A Bitter Cup of Tea

A woman in Mississippi nursing a broken hip last month decided to brew herself a particularly strong cup of Celestial Seasonings' comfrey tea. After putting enough tea in one cupful to make about 18 servings, she complained of nausea and blurry vision. Though the woman quickly recovered, the incident has caused a painful hangover for the teamaker. It prompted Celestial Seasonings to postpone a $12 million stock offering, and the company recalled some 6,000 cases of the tea.

Researchers speculate the woman's reaction was caused by a natural toxin called atropine. Harmless traces of the substance had gotten into some packages of the tea in a still unknown way. At first Celestial's founder and chairman, Mo Siegel, 34, talked vaguely of "supply problems," but last week he gave a detailed explanation of the incident. Said one investment banker: "A lot of people would not have said anything. His decision was very ethical."

The accident was a heavy blow for Boulder-based Celestial, the largest U.S. maker of herb teas. Said Siegel: "It's been the worst week of my life." Nonetheless, the tempest-in-a-tea-stock is expected to blow over. The comfrey flavor represents a minute share of the Colorado company's total sales, which in fiscal 1983 increased by 26% to $27 million. The public offering will be rescheduled for early next year, when it is likely to bring Siegel a celestial cash windfall of more than $1 million. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.