Most nights I fall into bed aching, but my mind still whirring – I’m the kind of person who needs to keep a notebook near their bed and hide work somewhere else. Celestial Seasonings isn’t a supermarket brand in the UK, and I am not even going to lie, I bought my box because I associated it with Ramona Flowers (sassy, tea-obsessed heroine of Scott Pilgrim). I was initially sceptical, as chamomile has never worked for me.
Onto the actual tasting. I love the spearmint hit from the box and and it’s always the most prominent smell and taste to me. The taste is smooth and sort of stereotypically ‘herbal’ – chamomile, mint, lemongrass, rose – and it leaves a tingly, cool feeling in your throat. I’m sure half of this is placebo, but when I brew a cup and breathe deeply into it, I do find it immensely relaxing. Magically, it does actually seem to help me sleep – if I’m restless and brew a cup just before I go to bed, I can feel my eyelids getting heavy (they are right now!). It’s not always the most refreshing sleep, but it’s sleep. This is one of my staple ‘just in case’ teas now.
A note for people who use a tea box, like me – keep your Sleepytime inside its waxy bag and box. If you keep it with other teas, it just loses all of its mintiness.
