Here we are just three days past the precise middle of summer (July 20 this year). We have dutifully affixed our masks and shopped, dined outside, visited a stylist (about time) and clinked glasses at the end of a neighbor’s driveway for some post-work cheer.
And boy have we hit the trails. Long morning hikes in Boulder, before it gets too crowded. Quick drives to the Indian Peaks Wilderness for cooler air, alpine vibes and snow-splotched summits. We hunt for streams in the mountains, too — few things soothe quite like meditating beside the music of water tumbling over rocks and logs, of water falling into water.
The hiking quiets our minds and stokes our hearts. We sometimes feel the trail the next day, too. Our thighs and calves ache.
You probably understand where we are going with this. As lifelong tea fanatics, we incorporate tea into our trail wilderness pursuits. It’s time you did, too!
Wilderness + Tea
When we mix tea and trails, we sometimes bring along a few different teas, depending on what the day holds. All of the teas we discuss here are wonderful iced. But sometimes, especially as the mornings grow cooler as we move closer towards fall, we prefer hot tea.
In either case, hot or cold, we carry our tea in thermoses. Have you ever stopped beside a mountain lake and poured a small, warm cup of Lapsang Souchong while savoring the view? Try it. You’ll keep doing it.
Drink: Organic Meditation Blend
We often find that natural beauty compels contemplative moods. After spending time on trails bracketed with wild flowers and decorated with the sounds of jays, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, bees and squirrels, our minds grow increasingly calm. When we stop, sometimes we can’t help but to just shut our eyes and sink into the moment.
The meditative moments come easier after a few sips of our Organic Meditation Blend. This spectacular tea, a blend of yerba mate, ginkgo, cinnamon, black pepper, lavender, marshmallow and rose, nudges our minds into peaceful places. Yerba stimulates the mind, with small jolts of caffeine and other properties. Ginkgo is famously good for brain health. Cinnamon and black pepper add more stimulation, while lavender, marshmallow and rose help massage the mind.
Drink: Lapsang Souchong
We referenced this famous smoky tea earlier, as a wonderful accompaniment to a mountain lake. But it’s also perfect for sitting around a campfire.
The two smoky elements complement each other, for several reasons. A key advantage? Lapsang Souchong is traditionally smoked over pine wood. And most of what we burn in campfires is pine.
Another convergence between Lapsang Souchong and hiking: artisans in China’s WuYi Mountains make it. So it’s proper mountain tea!
Most mountain and western counties in Colorado are now under some sort of fire restriction; all of the counties near Boulder are at Stage II, meaning no campfires. But those might lift as we drift into fall, and temperatures fall.
And either way, campfire or not, Lapsang Souchong serves as an ideal accompaniment to post-wilderness environments that involve tents or campers, camp chairs and hanging out with friends. The smokiness pairs wonderfully, too, with classic campsite meals, like chili.
Drink: Cloud Forest White Tea
All of that climbing demands energy. For hikes that begin in the morning, we appreciate our Cloud Forest White Tea. It’s not packed with caffeine, like some other teas. But it offers steady, subtle energy while we navigate rocks and roots, find our footing across streams, and push ourselves up, up and up.
It’s not all about caffeine and energy, either. For summer’s wildflower-thick hikes we cherish pretty teas, combinations of natural ingredients that honor the outdoor loveliness.
To that end, Cloud Forest White Tea incorporates white tea, rose hip, hibiscus, sunflower, cornflower, osmanthus, rose, safflower and calendula.
To sip this blend of flora while traversing a wildflower meadow is to become at one with your surroundings.
Drink: Organic Boulder Boost
Here’s what we often enjoy first thing in the morning before a big hike — and before we switch to Cloud Forest White Tea. In addition, if it’s a long day on the trails, we might bring along a thermos of iced Organic Boulder Boost, to give us the energy we need as our stamina begins to complain.
We developed this custom blend with all of Boulder’s outdoor pursuits in mind. We Boulderites are not slothful people! We’re out on trails and bikes, climbing mountains and playing Spiderman on granite slabs.
This blend offers heaps of pep and fortitude. Just what you need.
Guayusa, a South American relative of the yerba mate shrub, serves as the vitality-lifting foundation of Boulder Boost. Complementing the guayusa is rooibos, a South African plant that, among other things, offers a bounty of electrolytes. You’ll need those electrolytes during the day in the wilderness. To the blend we add tulsi, a South Indian plant that many believe is a whole-body tonic. Finally, we spice the tea with cinnamon, allspice, ginger, fennel and rose.
Drink: Zenergy
A bath. That’s what you desire when it’s 7 p.m., after an afternoon in the sun and on the trails. You could just plop into a tub of warm water and be done with it. But why not spike the tea with things that will soothe muscles and promote mental clarity? You deserve it.
Our Zenergy includes organic chamomile, organic marshmallow, organic oat straw, organic peppermint, organic rose hip and epsom salts.
Drink: Organic Bounce Back Tea
Yesterday’s hike leads to today’s stiff ankle as well as a creaky shoulder, compliments of the walking stick you gripped for six hours.
Swallowing Ibuprofen is always an option. But like many Coloradans, you try to keep the Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) in check — they are not kind to the liver.
Here’s a gentle option – Organic Bounce Back tea. This delicious custom blend incorporates organic ginger, organic cinnamon, organic nettle, organic strawberry leaf and oolong tea. The ingredients bolster the bones, reduce internal inflammation, improve digestion (your stomach needs help after yesterday’s handfuls of trail mix and power bars!) and boost metabolism.
There you have it. A tea-focused plan of action for enjoying your days in the mountains, and recovering afterwards.
We hope to see you on the trails. We’ll be the ones sipping tea as we hike.
