The Chill Drink We’re All Reaching for This Year: Recess, the Relaxation Sparkling Water
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Hi Friends!
I have spent an embarrassing amount of money trying to feel less insane. Therapy, supplements, a meditation app I opened twice, and a weighted blanket that's currently under my bed collecting dust bunnies. So when Jon brought me home a Recess, and I felt my shoulders drop about three inches, I needed to know everything about it immediately.
It's sparkling water with adaptogens, hemp extract, and magnesium, and honestly, I don't fully understand all of it, but my body understood it just fine. I keep some in my fridge at all times now, and you should too.
Where Did Recess Even Come From
Ben Witte and his co-founders basically looked at the world, watched everyone completely losing it, and thought there had to be a better solution than wine on a Tuesday. They built Recess around the idea that we all work better when we're not white-knuckling our way through the day, which, yes, obviously, but nobody had actually done anything about it until these guys showed up with a can.
The whole line uses L-theanine, which relaxes you without putting you to sleep, and hemp extract, which takes the edge off without making you weird about it. It started as one product and now there's a whole family of them because apparently a lot of us needed this.
The Drinks Themselves
Recess Zero Proof Mocktails
I love a cocktail. I also love not feeling like I got hit by a bus the next morning. Recess Zero Proof figured out how to give you the first thing without the second thing, using guayusa and lemon balm and real ginger and lime. You still feel like you're having a moment. You just also remember the moment the next day, which is a nice bonus.
For nights when I do plan on drinking instead of going zero-proof, ZBiotics is the one thing I take beforehand because it’s designed to help your body process alcohol more efficiently, not mask the aftermath. Get 10% off your first order with code: CHICSAVE
Recess Mood
This one has magnesium in it and if you're like me you are definitely not getting enough magnesium and it is absolutely affecting your mood even though you've been blaming Mercury retrograde. Each can has a proprietary blend designed to help your brain settle down, plus L-theanine and lemon balm doing their thing in the background. Drink one in the afternoon when you start feeling like you might say something you'll regret in a work email.
Recess Mood Powders
You dump it in whatever you're drinking, and suddenly, whatever you're drinking has magnesium, adaptogens, and electrolytes in it. Works in water, juice, tea, it doesn't matter. Three forms of magnesium plus L-theanine plus passionflower extract, all in one little scoop. I keep these in my bag because I refuse to be at the mercy of my own nervous system when I'm running errands.
Recess with Hemp
This is the one for when you need to be calm and functional at the same time, which is most of the time if we're being honest. Ten milligrams of broad-spectrum hemp extract plus ginseng and L-theanine, and it tastes like actual fruit (cherries, peaches) instead of like you're drinking a supplement. Good for mornings when you need to start focused, or afternoons when you've already had too much coffee, and you're starting to hear colors.
When You Actually Need One of These
Morning, before everything gets away from you. Midday, when it already has. After work, instead of immediately pouring a glass of wine the second you walk in the door. At a party when you want to feel social and fun but you've made the decision to not drink, which more of us are making and we deserve good options. On a plane. In a waiting room. In your car in the parking lot of a place you're dreading going into.
Basically always.
Questions People Ask
Does this stuff actually work? The L-theanine and lemon balm work on your nervous system directly, the magnesium addresses something most of us are deficient in without knowing it, and the hemp extract takes the edge off without any of the parts of cannabis that make you paranoid about whether you left the stove on. So yes, genuinely, it works.
Why is this different from regular sparkling water? Regular sparkling water is just water that got ambitious. Recess is actually formulated to do something, which is help you feel less like you're one minor inconvenience away from a meltdown.
Can I bring Zero Proof to a party instead of wine? Yes and people will ask you what it is and then you'll feel very smug and informed, which is its own kind of high.
Is the Mood stuff safe to drink every day? Yes, it's designed to be an everyday thing. Magnesium and plant-based adaptogens, nothing in there that needs a warning label.
Okay Here's the Bottom Line
If you’ve been feeling a little… spicy lately, same. This is the rare fix that doesn’t require you to become a new person or start waking up at 5 am to “reset.” Pop it in the fridge, grab it when you need it, done. Newsletter’s below if you want the next thing that makes my cut!
