Tea, made from the flower heads steeped in boiling water, and 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.

Tea Tips

Annual German chamomile ‘matricaria recutita’ is better for tea: less sweet perennial Roman chamomile* is better for herbal medicines.

Steep flowers for 3-6 minutes: longer can result in bitter ‘over-extracted’ tea.

Use approximately 1 teaspoon dried chamomile heads per cup (or 2 teaspoons fresh).

Commercially dried chamomile can sometimes include bits of stem and leaf. When picking your own, select heads only for a superior brew.

Cold chamomile tea makes a great plant tonic.

*C nobile ‘Flore Pleno’is a pretty-double flowered form of Roman chamomile