Editorial policy
Where do the claims come from?
- Studies: found through PubMed. We record whether we read the abstract or the full text; at present every study entry was checked against its abstract only, and each source entry says so.
- Traditional tea amounts: European Union herbal monographs from the European Medicines Agency's Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products. These reflect long-standing use, not proof of effect.
- Safety: fact sheets from the NIH's National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), plus systematic reviews where cited.
- Product ingredients: the manufacturer's product page, copied as published, with the date we checked. If a page shows only "key ingredients" or a description, the record says so.
We don't invent statistics, quotes, reviews or tasting notes, and we don't claim to have tested products.
How do the evidence grades work?
Each herb gets one label describing the form of the best controlled human evidence we found, not how well it works:
- Tested as tea
- At least one controlled human trial gave this herb as a tea.
- Extract trials only
- Human trials exist, but they used extracts, capsules or supplements, not tea.
- Mixed results
- Many trials, inconsistent results; recent reviews are not convincing.
- Traditional use only
- Recognized by long use (EU monograph); we found no human trials.
- Caution ingredient
- Listed for its safety profile rather than calming evidence.
A "Tested as tea" label doesn't mean the tea works. It means a trial gave the herb as tea; the herb page shows how strong that trial was. There are no scores or percentages because the evidence doesn't support that precision.
How are product flags made?
Flags are generated automatically from the herbs on a label, using the cautions in each herb record. Some cautions appear on herb pages but not as product flags, because they would sit on nearly every tea and drown out rarer, more serious ones: "safety in pregnancy not established", very rare liver reports for valerian, and reported warfarin interactions with chamomile and green tea. A tea with no flags is not "safe for everyone".
What don't we cover?
We don't publish advice on pregnancy, breastfeeding, children or specific medicines beyond repeating official cautions, because that needs qualified clinical review we don't currently have.
How are corrections and updates handled?
Email hello@calmteas.com. We fix factual errors promptly. Guides show an "Updated" date and an update history only for substantive changes, not typo fixes. Product labels are rechecked periodically; each record shows when it was last checked.
Is there advertising or sponsorship?
Not at present. Brands do not pay to be included, and inclusion is not an endorsement.