A coffee that…puts you to sleep? Yep, you read that right. Recently there’s been no shortage of innovative ways to get a caffeine jolt, sans mug, from the college students of New Grounds Food who raised over $44,000 on Kickstarter with their “eat your coffee” concept to coffee-infused peanut butters. But now, thanks to Counting Sheep Coffee, you might be ready to hit the hay after one heavy-eyed helping.
It can sometimes be hard for me to make those elusive seven or eight hours in dreamland happen–trust me, or take a look at my Google calendar. If you’re a fellow member of the overextended tribe like me, it’s worth repeating sleep’s importance: Getting enough sleep plays a vital role in our productivity, concentration, ability to interact with others, energy, eating habits, and it might even effect our memory. And something tells me that 4 p.m. espresso shot I chug to keep me roaring through the day isn’t helping my head hit the pillow. (Pro-tip: About half the caffeine you imbibe stays in your system for around seven hours after you drink it, so try making your last coffee break at around 1 p.m.).
Turns out the Sheep Executive Officer, Deland Jessop, founded the company in hopes of helping his wife whose sensitivity to even a late afternoon decaf cup kept her wired all night long. (For the uninitiated, decaf coffee is a bit of a misnomer; it can contain up to 14 mg of coffee per cup.) After tinkering with herbs like lavender and chamomile, he settled on valerian root, an herbal sedative, which is also commonly used to help treat sleep disorders. And unlike that glass of vino (or three…) you indulge in to lull you to sleep, Counting Sheep Coffee helps send you to dreamland without excess calories.
Counting Sheep Coffee currently comes in K cups and ground form. It’s available in two strengths: “40 Winks,” a bedtime blend for those who just want to be slightly soporific, and “Lights Out,” for those nights you just want to zonk out. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to go pair some bedtime snacks with a caffeine-free cup o’ calm.
