Price Tag: $4.76/16ct
Official URL: yogitea.com
Rating:

When I breastfed my daughter I struggled with low supply and choked down foul tasting concoctions and pills that made me burp up the most awful tasting burps. My milk increased, and so it was worth it. Barely.

The second time around I was given an adorable gift basket by a Lactivist friend of mine. In that gift basket were a few packets of different teas to help with milk supply. Of those teas, this one quickly became my favorite.

TASTE, SMELL & COLOR

I was relieved that this tea did not smell heavily of fenugreek (a smell which makes me nauseous). Instead, my nose always insists that I’m smelling licorice, and my taste buds agree. (Both anise and fennel imitate the taste of licorice, so that could be the reason!)

The tea brews to a medium caramel color that is pleasant.

I like to lightly sweeten this tea with a spoonful of honey. It goes well with the licorice and chamomile flavors. You can drink this tea without sweetener, but let’s be honest. NO tea out there that promotes lactation actually tastes good. This is as good as it gets, and it rates a “tolerable” on the tastebuds.

EFFECTIVENESS

This tea is moderately effective. I found that drinking one mug of it about a half an hour before pumping, and drinking a second mug while pumping was the best way for me. Drinking a warm drink helps you to relax and gets the milk flowing.

Using this tea as instructed (3-4 mugs per day) for one week increased my average pumping output by an ounce per pumping session. Nothing to sneeze at when you realize that I only pump for 10 minutes once a day due to a family friendly flex schedule and a baby-friendly workplace. I went from pumping two ounces during that time to pumping two and a half to three ounces instead.

The most effective lactation supplement that I’ve taken increased my pump output by a full two ounces per session.

INGREDIENTS

Organic Chamomile Flower, Organic Fennel Seed, Organic Stinging Nettle Leaf, Organic Anise Seed, Organic Fenugreek Seed, Organic English Lavender Flower.

The fennel, fenugreek and anise help promote lactation, lavender calms and eases stress and chamomile soothes minor digestive upset that can be caused by fenugreek.

It is interesting that this tea does not include blessed thistle, a common ingredient in other lactation teas and tinctures. I, for one, am happy it does not. It always aggravated my heartburn.

HEALTH & SAFETY

Fenugreek should be avoided by moms that are allergic to peanuts as it can trigger an allergic reaction. You should also be aware that if you experience low blood pressure, dizziness or easy bruising that fenugreek might be the culprit. I didn’t have any of these side effects, and found that the chamomile was able to offset the gas and indigestion issues that fenugreek has been known to give me.  (Editor’s note: I have low blood pressure normally and never had dizziness with fenugreek. So low blood pressure isn’t a reason to avoid fenugreek altogether.  –Lil)

INSTRUCTIONS

The instructions on the package read: “To support healthy milk flow, drink 1 cup upon awakening and 2 to 3 cups throughout the day.* For a stronger effect, use 2 tea bags.”  (The footnote disclaimer contains the normal “These statements has not been evaulated by the FDA” jibber jabber.)

PACKAGING

Yogi Tea comes in the cute henna-style box pictured above. Each tea bag is a “tear to open” style that keeps the tea fresh for quite a long time. has the name of the tea on the front, and the directions and ingredients on the back. I love this as I frequently toss a tea bag or two into my purse when I’m out and about and I like having the ingredients right on the package. It’s also wonderful to include a few of these individually wrapped tea bags in any gift bag to a new mom. It encouraged me to try another tea after swearing that I’d rather just switch to formula!

BOTTOM LINE

Of all the different nursing teas and concoctions that I’ve tried, I prefer the taste of this one by far. It’s slightly less effective at increasing your milk than other teas/pills and drops, but if I can’t stand the taste I tend not to bother.

If you can’t stomach the pills or drops its worth giving this tea a try. It works, it’s not gross or overly medicinal, and if you use enough sweetener you can close your eyes and pretend it’s licorice.