Frontier Organic Valerian Root, 1-Pound, Certified Organic, Kosher, Cut & Sifted, Bedtime Formulas and Sleep Pillows, Kosher

I have purchased Frontier for several years, back when it was lower cost. First: Frontier is trusted, best, most effective for all of their natutal, organic herbs, flowers, stems and roots. Of course BEST means BEST as in overall Best. Second: Cost has increased but after trying 2 other leading competitors of lower cost it is evident why higher cost. Third: Higher cost because it is the Overall Best. I wish adding to what Best means were no necessary due to overuse of Best in advertising. Advertising often lies so we are trained, as in Pavlovian by pounding the word “best” to such an extent we accept our conditioning as truth. Repeating a lie does not make it a truth. Politics and advertising has proven this reluctant conditioning. Fourth: If one needs to be told that valerian has a musky odor and you seek less pure valerian then you are allowing yourself to be proof of the conditioning in “best”. Add spearmint to your brew. I learned this in 1980 using garden grown. Fifth: Cost is validated by using less. Why use less? Because it is pure, it is true best. Sixth: I have a lifetime of using fresh and organic as possible. An Executive Chef raised on good dirt, water and air who made a living off of serving unfuked with food, so of course I taught cooks who wanted to be true Chefs so they would carry on the purpose of what food tastes like, it tastes like the true genetic code of the seed. Eat real food. Drink real teas. Avoid advertising and learn just what delicious and healthy really does taste as, not like as in overuse of bitter greens. I have no affiliation other than being a customer who tries and tests herbs and spices over time to find what works and is delicious alone or in combination with complimentary ingredients.

This tea really works for me. It helps me fall asleep and stay asleep. I drink it every 2 to 3 days and I sleep very well. I steep a tablespoon in about 8 oz of hot water, for 10 minutes. I add a little bit of lemon and sweetner. It has a strong taste, but I like it. I try not to steep it more than 10 minutes otherwise The taste is too strong. For me it has been a lifesaver because I do not function with that sleep. I just reordered another package. It does last me a long time

I take prescription meds for anxiety as needed, but this is fantastic for those times when it's not a full panic attack but I know I shouldn't be constantly feeling like I've forgotten to do everything and it all should have been done a month ago. It does not work like xanax for me - instead it seems to force my brain to stop bouncing around and looking for things that may go wrong. It also doesn't put me to sleep at all - it kept me up because I wasn't stressing about sleeping right that second or worrying about lack of sleep for the next day. I will say, I felt like I started to forget words I should be able to recall easily for a week or so after drinking this a few times the week before, but that may have truly just been too much stress/anxiety. It is supposed to stay in your system for 4-6 hours (if I remember correctly), but for me it tends to let me calm enough that I stay calmer than normal even the next day. I like the taste - it's kind of like the smell of wet dirt (the good wet dirt though). I pour hot (almost boiling) water over 1 tablespoon (in a tea bag I purchased separately) and let it brew for 10 minutes. I then remove the tea bag (it gets bitter if you leave it) and enjoy.

The only negative with this is the bag it comes in is much larger than needed and it's not resealable. I knew that before purchasing though. The herb itself is incredible. I know a lot of people dislike the smell and taste, and I did too at first, but now the smell and taste signals my brain it's time to start winding down. It doesn't put me to sleep in the way a sleeping pill would knock me out, but it calms me and triggers my wind down process. In that way, it does get me to sleep. I was taking 500mg a night as a supplement but now I'm trying this as tea and I have a sachet of it next to my bed for the aroma.

I bought this for two reasons- One to make cat pillows filled with this for people who have cats who do not like catnip to sell on my Etsy store which I donate the profits to a no kill cat shelter. [...] I made 4 pillows tonight - I was just going to make one but both of my kittens wanted to play with it so I made two for the kittens and two to give with other orders as a test to see if the cats who like my organic catnip pillows will also like the Valerian Root. I thought it would smell horrible but it does not. Its a strong scent with a slighlt sour smell. I intend to try and make a tea for myself and husband- He especially has a horrible time falling and staying asleep. I think my sleep issues are related to the kittens :) I like that this product comes in a silver bag so no light can get into it. It does not seal back up so I put it in a freezer bag. Its nice big pieces and looks high quality. As soon as I opened the bag all the cats came over to check out what it was. I also had ordered it few months ago and was happy that it stayed fresh- I will definitely buy more of this product for my crafting and will update once I try it for sleep I wish the bag would reseal.

First of all the smell does not bother me. Keeping in a sealed glass jar. Using 1 teaspoon per cup of hot water coming out of a Keurig into a glass tea cup with laser cut caddy, steeping for 15 minutes. Smell is woodsy, a bit musty, like a walk in the forest maybe after a rain. It is, after all, chopped up roots of a plant. The taste is somewhat medicinal with a slight astringent mouth feel. Not yummy, but not unpleasant. We have been drinking a cup about 30 minutes before bedtime. After 30 minutes starting to feel sleepy, falling to sleep very quickly, and both of us only waking up once during the night instead of our usual three times. No morning after effects. Seems to help some arthritis aches and pains. Hubby has essential tremor, which valerian capsules help some, so are hoping this will start helping even more.

Good product