Colds, hot tea, and saving the environment

I have a cold. Colds are no fun. I know some people who are glass-half-full type people who can find good in everything. I however, am not one of those people. Even if I was, I don't think I could find much to rejoice about when it comes to being sick. Sneezing, runny or stuffy nose or both, headache, sore throat. You get the idea. No fun. Today, in the midst of my yucky cold, I have found one good thing to enjoy. Tea.

I rarely drink hot tea. Since I moved to Mississippi in 2003, I have fallen in love with iced sweet tea. And I mean sweet tea. That is the way Mississippi people drink their tea. It can be almost syrupy at times, but I love it. Hot tea is something I mainly reserve for sick days. It is a way to enjoy a bad day. Today, my tea of choice is Celestial Seasoning's Sleepytime Vanilla Herbal Tea. It is a "beloved blend of floral chamomile, cool spearmint and lively lemongrass" with "the creamy, nutty flavor of rich vanilla" added in. And of course, please note that "with it's comforting aroma and perfectly balanced flavor, Sleepytime Vanilla is an exquisitely soothing way for you to wind down your day." Don't you love how they phrase it on the box? Doesn't it make you want to just go out and buy some Sleepytime Vanilla Tea?

While visiting my brother in Colorado, my family toured the factory of Celestial Seasonings. It was a great experience minus being 7 weeks pregnant at the time and getting slightly sick by all the overwhelming aromas. The highlight was probably watching my husband wear a hair net. We all had to wear one to ensure that nothing besides tea was put into the tea bags. In fact, if I remember correctly, my dad even had to wear a beard net as well. lol. As I looked over my tea box while waiting for my water to warm this afternoon, I noticed something interesting on the box. The company explains that Celestial Seasonings chooses not to use strings, tags, staples, or individual wrappers to bag their tea to help the environment. Because they do not use those "extras" on their bags, they save more than 3.5 million pounds of waste from entering a landfill. Wow. 3.5 million pounds. Do you realize how much trash that is? If the average elephant weighs 2 tons, then the equivalent of 3.5 million pounds of trash is 875 elephants!

That is a lot of trash. It amazes me how much we consume and how much we throw away. I am thankful companies like Celestial Seasonings think to save our environment a little. So, everyone, go enjoy some tea and save the environment at the same time.