Here Yogi offers a caramel-flavored blend that has a few ingredients not listed in the more-established "Bedtime" offering, and vice versa. Perhaps they are different enough that this version deserves its own independent title. For reasons elucidated below, I propose "Sweet Desert Dust Storm". Would the marketing department approve?

Caramel is a favorite flavoring, but the more dry-grassy, straw-like, dusty taste and aroma of this tea makes it not as pleasant as "Bedtime". What do I mean? If you've ever been outdoors in a west Texas High Plains dust storm or Arizona haboob, you'll surely recall the smell and perhaps taste of the grit in the air. This aroma and flavor partly bore a modest yet still noticeable resemblance to such conditions. The chamomile and caramel are pleasant together, and this would be a very wonderful herbal blend if not for whatever herb or combination of herbs yields the eolian effect. I can ignore the reminders of airborne dirt enough to finish the box, but probably won't buy any more.

The caramel itself is somewhat noticeable, but nowhere nearly as dominant as that in the other caramel-rooibos tea I've had, Muchie's "Cozy Caramel Rooibos". That's likely because there are thousands of other ingredients competing for attention in the Yogi blend. Okay, I exaggerate somewhat, but it seems that way with this and many other Yogi teas. This one has 18 ingredients listed, including two unfamiliar ones to me: California poppy and something called L Theanine Suntheanine®. I don't know what purpose poppies serve here, but Suntheanine is a trademarked version of the amino acid theanine, commonly found in green tea, and patented by an outfit called Taiyo. According to the maker's website, "In several human clinical trials, L-theanine has promoted relaxation by increasing alpha brain waves and decreasing beta brain waves." Since I had been up all night and much of the day (working night shifts) for each cup chugged to date, my brain was waving bye-bye anyway, then I slept about as usual. As such, I can't testify either way to the relaxation efficacy of the beverage.

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