But the dream stopped there. I would finish the cup and have an anxious peak of sprinting alertness, followed by a jittery, unproductive crash. It would f*ck up my sleep and leave me groggy the next day. So I would order another cup to “bring me back to life” and the vicious cycle continued.

Long story short, I dropped coffee, lost my ritual and set out to create a new one. If I was going to drink something every day I wanted it to support mental clarity, physical performance and immunity. And, of course, it had to taste good. That’s when MUD\WTR’s :rise blend was born.

As soon as I questioned my coffee habit, something weird happened—I started questioning everything.

Hustle culture tried to sell me on the idea that sleep is for the lazy. It’s a weird flex. But then I started listening to experts talk about how this misguided philosophy has resulted in whole swaths of society sacrificing their health, creativity and emotional well-being in the name of “sleeping when you’re dead.”

After three years and a million orders, we dreamed up our :rest blend as a protest to hustle culture. It’s our caffeine-free evening blend that promotes a state of calm and sets you up for a night of deep sleep.

But it’s more than that.

:rest is a reminder to treat your evening ritual like an athlete warming up for a game. This time is sacred. It’s that sliver of existence when you can disconnect from the chaos, reset and start breathing deeply again. Our society is terrified of the dark, but without the dark there is no light, and without rest, there is no rise.

MUD\WTR started with a question: “Why are so many people addicted to coffee?” We followed it upstream, which led to bigger questions about mental health, psychedelics and sleep. Who knows where this journey will take us next, but we’re forging ahead, one foot in front of the other, exploring the muddy banks.

Thanks for being a part of this.

Shane Heath
Founder & CEO