Sleepy Time Tea

Can’t sleep? Is your brain running at a hundred miles an hour? Try having a cup of calming tea before bed. My favourite packaged tea is Sweet Dreams Tea from Red Seal, but half the time it’s out of stock at our local supermarket so I’ve been creating my own version.

You may remember a couple of years ago I shared the recipe for the creamy plant based bedtime drink Turmeric and Coconut Bedtime Elixer. This recipe was a big hit, but not everyone wants a creamy drink at bed time which is why I’m sharing this tea recipe.

This tea is very light on chamomile as I find too much of this herb upsets my stomach. Passionflower and valerian root are also wonderful herbs to add into a bedtime tea as they both help to alleviate anxiety and improve sleep, however both are a little difficult to find in NZ so I left them out. You can however purchase both as a supplement and have them that way instead.

Sleepy Time Tea

This recipe makes three to four cups.

1 tablespoon dried lemon balm

2 teaspoons dried peppermint

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon chamomile

2 slices dried liquorice root – or one bag of liquorice tea

A good squeeze of lemon per cup

Slice of lemon per cup as garnish (optional)

Here’s how to make it

Mix all the ingredients together and put into a jar.

To make one cup: put a teaspoon of the tea mix into a teapot with a strainer attached, or use a tea strainer in your tea cup. Pour in enough boiling water for one cup.

Steep for 5 minutes, pour or take out the stainer if using the one in a cup, add a little cold water and drink 🙂