I’ve always wanted to be one of those ladies who dress in flowing linen robes, grow their own medicine and hang herbs and flowers from their rafters. But, alas, I’m a haphazard gardener at best (and I don’t own a single garment made from linen).
Last year, on a whim, I bought some chamomile seeds and sprinkled them in my veggie patch. A few scraggly little white flowers appeared and I was delighted, but then I forgot all about them (because that’s what I do). Then, this year a whole horde of chamomile plants popped up unexpectedly. It turns out that theyreseed themselves! And, let me tell you, they did a bang-up job. My raised bed was full of the dainty flowers on tall, lacy plants.
At first, I was worried they weren’t chamomile flowers at all, but one whiff of the flowers and you’ll be sure. They smell exactly like chamomile tea and honey. I found myself wandering out to the garden just to smell them again.
I cut some for bouquets (they make a lovely addition).
But I felt like I was wasting their potential. So, I did some research and decided to make my own tea. I love chamomile tea. I have it on hand at all times because it does soothe any tummy issues I have (I drink it with a spoon of raw honey). Mama bunny was right when she fed it to Peter Rabbit!
Here are the basics for tea-making:
Harvest the flowers when they’re at their peak and cut only the flowers (the more flowers you cut the more you will get). Or, if you’re lazy like me, cut a bunch of stalks and sit on the porch and cut the flower heads off. Here I’ve cut some stalks and a few springs of mint.
You can rinse the flowers in a colander and dry them, but I didn’t bother.
Lay out the flowers in a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. I started like this:
But, soon ended up looking like this:
Turn your oven to the lowest setting (mine was 170 degrees). Bake, checking every 30 minutes until the flowers are dry to the touch (mine took one hour). You can also dry them in a dehydrator, but I don’t have one and this was easy. Plus, my house smelled wonderful.
Put your dried tea in a jar and store it away from direct sunlight.
When you’re ready to make tea: Add 2-3 teaspoons of dried flowers to one cup of boiling water. Use a tea strainer. I used my Mana-TEA tea strainer.
Let it steep for three minutes. This tea won’t get very dark, but the smell and light flavor is delicious! Add honey or a sprig of mint if you desire. Or, float a few chamomile flowers on top.
Whether you grow chamomile for bouquets or for making tea, I highly recommend this sweet plant. Leave a few flower heads in the garden and they will happily reseed themselves for next year.
I may never be an herbalist, but I have to say this was really easy and I’d love to have a whole shelf of teas in my pantry that I’ve made myself. Give it a try!
Read more of Ann’s contributions to AllMomDoes here.
