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Functional Food
|personal story

I've Tried All The Calming Teas. These Are The Ones That Actually Help With Anxiety

Liz Moody
Author: Medical reviewer:
February 13, 2020
Liz Moody
Author & Podcaster
By Liz Moody
Author & Podcaster
Liz Moody is the host of the top-rated The Liz Moody Podcast, author of bestselling books "100 Ways to Change Your Life," "Healthier Together: Recipes for Two—Nourish Your Body, Nourish Your Relationships," and "Glow Pops," and a popular online content creator who has helped millions of people transform their lives. A regular speaker, panelist, and podcast guest, Liz shares her own deeply personal anxiety journey that led her to where she is now as well as actionable, fun, and science-based ways for everyone to live their best lives.
Wendie Trubow, M.D., MBA
Medical review by
Wendie Trubow, M.D., MBA
Functional Medicine Gynecologist
Wendie Trubow is a functional medicine gynecologist with almost 10 years of training in the field. She received her M.D. from Tufts University.
February 13, 2020

Whether you have anxiety regularly or you're just dealing with the stress of everyday life, the simple action of sipping a warm cup of tea can be oh-so-comforting—and if that tea has additional herbs and ingredients meant to calm you, all the better. But which ones actually have a noticeable impact? I sipped my way through the world of anxiety teas to see which ones actually reduced my stress. Here's my review of the top five brews:

Allegro Relaxing Chamomile

Allegro Tea
Photo by Allegro

This tea combines a chamomile base with Hawthorne berry, eleuthero, and rose petals. Hawthorne berry lowers blood pressure1, which may help to reduce the physical symptoms that lead to feelings of anxiety, while eleuthero root supports the adrenals, offering help with long-term stress and anxiety. I drank it every day for a week, and while I enjoyed the pleasant, mild flavor (chamomile with a hint of vanilla), it didn't significantly affect my stress levels. Eleuthero is meant to be supportive over time, however, so I have a feeling this would be a good one to sip over a period of months or years as extra adrenal support.

Traditional Medicinals Cup of Calm

Traditional Madicinals cup of calm tea
Photo by Traditional Madicinals

I've actually had panic attacks where, instead of reaching for a pill, I hit up this guy (with a hefty dose of magnesium and some deep breathing, but that's a story for another day). I also always keep it in my bag when I travel, and it makes the trip go far more smoothly. The secret in this one is passionflower, which has actually been shown in studies to soothe anxiety symptoms.

The Republic of Tea Get Relaxed

The Republic of Tea Get Relaxed tea
Photo by The Republic of Tea

This one is all about those florals; it smells and tastes strongly of lavender and rose, so if you're not into that, this might not be the one for you. If you are, however, it offers potent aromatherapeutic benefits. It also has rooibos—which adds a lovely sweetness—passionflower and chamomile. This one left me almost as calm as the Cup of Calm, but slightly less tranquilized—which was actually a good thing, depending on the circumstances. While I'd reach for Cup of Calm when I was having an acute panic episode, Get Relaxed was perfect for sipping throughout the workday to feel mellow and chill, no matter how much was on my plate.

Pukka Relax Tea

Pukka relax tea
Photo by Pukka

This one was my favorite flavor, with a strong fennel note that soothed my stomach. Personally, I find the gut-brain connection all too real—when I get an upset stomach, I inevitably feel pangs of anxiety, and when those waves of anxiety come, I inevitably feel that churning in my stomach. The fennel really soothed that—in fact, this tea, as a whole, was super soothing. It didn't feel therapeutic but was a nice moment of ah, a spot of Zen in a hectic day. The ingredients are pretty wow-worthy too: chamomile, licorice, sweet fennel seed, bitter fennel seed, oat flowering tops, cardamom pod (yum!), ginger root, and marshmallow root.

Yogi Calming Tea

Yogi Calming Tea
Photo by Yogi Tea

Another chamomile-based blend, this one jazzes up the classic herb with a few interesting additions, including gotu kola and licorice. While it says it has a "natural plum flavor," I tasted that not at all. The tea is fairly sweet (the effect of the licorice) and softly herby, with a floral undertone. Perhaps not surprisingly—it is called Yogi tea—this tea imparted the kind of calm that a good yoga session gives me, a kind of heady, full-body state of Zen. Gotu kola has been proven to be incredibly effective on anxiety in a number of studies and has been used for thousands of years as a natural anxiety supplement. While Yogi doesn't share the amount of each herb in its "proprietary blend," gotu kola is near the top of the list, which typically indicates a larger amount.

A note on how to get the most benefits out of your tea:

To get the most benefits out of these teas (or any herbal tea that you're drinking for therapeutic purposes), cover your mug while it steeps. (I just use a jar lid or, in a pinch, a bowl or plate placed gently on top.) This prevents the volatile organic oils that give herbs their potency from evaporating in the steam, ensuring the resulting tea is maximally effective.

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