All days should be spent in a good mood, and a new drink (by a social enterprise) is here to help.

Mood is a fittingly-named mood-enhancing tea company that uses all-natural ingredients proven to boost your energy, help you destress and lull you to sleep. But it’s also much more than that.

“In its most basic form, it’s a tea that saves lives,” general manager Jenni Hayward tells Broadsheet. “We created it so the drinker can take a moment for themselves or with somebody else, all while they’re helping support the mental health of young Australians.”

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It comes in four caffeine-free, mood-enhancing flavours for different times of the day. Start with Get On Up, a fruity pineapple tea with a spicy kick of cinnamon to jumpstart your day and promote mental alertness, while the addition of lemon balm helps calm anxiety. Happy Days is a sweeter blend with hibiscus, apple ginger and ashwagandha, an Ayurvedic (holistic healing from India) shrub proven to reduce stress and anxiety while boosting energy.

Then there’s Be Kind, Unwind, a mix of peppermint and passionflower with calming ingredients that ease muscle tension, regulate mood and promote relaxation. And best had before bed, Sweet Lullaby uses rooibos, liquorice, vanilla, skullcap root and rose petals to promote sleep and send you into a dreamy state.

“Tea really lends itself to different situations. If you’re having a couple friends over and want a chat, you can put a cuppa on and take a moment to share how you’re feeling,” Hayward says. “Or you can have a tea break for yourself and just take a moment to calm down; tea is pretty synonymous with mental health.”

Mood comes from Unltd (said as “Unlimited”), a not-for-profit that brings together figures of the media industry to help young Australians living at risk.

As a social enterprise, Mood donates all profits to charitable organisations such as Batyr, which works to break the stigma around mental health; Backtrack, helping young people who’ve had a rough start in life achieve their dreams; and the Sebastian Foundation, which supports young Australians during their formative years. Since launching in 2021, Mood has already funded projects that have impacted 500 lives.

According to statistics from Lifeline and the Australian Government, nine people in Australia die by suicide each day (and 3000 end their lives each year). It’s currently the leading cause of death for Aussies aged between 15 and 44 – higher than cancer and road accidents – and for every life lost, up to 135 other people are impacted, from family members and colleagues to first responders.

“I think, as a preventable cause of death, it’s unacceptable for us not to do something to tackle it,” Hayward says. “Looking at the statistics just through the pandemic last year, it’s clear that young people are in a lot of psychological stress, anxiety and depression, and they’re reaching out for help.”

The cause is particularly close to Hayward’s heart, having lost a friend to suicide.

“It’s something that makes me get up and do what we’re doing everyday, to make sure that nobody else has to go through what it feels like to lose someone this way.”

Mood is available online and in Woolworths stores nationwide. Each box costs $7 and includes 10 pyramid tea bags.

mood.org.au

This article was originally published on March 18, 2021 and has been updated since.