So my insomnia has been pretty bad lately, even after cutting back on tea. Wanting to avoid going the melatonin route, I decided to look into tisanes. Internet research consistenly turned up chamomile and valerian as effective sleep aids. Since I like chamomile on its own, I decided to try it first.
My stash of Rishi chamomile medley had more herbs than chamomile flowers left so yesterday I set out to procure some organic loose leaf chamomile. However, Whole Foods only carries the bagged variety and the giant 1 lb bags sold on Amazon are overkill. Luckily I was able to get half an ounce of pure chamomile from the Spice & Tea Exchange.
Tastewise, this was a delicious tea on its own. Sweet, citrusy, and honeyed with a bright yellow color. Normally I steep chamomile for 5 minutes but I decided to brew it extra strong and steeped for 10 minutes. Even then it was soft and very soothing.
A couple of cups of this and some classical music on Spotify definitely helped me sleep better last night. Hopefully it’s not simply a placebo effect because it’s such a lovely and relaxing bedtime tea. I will experiment tonight by upping the quantity of chamomile and maybe blend in some dried lavender.
Flavors: Citrusy, Honey
When you start looking into valerian, check out Bedtime Blues from AQ2T. It is absolutely the most relaxing tea I’ve ever had. And so delicious! Plus it has chamomile too.
I don’t like the taste of chamomile, so I have to use valerian, but it works amazingly well for me. I only ever use it in blends, usually with mint and lavender, but it really hits me hard.
Thanks for the recommendations, I’ll definitely be sure to check out valerian
Whether placebo effect or not, linden works the best for me followed by valerian. I’d much rather drink flower nectar than stinky feet.