I’ve not been having the best time sleeping lately- it takes me forever to get to dreamland, and when I finally do, I’m plagued with weird nightmares and wake up constantly throughout the night. Could it have something to do with my tendency to gulp down several cups of black tea a few hours before bedtime? Maybe 😛 I’m in desperate need of an herbal substitute! After seeing Pukka Herbs Night Time blend all over social media as of late, I was excited to give it a try, hoping it would soothe my nighttime woes. “A dreamy bed of organic oat flower, lavender & limeflower” the front of the box reads, the desciption alone causing my eyelids to flutter sleepily as I read it.

Time to taste! Let’s get.. relaxed!

As soon as I took one of the tea bags out of its envelope.. the intense smell of licorice immediately hit me and I just felt.. disappointed. There was no mention of licorice in the flowery descriptions of the tea anywhere on either the front or back of the box, except in the little tiny ingredients list. In fact, licorice root is the 2nd most prevalent ingredient in this blend, followed closely by chamomile, another herb otherwise mentioned nowhere on the packaging. I felt really annoyed by this revelation- I was really excited by the exotic-sounding ingredients on the front of the box and hoped I would get to experience some new tastes, but instead.. suddenly this tea seemed all too familiar. Nevertheless, I was still eager to taste the brew and find out what the flavor profile would be.

Brew Temperature: 100°C

Steep Time: 5 minutes

With my first sip, I quickly realized licorice was completely the dominant taste. It left a strong aftertaste in my mouth, and a residual sweetness stuck quite noticeably to the back of my throat until I took another sip… then it was back again. 😛 I noticed a slight minty taste as well, likely from the green tulsi that is also present in the blend. This could also be due to the limeflower and oat straw in the blend, but I cannot individually identify their contributing flavors.

Thoughts

If the actual flavor of the tea is any indication, I think this blend would be fairly marketed as a “licorice root, chamomille, and lavender” tisane. As you may have guessed, I am not the biggest fan of the taste of licorice, and had I known this tea would be chock full of it, would have respectfully avoided it. I cannot personally vouch for the “soothing” properties of Pukka’s Night Time as this is simply not an enjoyable cuppa to me, but when my boyfriend was sick with the flu, he found drinking this brew to be immensely calming and helped to soothe his throat and stomach. This may sound silly, but to me personally, I thought the packaging of this tea (the colors, the pictures, the descriptions of the tea) were a lot more soothing than the drink itself. If you enjoy the flavours of chamomile and licorice, this tea will taste lovely to you and may just be your perfect evening brew. Just.. don’t buy it based on a quick look at the box alone, or you may be disappointed.

Ingredients: Oat Straw (30%), licorice root, chamomille flower, lavender flower (14%), limeflower (10%), valerian root, green Rama tulsi leaf

Cost: ₤2.39

http://www.pukkaherbs.com/pukka-products/pukka-teas/night-time-new/