09/08/2026
We were highlighted in the Missoulian article "100 Things that make Missoula Unique." Setp. 5 2026
Excerpt below for folks without subscription.
Evening in Missoula" tea
TOM BAUER, Missoulian
People all over the world share an evening in Missoula with a cup of tea.
Evening in Missoula, that is, the blend of tea concocted by the late Missoula renaissance man Bruce Lee back in 1973. Today, Missoula Tea and Spice Trading LLC ships several hundred pounds of Evening in Missoula every day to stores and shops around the globe.
“Bruce always regretted calling it that, because he thought it made it so localized,” said Sharri Lee, Bruce’s wife and owner of Missoula Tea and Spice Trading on West Broadway, which produces Evening in Missoula. “But people are still finding it years later. I don’t even know how they find out about it. It’s truly all over the place.”
Bruce Lee helped put the original “hip” in the Higgins Avenue Hip Strip when he opened Butterfly Herbs in the same space that housed the Crystal Theater, Rishashay clothing and jewelry shop and Gilded Lily restaurant in 1972. The Butterfly Building, as it was known, had 10 original partners peddling an eclectic range of products and services, from yarn to foreign films.
“He liked to cook, and he was bringing in spices and just started putting together teas,” Sherri said. “Celestial Seasonings was just getting started doing that in Colorado. He’d just conceptualize the flavor and then work at getting things to taste like he wanted it to taste like.”
A caffeine-free herbal blend, Evening in Missoula has notes of mint and vanilla. Asked to describe it, Sherri deferred to Bruce’s expression: “It’s like a day in May.”
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What's your favorite Missoula landmark? ⤵️ Find a link to the story in the comments.
