Tea, made from chamomile flower heads steeped in boiling water, and drunk strained, with honey or lemon, is a familiar use of fragrant, apple-scented chamomile. Calming and relaxing, it helps promote restful sleep and aid digestion.

Add the flower heads to hot milk for an even more soothing ‘latte-style’ bedtime drink. Use a milk frother for best results.

Serves 2

1 teaspoon dried chamomile flowers

300ml semi-skimmed milk

1 scant tablespoon runny honey, or to taste*

Ground cinnamon for sprinkling, optional

Stir chamomile flowers into milk and heat, in a heavy-bottomed milk pan, until almost boiling. Remove from heat and strain. Stir in honey and froth in a milk frother.

*Chamomile has a natural sweetness of its own.

If growing at home, annual German chamomile ‘matricaria recutita’ is better for drinks: perennial Roman chamomile* is much less sweet and better for herbal medicines.