At about 126 sheep, one has to wonder if there isn’t some other options to summon the sandman and get more than a wink. There might be a hot toddy or warm milk but Nucha Tea also finds a sweet cup before bed can help to catch those Zzz’s. Based on Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nucha Tea has a variety of tisanes aiming to combat daily woes like stress, colds or those sleepless nights. Their ticket to ride the clouds to dreams in their Midnight Express tisane combines Traditional Chinese Medical remedies to ease, calm and to coax a night’s rest with a blend of:
Honeysuckle (calming), chrysanthemum (headaches), jasmine (stress), lotus leaf (irritability), prunella (stress), rose (insomnia) and wormwood (sedative)
Like all of their teas, the tea is bagged, ever easy to get one in a winding down mood. To help even more, the wrapping comes with cute quotes in theme with their purpose. Out of the package, the tisane’s bag is small and the tisane has a light to medium scent. It has a unique aroma, that is somewhat like brown leaves, but not like fall air, as there’s an earthier lining and the dryness is slightly dusty. The kind of woody, reed notes are a bit like chamomile, with a hint of an herbalish perk, that is almost mint-like, but it seems fleeting. The aroma seems to keep it under cover, maybe to get one all the more curious to tuck into a brew.
With the brewing instructions included on the package, as boiling water for ten to fifteen minutes, it might be best to get jammies on while it steeps. Depending on how long one brews, the cup transcends from a blonde to an ocher at fifteen minutes that is more sunflower at ten minutes. It has a light to medium scent which has some soothing tone from its woody hum. With a kind of grassy reediness and waxy vegetal, it reminds me more of chamomile, now with wax beans or potato along with a tinge of hops, enough that I had to double check the ingredients for hops, as they are ironically not in the mix, even though hops are also thought to make one sleepy. Yet, after re-checking the ingredients, somewhat surprisingly, despite the petal laden florals in the blend, the bouquet isn’t floral or particularly sweet. While the tisane’s low key air is, perhaps, appropriate, a bit more of some flourish to linger on as it lulls one into slumber might not be such a bad thing. Regardless, tucking in, the tea’s light to medium body has enough flavour to follow without missing some caffeine. It’s mild tasting, with a similar stitch to the blanket of flavours as the aroma alludes. The reedy, papery flavour also seems somewhat chamomile like, but prettier, with flashes of chalkboard and artichoke. There’s also a flicker of almost bitterness, like hops in a lager, that helps add some definition without being bracing. Although the tea finishes without any aftertase, if chilled, sipping through the cup, does find a dry rose petal echo. Unfortunately, I’m not sure the flavour is quite one I’d look forward to nestling up to as my last sips of the day although, it may help not to keep one up. With my eyes still open, the tea may not be so potent to summon the sandman with the last swallow, but it does seem calming in its mellow air.
It’s possible to re-steep the tea bag, despite the long first infusion, with a fresh plunge into boiling water for a longer steep or just by leaving the tisane’s bag in. The cup has a light aroma that seems more perfumey with a hint of soap while the brew retains enough flavour and seems a bit sweeter with a woodier chamomile slant to linger over, in case sleep evades the first cup.
As a medicinal, anectodal tisane, Nucha Tea’s Midnight Express drives slow and easy. Although the ingredients are exotic and varied, the blend brews up much simpler. It may not taste quite as dreamy as the dreams it might invite, but it is does seem to have the makings to set one adrift into sleep.
