That was the last sleepytime tea I could handle testing at 3pm on a Tuesday, which seemed like the only way to know if they were working. The original Sleepytime Tea you know the one, with the comatose bear in front of a precarious roaring fire , hit shelves in That thing sells over 4 million boxes a year! And now that herbal remedies cough are becoming more and more mainstream, you have too many to choose from. And wait until you hear about Ambien! Herbalists will note that human bodies react very different to herbs: some might even feel energized by valerian, while others might conk out after a watery cup of chamomile.
Some tasted like gym socks, others like floral arrangements in a funeral parlor, and a few managed to have no flavor whatsoever. In this very unscientific test, I yawned my way through the workday to find the sleepiest and most delicious bedtime tea, though, to be honest, some of those meetings were just very boring.
The longer you steep the Night Time tea, the more the licorice flavor comes out in a lightly spiced way—not like the disgusting candy. Otherwise, the flavor is so low-key you can barely taste anything.
Relaxing oatflower, the main ingredient, is probably why. Combined with Seinfeld reruns and a few glasses of wine, I was asleep in three minutes flat. Would drink again. It gets me every time. But the scent is much stronger than the taste. Verdict: Legit. Despite the scent, the flavor is mellow and perfect for ending a long day overthinking how to respond to that one email. Sorry kids, stick to your sippy cups of scotch, this is adult tea. Passionflower is really carrying the team, with lemon balm, licorice, and chamomile on the bench. Familiar ingredients, and a familiar taste: weirdly like nothing at all.
How can something taste like so much nothing? Or the color beige. Verdict: Very chill, but not chill enough. Flavor of nothing continues to mystify me. They tried to rebrand, and thousands of calls and emails cried out UM NO. So they brought the bear back, and the world is a better place for it. Well, I take that back.
Verdict: Is this the Coca-Cola of sleepytime teas? And look at the bear, man. This tea talks dirty to you, and I like it. Inside the bag is a bouquet of dried flowers chamomile, rose, lavender, passionflower, etc —it looks like potpourri and made me wonder if I should store it in my underwear drawer. Would be even better with an extra squeeze of lemon.
But relaxed and kind of sassy? This was my first time as a human to ever consume catnip, which I knew had great reviews from my cat, Roger, but apparently is also a muscle-relaxing nerve-chiller. True story, and real career. When steeped, this made a darker, gray tea that smelled like oatmeal and tasted very mellow, with hints of That was the most concrete thing I could put my finger on. Snooze factor: could easily drink during the day after a rough meeting or before that therapist appointment.
Packaged in an open-shelf-friendly octagonal jar, there was a big, green dried hop the stuff you make beer with on the top of the tea when I twisted off the lid. What a nice touch! This is a very unique tea, with mugwort and hops, and I love anything that gives me Macbeth witch vibes. I used to make potions like this when we camped in the Michigan woods in my childhood, and this was the tea I was trying to make. Lots of dried pieces of actual nature, without the flavor of sticks, mud, and Off!
Bug spray. After steeping a suggested 10—30 minutes, the tea still had only a hint of rose-chamomile flavor. To bring out the floral notes, cold-steep the tea before you leave for work in the morning, and strain it to reheat before bed.
Verdict: Pleasant, neutral flavor. After having a cup at 3pm on a Monday, I felt a little dizzy—this is definitely better for nighttime. Not really. Steep Echos' teas are made from olive leaves cool! The flavor is just lovely chamomile, lots of rose , matching the fancy-boutique-hotel-on-the-seaside vibes of said paper. The longer the steep, the more potent that becomes. Take the tea bag out after 3—4 minutes. Verdict: A calming tea but not a get-thee-to-dreamtown sleepytime tea. I'd recommend for late-afternoon stress, after your boss pulled you into his office to reprimand you for something that definitely wasn't your fault.
Or was it? This has an intense minty, lemongrass, and medicinal flavor, which honestly just comes with the sleepytime territory. Valerian in full effect. As mentioned earlier, it fucked me up in the office, so I save this one for seriously stressful nights, like, say, when you know you need to write a long story about teas the next morning and have really procrastinated. The scent is so strong that I store this tea away from other teas lest they all start smelling the same. Verdict: Seriously snoozy, but not subtle in flavor. Doctor it up with honey to cut through the bitterness.