Sweet ZZZ’s by Birch Moon Wellness Co.
Herbal Tisane / Flavoured
$12.50 for 30g (20 sachets)
Birch Moon Wellness Co. has provided me with Sweet ZZZ’s for the purposes of writing an honest review.
First Impressions
Birch Moon Wellness Co. is a Canadian tea company located in Ottawa, Ontario with ingredients that are sourced from Siberia, Russia and the tisanes are blended in a Health Canada approved facility. Sweet ZZZ’s is one of their three tisanes found in the Wellness Trio – Discovery Bundle, which Birch Moon was so very kind to send my way to try (which means that this is the first of three tisane reviews for Birch Moon products!).
The packaging is pretty – I love the design on the boxes themselves. There was a plastic cellophane on the outside of the box that I removed prior to photographing the cartons. The boxes themselves are matte and cardstock – so recyclable. The box easily opens on the side with a flap and the tea is prepackaged into square sachets – all inside of a resealable zip top bag for freshness.
Sweet ZZZ’s has an interesting smell because I really can’t place what it reminds me of. I definitely can smell the lemon balm though, and some of the thyme. I’m not familiar with all of the herbal ingredients, so it’s hard for me to determine what’s what. Sweet ZZZ’s contains: chamomile, lemon balm grass, thyme, kuril tea, and motherwort.
Preparation
Birch Moon recommends using boiling water (100°C/212°F) and to steep for 10 to 15 minutes. I opted to steep for 10 minutes.
First Taste
Sweet ZZZ’s steeps to a bright yellow that was surprising to me! I wish I knew more about some of the ingredients so I knew which one was making it so bright. It reminds me a lot of sunshine in a cup. I can definitely smell the thyme and lemon balm, and something else. Flavour wise, I can taste the chamomile and thyme, and a hint of lemon balm in the background. I’m not sure what kuril tea or motherwort are supposed to taste or smell like, but there’s something in the tea that reminds me of a bit of ginseng – and not in a bad way. There is a nice pleasantness to it, with a hint of sweetness.
A Second Cup?
Birch Moon’s website suggests that their tisanes can be steeped 2-3 times. I did it twice, and found that the flavour does lessen considerably by the second resteep (third steep), so I might recommend just the one resteep (I did it for 15 minutes).
My Overall Impression
I loved Birch Moon’s Sweet ZZZ’s. The first time I tried out this tisane was when I was getting off a night shift and trying to sleep at about 8:30am. Just steeped a cup, sipped it down as I was puttering around before tucking myself in for a nap. It’s definitely more interesting for the taste buds than a plain chamomile, while still making me want to sleep. Nothing against a plain chamomile tisane, it’s just not my cup of tea.
Curious about the cup rating system? Click here to learn more.