Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsDetailed overview of the ingredients and what they do
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2019
This listing doesn't describe the tea. So I'm going to go into a bit of detail. But if you just want a short version, this is an excellent tea for people with sleeping problems, but also more powerful than a lot of people will expect.
Now for the long version:
Since Amazon doesn't give an ingredient list, they are Valerian root (450mg), Passionflower (300mg), Lemon Balm (300mg), Peppermint (300mg), and a 150mg mixture of caraway fruit and licorice, presumably for flavor.
Valerian root and passionflower are the most important ingredients. Both are herbal sedatives, with valerian root being the strongest herbal sedative in common use, as well as the most studied. Passionflower is also quite potent, especially compared to something like chamomile. (If you want a middle ground, linden and lavender are stronger than chamomile, but weaker than passionflower.)
Lemon balm is a calming herb which eases anxiety and restlessness. It also has a pleasant flavor, which likely influenced its inclusion. The rest, including the peppermint, are purely for flavor. (Though licorice and peppermint do have anti-inflammatory properties, and are good for aiding digestion and soothing the GI tract, which is a plus before bed.)
On the topic of flavor, valerian root tastes bad, and smells awful. This blend does a pretty good job of masking that, but the taste is still pretty bracing. As for the quality of product, Herbal Medicinals is a good brand, and typically uses higher quality ingredients than competitors in the same price-range like Celestial Seasonings. The therapeutic qualities of the blend are also good, and while I could nit-pick certain things, such as the decision to use lemon balm, I have no real complaints.
This is a solid 4/5 product, and I'd recommend it. However I am removing an additional star due to the terrible listing. Not having an ingredient list or product description for an herbal remedy is inexcusable.
