High Tea

DRINK

Most tea plantations are in Asia, but thanks to a new company called Elevation Mountain Grown Herbal Tea, Hotchkiss is now home to a tea farm. Founder and former environmental engineer Shannon Ullmann and her husband, Craig, purchased five acres in 2015 with the intent of farming the property. Ullmann grew “hundreds of plants in test-beds, developed some recipes and started recruiting taste testers.” Based on their feedback, Ullmann decided what herbs to grow. The couple then built a commercial kitchen with an herb-drying loft and purchased a tea packaging machine. In September, they blended and packaged their first harvest, using local fruit sourced from Orchard Valley Farms, Abundant Life Farms, Gray’s Acres and First Fruits Organic Orchards. Elevation’s offerings include Avalanche Lake Blend (tarragon, spearmint, lemon balm, pineapple mint, stevia), Grizzly Creek Blend (pear, peppermint, chamomile, pineapple sage, stevia) and Maroon Bells (raspberries, raspberry leaf, pineapple sage, hibiscus, stevia). Next up: Organic certification. Look for Elevation’s teas at MANA Foods, Tonic Juicery, Bonfire Coffee and Common Grounds in Carbondale; and Big B’s Delicious Orchards, The Station and Backcountry Goods Trading in Hotchkiss; or order online at ElevationHerbalTea.com.