Afternoon Lethargy? Try Making Shiva Rose’s Energy Tonic

During our recent visit to Shiva Rose’s garden in Los Angeles, we had the pleasure of getting the inside scoop on Shiva’s homemade afternoon energy tonic– a deeply-restorative natural tonic that functions as a pleasant alternative to coffee (plus, it’s caffeine- and chemical-free!).

The recipe consists of some of the newest- and most exiting “superherbs” currently on the market, including Ashwagandha, Ashitaba, pine pollen, and two of our favorite healing mushrooms: He Shou Wu and Reishi, among a few other key garden-sourced ingredients. The recipe (see card below) can be taken as-is or frothed in a blender along with some homemade nut milk in order to create a latte-like beverage.

Herbal remedies of this kind have taken off in recent years due to an increased interest in limiting consumption of coffee and other energy drinks (though studies show that coffee is perfectly good for us, so no need to worry if you struggle to kick your caffeine habit). For those whose stomachs can’t handle coffee– or for people looking for an easy way to add vital nutrients to their routine, Shiva’s homemade energy tonic is a must-try. We made it ourselves, and couldn’t endorse it enough.

Shiva recommends serving this energy drink with a piece of raw chocolate cocoa for an easy afternoon pick-me-up, and there’s some cool science to back that practice up: according to a new study that was recently featured in The Washington Post, “people who eat chocolate at least once a week tend to perform better cognitively,” said Merrill Elias, the leading psychologist on the study, whose work has involved tracking the cognitive abilities of over 1000 people in New York state since the 1970’s. If you didn’t already have an excuse to eat chocolate on a regular basis, now you do– just make sure to pair it with this drink in order to get the maximum benefit.