Product Profile: Moontime Tisane

This herbal tea (known as a tisane) has a combination of medicinal herbs that help alleviate cramps, mood swings, irritibility, bloating, and excessive heavy bleeding due to monthly cycles. It is a lifesaver for many a menstruating person and we have customers that rely on it every month.

Buy Moontime Tisane here.

Ingredients: Organic Raspberry Leaf, organic Cramp Bark, organic Black Cohosh, organic Vitex, organic Mugwort

About the ingredients and why we chose them:

Raspberry leaf is the supreme uterine tonic, strengthening and supporting as it nourishes. It is the base of this tea and is high in nutrition as well as love for the womb.



Crampbark As the name implies, Crampbark relieves cramps and spasms of involuntary muscular contractions. Crampbark will relax the uterus and so relieve painful cramps.



Black Cohosh root is an antispasmodic especially good for uterine cramps. Early American physicians used Black Cohosh for female reproductive problems, including menstrual cramps and bleeding irregularities, as well as uterine and ovarian pain. Herbalists consider it a sedative emmenagogue, meaning it promotes menses when associated with periods (dysmenorrhoea). uterine tension, cramps, and congestion hinder flow. Black cohosh relaxes the uterus, especially when tension is caused by anxiety. Black cohosh is believed to act on the uterus by improving muscle tone. The herb is thought to have an estrogenic effect because its constituents bind to estrogen receptors in the body. Black Cohosh can improve many symptoms of menopause, including uterine problems, such as poor uterine tone, menstrual cramps, and postmenopausal vaginal dryness.

Vitex berries Both extensive clinical studies, as well as over two thousand years of use in folk medicine, have proven the effectiveness of this remedy. It works by stimulating and normalizing the pituitary gland, which regulates the balance of estrogen and progesterone in the body. In a normal menstrual cycle estrogen is higher before ovulation and progesterone is higher after. Many women don't realize that an imbalance of these hormones can lead to the entire range of symptoms associated with PMS and menopause! This herb nourishes and supports the endocrine system to find its own balance. David Hoffman, a well-known herbalist, says "Vitex will always enable what is appropriate to occur." Almost all of symptoms associated with the menstrual cycle can be treated with this plant. It is the single best herb for treating the many possible symptoms of PMS: cramps, flooding, headaches, depression, water retention, constipation, acne, breast tenderness, and irritability. It can help normalize irregular or scanty periods. It is especially helpful for women who are coming off the birth control pill. For many women, cycles remain irregular for up to two years after stopping the pill. Vitex can greatly shorten that time and helps ease the body into regaining its own natural rhythm.

Mugwort is a warming uterine tonic and emmenagogue (which is why pregnant women should not take this plant). The uterus depends on healthy circulation (blood flow) to the pelvic region and strong uterine muscles to fully release each cycle. If the uterus is cold and not receiving enough qi/blood, the body will have to strain & contract to push out the stagnant blood. Mugwort can also relax the muscles to further assist with heavy cramping, and its antispasmodic actions can really help to soothe you within the first two days of bleeding.

About all of our tisanes:
Haven Herbs blends very specific ingredients to create its custom formulas. Each ingredient has a specific purpose and adds to the remedy. Ingredients may vary, batch by batch, based on what's in season and available. We work WITH the earth, not against it.

Not only is everything freshly dried and far more potent, but the human body is part of a larger ecosystem with its own cycles- and our method reflects that. If we run out of a key ingredient and we cannot replace it with something suitable, the product disappears off of the Haven Herbs website until we can make the product effectively again (we get more of a specific ingredient). 

This seasonal philosophy flies in the face of what most folks are used to- getting a product that consistently has the same ingredients. But that way of thinking is one of agribusiness, cost control measures, and monoculture that has caused more problems in the world than it has helped. We prefer a way with less of a carbon footprint.

Haven Herbs is different. We know that many different ingredients can achieve the same effect and make blends seasonally, in tune with the earth's cycles.

Fannings (left) and whole leaves (right)
Why buy Haven's tea instead of that bagged "medicinal tea" brand at the Whole Paycheck? Sure, you could buy bags of herbal teas that have similar ingredients at the grocery store, but they will not work as well. Why?

The main difference between loose teas and tea bags is obviously the size of the leaves. When producing the tea bags, whole leaves are chopped, sliced and diced into small particles ranging from 0.2 to 1.5 millimeters called "fanning" and "dusts". With all this slicing and dicing, the plant compounds interact with moisture and oxygen, leading to rapid quality loss.

Whole leaves contain natural compounds such as antioxidants and polyphenols, and different essential oils which are the basis of the amazing tea flavor, taste, and medicinal properties. When the leaves are broken up, those oils tend to evaporate, leaving the fannings with a dull aroma which will lead to a tasteless and less potent beverage.

Further, who knows how long that tea has lived in those bags, in that box, on a shelf somewhere? All of the teas Haven Herbs sells are fresh! So choose fresh (medicinal grade) loose teas! Better for you and the planet!

Like all herbal medicine, our teas work best when combined with a lifestyle that includes clean water, whole foods, gentle exercise, and plenty of self-love.