Kava Stress Relief

My daughter signed up for a free sample from Yogi tea and got the stress relief sample for me. This tea and Bedtime were the two included.

Last night my hubby, who has had a cold for about a week and hasn’t slept well, said he couldn’t sleep even though his cold was better. He said his mind would not stop spinning as he mulled lots of work related issues, most of them positive but still keeping his mind busy.

I suggested he try this. To quote Missy’s daughter, it smelled like butt. So much so, in fact, that I took a sip just to make sure this tea was not going to traumatize him like Evening in Missoula did. It didn’t taste too bad. There was a bit of cinnamon taste and licorice root, of course.

Did it work? He says he went to sleep pretty quickly and wants more tonight. Since I am out of this one, I will give him Bedtime tonight, and I will stock up on whichever one works best for him.

WARNING: Read the label before drinking this tea!

Where to start? This is my first Yogi tea. This one in particular was recommended to me by a friend. It’s advertised to “ease tension and promote relaxation.*” The asterisk elaborates that “These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.” Fairly standard language. I actually work for the FDA, so I’m used to seeing this kind of disclaimer on products. What I wasn’t prepared for were the major warnings listed on the tea packet:

“Ask a health care professional before use if you have or have had liver problems, frequently use alcoholic beverages or are taking any medication. Stop use and see a doctor if you develop symptoms that may signal liver problems (e.g., unexplained fatigue, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, fever, vomiting, dark urine, pale stools, yellow eyes or skin). Not for use by persons under 18 years of age or by pregnant or breastfeeding women. Not for use with alcoholic beverages. Excessive use or use with products that cause drowsiness may impair your ability to operate a vehicle or heavy equipment.”

JEEZ!!!!! And these warnings are contradicted by the advertisements on the box:

“We think before we blend. How will our recipes work with body and mind?” And “Health is found in nature. We work with what nature already offers rather than trying to concoct it. We don’t have laboratories. We have kitchens.” And “For a stronger effect, use 2 tea bags. On especially challenging days, drink 3 to 4 cups.”

So, first you warn me not to drink it excessively. Then you tell me to use 2 tea bags and drink 3-4 cups a day. Isn’t that somewhat excessive?

Additionally, you tell me not to drink it if I’m taking ANY medications at all. How can you expect the average consumer not to be taking any medications at all? What specifically are you trying to warn me against combining? Should I not drink this if I take an Advil? Should I not drink this if I’m on birth control? Should I not drink this if I’m on cholesterol or blood pressure medication? Does this tea really interfere with ANY medication that I take? Giving a warning that vaguely lumps all medications together seems fishy.

This is scary! My first impression was that the tea smelled weird. There’s something a little off about it. But I generally get that impression with herbal teas, so I didn’t dwell on it. I took a sip and found that even though it smelled funky, I could only taste hot cinnamon water. I’m really not getting any other flavors at all. Just cinnamon.

But after reading the box, I’m afraid to drink any more of it! Especially because I can’t taste that funky thing I’m smelling. I’m afraid of what this “tea” will do to my body. I don’t drink alcohol very often, but just the possibility that drinking this tea will hurt my liver is a huge concern!

I thought tea was supposed to be healthy. I thought tea was supposed to be good for you. All I’ve ever heard are the positive impacts of drinking tea (with the exception that it inhibits the body’s ability to absorb iron).

What the heck is this in my cup?? I personally have not had any ill effects from the two tiny sips I’ve consumed today. But I warn everyone out there, beware of Yogi teas!

A tea that requires this much warning before consumption isn’t normal. I’m tempted to alert my FDA colleagues to this tea just because a warning label might not be sufficient for keeping an unsafe product on the market.
Consumer beware!

If ever there was a day that I needed stress relief, it is today. I am now safely at home and, unless the zombie apocalypse comes, I plan on ignoring the vast majority of humanity.

After one (rather large) glass of wine, I’ve decided to brew up the sample of this that amandajo sent to me. Scent of the brewed “tea” is rather different…I can’t quite put my finger (nose) on it. It’s sweet-smelling, and slightly herbal, but then it’s not…

Oh, I can taste the carob. And the cinnamon. And there’s ginger, too. The spices are slightly chai-like, and I find that very lovely. It’s got a rather chocolatey taste to it.

Not sure if it’s the wine that’s mellowed me out, or if this stuff really works that fast. One thing’s for sure, I’ll be picking up a box of this the next time I see it. And will be putting bags in my purse and at my desk at work.

While it has been a while since I’ve had this tea, I remember it well. I get anxiety and am basically wound up all the time, mentally and physically. I have learned to deal with it without medication. Kava is one of the only things that helped me other than passionflower extract or a prescription benzo like Xanax or Valium. I must say that I would brew with 3-4 bags for like 7-8 mins and would not take them out of the cup. As for the taste…cinnamony :) one thing that you can do to tell that kava is indeed in this tea is to hold a couple sips in your mouth for like 10-20 seconds. Do this enough an you will get a bit of numbness in your mouth. I can not attest to any problems with the tea as it was never strong enough for me. I’ve taken kava in extract form and it can definitely “slow you down.” Theres a reason it is called Grog, and in some cultures it’s used basically like alcohol. I’ve found all this out online in a short amount of time, so the hysterical reactions of some just make me laugh… If you see a warning, get some information before you drink.

Licorice, Cinnamon, and Carob is an odd combination. Not necessarily bad, just different and takes some getting used to. It is certainly a strong tea (as one would undoubtedly gather just by reading the ingredient list!). Are the flavors fighting each other? A bit, but its kind of an enjoyable fight. Think of a black licorice whip wrapped around a cinnamon stick with a carob pod shoved in there. Do I feel any different after drinking it? Yes, I think I do feel calmer and less “bitchy”. I think I like the taste, its growing on me.

My roommate is awful… just awful. And she doesn’t even know I think this about her. Why? Because of Kava Stress Relief. A nice welcoming blend of herbs and spices that I drink on frequent occasion. Now in an argument between bagged tea and loose leaf, loose leaf wins from a culinary perspective. But bagged teas are homey, and easy. They don’t often require special temperatures, and the best ones (in my opinion) don’t even require specific steep times. You just pull the bag out when you feel good and ready! Now I could wax poetic about the “levels of intriguing flavor” and the “timeline of flavor that is first bold, and then shy”. But really what it comes down to is that Kava Stress Relief is a great drink, and has a place in my tea cupboard next to any Pu-Erh that I can afford.

I started drinking this tea when I was in grad school (since grad school should be renamed “The Secret 10th Level of Hell”). My sister started up on it since it’s a bit chocolatey, so it’s kind of been a staple in my house. I don’t like the carob taste, but the Sister does. I like the cinnamon taste, but she doesn’t. I can’t stand the stevia, but she loves it.

I decided to have this tea because the world has decided to engulf me with all the worst things ever except getting a pink slip (I’m just going to continue part-timing and not ever get a real job, it seems). I kind of needed this today, and I’m almost thinking that just the thought of having a stress relief tea relieved my stress. Yeah, I calmed down even before I started sipping. The scent has really grown on me, but I can’t drink this tea unless I cut it with milk. The cinnamon is a nice mid-tone, but the stevia is way too much for me.

I’m 3/4 through my cup, and I’m pretty durn calm/sleepy now. The tag for this cup of Kava Stress is: “Love what is ahead by loving what has come before.” ….So I’m going to try to love Eugenics, War, and Slavery. I’ll see where that takes me (actually, I think that’s a pretty interesting quote; the stress is just making me sarcastic).

I was just looking at reviews of this and boy they are really all over the place!
I got this sample in the mail along with the sleepy time blend. This arrived at the point where you don’t remember you requested the sample, but not long enough that you remember and get angry because it isn’t here yet. :p Which was perfect! I’ve been having a wonderful day so this is just for tasting.
The smell of the bag is distinctly woodsy. There is some sharp cinnamon notes followed by yet more woodsy-ness. The very first thing I thought while smelling this was “camping.” The steeping smell seems very nutmeg like with some licorice.
Ohhh my gosh. This one smells very different to how it tastes! It really coats the throat with the cinnamon/nutmeg flavor. I loved this. It has a really unique mouth feel.
I will have to use my coupon I got with this to buy this tea. It is simply awesome. I don’t really care about if it actually calms me down. Simply because sitting and drinking tea does that. But, if I do get anything I will let you guys know!

I should have researched this tea more. Kava did NOT mix well with my anti-depressants. I tried it two nights in a row and woke up in cold sweats for both nights. I do not recommend for those on anti-depressants.

My sister sent this to me (because wow, do I need some stress relief right now), and I wasn’t sure what to expect. When I read the ingredients I was pretty leery, because I really don’t like licorice or ginger, but the carob pod saved it for me. I was pleasantly surprised that it was tolerable, and maybe even okay. I sure wouldn’t drink this for the taste, and I didn’t notice any particular effect that it had on my mood/stomach ache, but I’ll try it again for sure.

Had some residual frustration from yesterday showing up today , so I made a cup of this . It has a nice relaxing chocolate smell and taste !

Making it a double today.

I have to watch how much caffeine I drink so only drink herbal infusions after around 5pm. I have had Kava extract before but it was then banned in the UK so no longer take it. I bought these anyway when I found somewhere that had them in stock.

They don’t really have the nice Kava peppery taste, they do however have a more clove / cinnamon taste to them. It’s not unpleasent but it’s not fantastic either. They are pretty relaxing and I suppose could say have helped me sleep however probably not more so than anything else I’ve tried.

Overall I’d say Yogi Kava tea was OK but I won’t be buying them again

When we got home we took our first sip of the product, and much to our surprise the taste was distinct, but not over powering. The cinnamon flavor is definitely there, but it has a sort of malty kind of taste to it. Upon noticing this, I subsequently looked at the package ingredients and noticed that malted barley was in fact one of the listed ingredients, but malted barley tastes nothing like malt balls or single malt whisky. Then I looked further down the ingredient listings and realized that it wasn’t malt at all that I was tasting, it was sarsaparilla! You know, the ingredient that is used to make rootbeer? Well, this was my first time experiencing sasparilla in a non-root-beer product, and I was very pleased with it.

As far as relaxation goes, it seems to get the job done there as well, although I doubt it has anything to do with Kava, as I have had real Kava powder before and needed to fill up almost a 2oz container of the root to get any pronounced effect on it. Although they use an extract in this tea so maybe it does help.

I’ve tried other yogi teas as well: Tahitian Vanilla-lousy; India Spice-awesome. And then there’s this one, which I highly recommend, at least as an introductory course to chai teas, like had been done for me.

This tea is not my favorite. The flavor needs tweaking and I haven’t really felt a difference in my stress level, even after using 2 bags at once. I think I will continue to drink Tazo Rest all day for stress relief until I find another Kava tea to try.

YUCK. I didn’t like this at all. Had it last night to see if it would work as my new bedtime tea. I steeped it for the full ten minutes, and it tasted very strongly of cinnamon – I couldn’t really taste anything else, aside from an aftertaste of…dirty? It tasted like the tea had been made with dirty water, or something. I’m not a big cinnamon fan at all, so it was way too strong for me. Going to try steeping it for five minutes, or adding some almond milk (or both) and seeing if I like it any better.

I really hate the taste of this stuff, but it works. When I am feeling ‘above and beyond’ stressed out, I turn to this tea and it takes me out of my tense headspace. Unfortunately, it just has that terrible licorice-sarsaparilla flavor that makes me think ‘…if it wasn’t effective…’ – but on the upside, it takes me out of my head, as I shmeck and make faces. Keep this around for when you really need to unclench.

This aromatic blend of herbs and spices really hits the spot, and it seems to be calming my nerves already.

Always liked this tea.

It does seem to help me relax. Kava is not some hokey wives’ tale – it can be powerful stuff. I like the taste of it. Spicy and smooth. Personally, I’ve been cutting the bags open and mixing it in with some masala chai. Makes for a good spicy blend that wakes you up but keeps you relaxed. Tastes good too.

I bought a box of this at Whole Foods after reading some good reviews in a few anxiety forums. I’ve been having terrible anxiety lately and this stuff is a blessing. Basically, it puts me to sleep. It does have a strong smell but it’s not really a bad smell. It mostly just smells like cinnamon and ginger.