years.

"We are so ready," said Celestial Seasonings General Manager Tim Collins. "This is the heart of the campus. Having consumers here is so energizing for us. It gives us such pride that people are excited to see what we do. This is such a happy day."

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. The cafe's closure will continue, for now.

In preparation for the reopening, the company held a ribbon cutting and tour on Friday for a small group that included former blendmaster Charlie Baden, who retired after 47 years at Celestial Seasonings. He tasted ingredients prior to purchase and when they arrived, as well as sampling the blends and then "every single batch of tea."

Baden is featured in the new pre-tour video, which includes photos from the company's homegrown start in the 1970s as a cottage business selling herbal teas. Baden, who joined the company in 1975, remembers the early years working with a small, close knit group that included a cook to serve daily lunches.

"We were all a happy family," he said. "We ate lunch together every day. It was all mostly curried, vegetarian and good for you."

As someone who makes regular visits to his old workplace, he said, he's been "pestering" Celestial Seasonings leadership to reopen.

"When you visit Boulder, you go to Pearl Street Mall, you come to Celestial Seasonings and you hike Chautauqua," he said. "This is a cool place."

Leading Friday's tour was Debbie Smith, who was close to her 13th anniversary as a guide when the pandemic hit. She worked briefly in the factory before deciding to retire, but agreed to return to her previous tour guide position. About 20 staff members so far have been hired to lead tours and staff the gift shop, many of them returning to the jobs they held pre-pandemic.

"I was delighted to be asked back," Smith said. "You meet people from all over the world. People love our tea."

As Smith led guests through the factory, she explained that the tea leaves, Camellia sinensis, for the caffeinated flavors are kept separate because they're like sponges, absorbing other flavors. The mint, on the other hand, is stored in its own room because it overpowers everything near it.