Lower The Lids

When we first sold these, I picked some up for myself. And so now, here’s my honest review.

The Reason For My Interest

Suffice it to say, I wanted to make healthier choices. My diet was not where it should be, which meant I didn’t always get great sleep, which, in turn, meant I had less energy to exercise, and thus the cycle repeated.

So, obviously, I needed to be better.

The issue I sometimes have is this: yes, healthier choices leave me feeling better overall, and also allow me the energy I need to exercise, which further improves my various health metrics (like, for example, my resting heart rate). But when I’m in better shape, I can get to the end of the day and find it hard to shut my brain off. When I do eventually fall asleep, I get better rest than when I’m not at my best, but still: the nodding off can be tough. Hence, I like to have something that brings on the necessary mellow without unhealthy side effects.

Preparation and Taste

So, I went with the mint chocolate because that was the most appealing of the three flavors for me. (I might have tried the variety pack, because I like chai as well, but the Great British Bake-Off has scared me off of rose-flavored anything forever. Seriously, why do the bakers keep using rose water? The judges ALWAYS hate it!)

The first time I prepared a mug of it, I warmed up some water in an electric kettle and poured it over a scoop of the Moonbrew. The result was… fine. My main gripe is that, despite the beverage being warm, the mint flavor felt almost cooling. In milk, it tasted better, but my preferred preparation is dissolving it in about a cup of warmed-up unsweetened almond milk. It hits that perfect middle ground: just creamy enough to feel a little indulgent, but not so creamy that it’s heavy.

As for the flavor? It was fine. Would I drink it even if it lacked all sleep assistant properties? Probably not. But, unlike a lot of ‘functional beverages,’ I didn’t feel the need to choke it down as quickly as possible.

Effect

Honestly, you can’t argue with the results. Or, at least, I can’t. I drink a cup, and about an hour later, I start to feel heavy in the lids. And that’s been every time I’ve used it, too. It chills me out, quiets my mind, and helps me fall into a nice, restful sleep.

Of course, I’ll add the caveat that it’s not like I’m drinking five vodka-Redbulls and then relying on this stuff to lay me down to bed. When I reach for the Moonbrew, it’s more of an insurance policy. And, as that, it works well.

As for the claim that you won’t feel it in the morning, my verdict is: mostly true. I have woken up feeling slightly groggy after drinking Moonbrew, but nothing remotely approaching the brain-wrapped-in-cotton feeling of, say, taking NyQuil. (And, to be fair, I’ve only used this stuff in the late fall and winter, when getting up early means waking two hours before the sun and giving up a warm bed to get started with my day. Hard not to feel a little groggy under those conditions.)

Verdict

This is a classic Meh product: if I go through my three bags, and we still have some around, I’ll buy more. But if we sell out, I probably won’t rush to Amazon and pay close to 50 bucks per bag. (We only have it at this price because Moonbrew changed their packaging and we got the previous iteration.)

Still, it works for me, so I’m glad to have it.

How about you? Share your thoughts in the comments.