Hold up. A French press recipe that doesn’t include coffee? Yes, folks. Nighttime cocktails have taken TikTok by storm, and while we know the Fellow world revolves around coffee 99 percent of the time, we do have a soft spot for tea. Especially the sleepy kind.
What Is the Sleepy Girl Mocktail?
Described by some as a "magical elixir" for improving sleep quality, the sleepy girl mocktail is a non-alcoholic beverage invented by TikTok influencer Gracie Norton and made famous by fellow influencer Calee Shea. The recipe features a blend of tart cherry juice and magnesium powder that may help promote a good night's rest.
Tart cherry juice contains melatonin, a natural hormone that the brain produces to help with sleep. Magnesium is a mineral found in dairy products, green leafy vegetables, and nuts. It’s also sold in supplement form. Some research has shown that healthy levels of magnesium in the body help contribute to good quality sleep.
What Ingredients Are Needed for a Traditional Nighttime Drink?
The viral TikTok sleepy girl mocktail consists of three simple ingredients:
To make the sleepy girl mocktail, mix half a cup of pure tart cherry juice with a tablespoon of magnesium powder and a splash of sparkling water or bubbly prebiotic water.
If the traditional sleepy girl mocktail isn’t your speed, put your Clara French Press to work with our take on the nighttime drink!
The Bedtime: Clara French Press Recipe
Lavender is a perennial herb known to help relieve anxiety and insomnia, making it a great addition to your nighttime routine. For this Clara French Press recipe, you should use dried lavender. Lavender is easily dried by removing the leaves from the stem, cleaning the flowers, and hanging the herb upside down in a cool, dry place for 7 to 10 days depending on humidity. If you’d prefer a quicker method, you can carefully dry lavender in your oven over the course of a few hours - just set your oven to the lowest temperature setting, remove all of the leaves from the stems, and spread the lavender evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure to leave the oven door slightly open to increase air circulation, and check every half hour until fully dry (about 2 to 3 hours). For the milk component of this recipe, feel free to use whatever milk or milk substitute works for you, but unsweetened oat milk is our recommendation.
The Tools
The Ingredients
The Recipe
1. Set your kettle to 205°F so that you are ready to go. This is like the “preheat your oven” step that most recipes start off with.
2. In either a milk frother or on the stovetop, heat up 1.5 cups (240 g) of unsweetened oat milk. Ideally your milk will be warm, but it does not need to be piping hot.
3. Once your water is heated to the desired temperature, take your chamomile tea bag and place it in your mug. You’ll want this to steep for at least 5 minutes.
4. While your tea is steeping, take half a cup (15 g) of dried lavender and place it into your Clara French Press. Gently pour the warm milk on top and quickly close the lid without pushing the plunger down. Steep this for 5 minutes or less so as not to over-steep the lavender.
5. Once this has steeped, press the plunger down all the way. If you prefer, you can give it a few extra pushes to squeeze a bit more flavor out of the lavender.
6. Pour the lavender-infused milk into the same mug as your tea.
7. Sweeten up with date syrup to taste.
8. Optional: Mix in a serving of your magnesium powder for extra sleepy benefits and get ready to slip into total relaxation.
