Sleepytime Vanilla

My last pot of the evening…so glad that my conference is in town this week!! It means I get to sleep in a smidge, and that I didn’t have to abandon Chloe (what, has nobody else named their Breville?), and can have delicious tea before I go to the morning sessions. Granted, I’ll probably not get to have any once I’m there, but at least I’ll have a few really good morning cups!!

I am comparing Sleepytime Vanilla tonight with a fresh box of Honey Vanilla Chamomile. My verdict is that Sleepytime Vanilla is a more appealing chamomile blend. This is an interesting result because I recently tested a packet of Harvest Chamomile, which is apparently the former name of Honey Vanilla Chamomile. Now I need to check to see whether the ingredients are different in the two blends. Otherwise, my reactions are completely contradictory, since last time I claimed that Honey Vanilla Chamomile was better than Sleepytime Vanilla!

Why do I prefer Sleepytime Vanilla in tonight’s side-by-side steep-off? Probably because I was craving vanilla, which is demonstrably present in Sleepytime Vanilla, while rather muted in the Honey Vanilla Chamomile. I need to go check the ingredients of the Harvest Vanilla—ASAP!

update: I do believe that the formula for Honey Vanilla Chamomile, formerly known as Harvest Chamomile* has changed. My only evidence, however, is that vanilla is explicitly listed among the ingredients in the latter but not the former case. In the Honey Vanilla Chamomile, “natural flavors” is the only place where vanilla might be implicated, but vanilla is not mentioned, except in the name of the blend. One thing is clear, Honey Vanilla Chamomile is much more about chamomile than either honey or vanilla!

From http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/2378/tea-review-celestial-seasonings-sleepytime-vanilla-3/ – It’s all About the Leaf – go read more reviews!

I have a confession. I consider myself an herbal tea fan. Yet, I hate chamomile.

And a lot of teas, especially ones designed to soothe and relax, like to focus on chamomile. So I used to convince myself (on those nights where I’ve had a horrible long day and want a nice, mellow cup of tea to help me relax) that maybe the chamomile won’t be so bad this time. So I brew, and I relax, and I sip. And then I go and calmly dump the cup out and wonder why it’s still on my shelf of tea. Blech.

This cycle continued until I found Sleepytime Vanilla. This is an herbal tea, designed to relax you. And it has chamomile in it. And I actually like it. The blend of mint and vanilla with the chamomile mellows the flavor, and enhances the brew. As you sip, you’re first hit by the mint and chamomile, pleasantly combined, then the vanilla shows up with a creamy aftertaste. The flavors play off each other, and remove whatever it is that consistently makes me go BLEA.

These days, when I’ve had a horrible long day and want to relax, this tea is the one that finds its way into my cup. I sip contentedly, and actually gain that relaxation I am so craving.

Herbal tisane of the evening here, taking care of myself big time includes plenty of rest and relaxation!

You know, I think I like the regular Sleepytime better than this, the vanilla doesn’t do too much aside from providing this with a slightly strange aroma and off flavor. I have to say I am finding it kind of oooky.

Good night, all!

Well my history with Sleepytime tea from Celestial Seasonings goes back a long, long way. Back around 1973 I started drinking Sleepytime. I drank it a lot to help sleep (obviously). Back then I didn’t use any sweetener and I got sooooo tired of Sleepytime. I have been really reluctant to try it again. So I found the Vanilla version and tried it. Hey, not bad! I added a little sweetener this time and I like it. I can see this becoming a regular evening beverage. The taste is mostly vanilla and spearmint rather than the heavy camomile I remember. I can’t say its my favorite it it will serve its purpose well.

I’m reviewing this one for Mike the founder of ’It’s All About the Leaf’ tea blog (http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/).

I grew up drinking Celestial Seasonings teas and it was (and still is) a staple in my mom’s cupboard; but for some reason I never got around to trying this particular one even though ‘Sleepytime’ is one of the standard CS blends. For once CS seems to have made a herbal tea without hibiscus being involved (thankfully). Out of the box it smells quite herbal with a strong odor of mint. More in-depth sniffing revealed a sweet vanilla-y odor lurking in the background.

There’s not really a whole lot of vanilla that I can taste in the tea itself and I think that’s partially due to the fact that the mint and chamomile are such strong, aromatic herbs that they drown out any subtleties in this tea.

I had a stomach ache tonight and decided some chamomile tea would help. I’m coming around to this cup of tea. The flavor is still a little bit strange, but I like the smoothness. It’s almost “fluffy” — not in texture so much.. but just in presence. I also like how the vanilla calms the spearmint since I wasn’t crazy about that note in the original Sleepytime blend. So soothing, I may have a second cup tonight.

Backlogging. Sunday late at night.
My mom has a box of Sleepytime Vanilla from her many purchases from when she visited the Celestial Seasoning’s plant in Denver, CO while vacationing and visiting my sister Kath’s ex-fiance. This is not the first time I’ve had this herbal at her place. I like it pretty well for a non-caffeinated bagged herbal before bed. Better than plain Sleepytime, if my memory of it is correct. The vanilla mutes the flavors into a better mix.

So many swaps to work on! Yay! Can’t wait share the tea love. :)

Just like Sleepytime but a little more mellow. Nothing special but I do love my cup of “something with chamomile before bed”.

I think I might like the regular sleepytime better, but this is doing the trick tonight. I don’t buy a lot of boxed grocery store teas (yes, yes, call me a snob), but I like to keep a box of sleepytime tea in the house.