Chamomile tea is a popular herbal drink made from dried chamomile flowers. See how to make this caffeine-free tisane, hot and cold.
Chamomile Tea
- Chamomile tea is an herbal infusion made from dried chamomile flowers steeped in water.
- Naturally caffeine-free.
- Chamomile is a flowering plant with white petals and a mustard-yellow center that looks like a daisy.
- There are a few varieties of chamomile and only two types are used for tea: German chamomile and the Roman Chamomile.
- Chamomile is considered to aid in relaxation so it’s a common ingredient in tea blends to help you sleep.
Chamomile Tea Brewing Guide
TO MAKE HOT CHAMOMILE TEA
TEA: 1 tablespoon loose chamomile tea
WATER: 1 cup (8 fl. oz.)
WATER TEMPERATURE: 208°F
STEEP TIME: 5 minutes
TO MAKE COLD BREW CHAMOMILE TEA
TEA: 1 tablespoon loose chamomile tea
WATER: 1 cup (8 fl. oz.)
WATER TEMPERATURE: Cold water
STEEP TIME: 12 hours
RELATED: 5 Easy Steps to Make Herbal Tea Properly
What You’ll Need
TO MAKE HOT CHAMOMILE TEA
- Chamomile loose tea or tea sachet
- Filtered water
- Teapot with strainer
I use this all the time since it’s so easy to clean. - Electric kettle with temperature setting
A must for all tea drinkers.
TO MAKE COLD BREW CHAMOMILE TEA
My Chamomile Pick:
Photo Credit: Harney.com
How to Make Hot Chamomile Tea Properly
STEP 1: Boil water.
The best tea is made with the best water. Use filtered water if possible.
I always make tea using my trusty electric kettle with temperature setting. I set the water to 208°F for chamomile tea, which is a bit under a full boil.
Boil more water than needed for the cup you’re going to drink since you want extra water to warm up the teapot.
STEP 2: Warm up teapot.
Pour some hot water into the teapot and swirl it around. Discard the water.
When the teapot is nice and warm, the water poured in to brew the tea won’t cool down as fast.
STEP 3: Put chamomile loose tea into teapot and add hot water.
Tea Sommelier’s Tip: If you want a less fragrant or more subtle flavor, go down to 2 teaspoons of chamomile tea for every cup of water.
STEP 4: Cover teapot and steep for 5 minutes.
Herbal tea, like chamomile, won’t get bitter when it oversteeps so it’s not as fussy as black tea or green tea — don’t worry if you steep it for more than 5 minutes.
STEP 5: Strain chamomile flowers and pour hot tea into a teacup.
I don’t like my chamomile tea sweetened, but if you do, try sugar, honey, or date syrup.
How to Make Iced Chamomile tea
If you want to make iced chamomile tea, the best way is to cold brew it.
STEP 1: Put chamomile tea and cool or room temperature water in a pitcher or glass container.
Use filtered water if possible for the best tasting cold brewed iced tea.
I’m using a glass teapot with strainer but you can also use a cold brew maker which is specifically made for making cold brew tea or coffee.
STEP 2: Cover pitcher and put in refrigerator for at least 12 hours.
You can leave it in the refrigerator to cold brew for up to 24 hours.
STEP 3: Strain out chamomile flowers and pour tea into a cup.
With cold brew, adding ice is optional.
If you want to sweeten your chamomile tea, use simple syrup (half water, half sugar). It’ll be the easiest to incorporate into your tea.
Make simple syrup at home by mixing equal parts sugar and hot water until sugar dissolves.
CHAMOMILE TEA TIPS
- Use a glass teapot to make herbal tea so you can see the pretty herbals in water.
- Cold brewed chamomile can be steeped for 12-24 hours in the refrigerator but you can brew it for longer since it won’t get bitter.
- You can make different kids of simple syrup by dissolving honey, brown sugar, or date syrup instead of regular sugar in hot water.
QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE
There are two ways to pronounce chamomile and both are correct. The “h” is silent so it’s pronounced as either KAM-MAH-MEEL or KAM-MUH-MILE.
Chamomile tea has a strong, heady aroma and tastes earthy with floral and apple notes. If it’s steeped for too long it has a very medicinal taste that I’m not a fan of.
Nope, there’s not a trace of caffeine in chamomile tea. It makes for a great nighttime drink since it’s caffeine-free.
For the best quality chamomile tea, use loose tea. Tea sachets are next in quality and tea bags are the lowest in quality since the chamomile are all crushed into tiny bits.
All herbal teas, including chamomile, are not real or true teas. Real tea only comes from the camellia sinensis plant, and since chamomile comes from the chamomile plant it’s not a real tea.
Related
- Chamomile Tea Latte
- Chamomile & Peach Iced Tea
- How to Make Peppermint Tea Properly
- How to Make Rooibos Tea Properly
- How to Make Chrysanthemum Tea Properly
Chamomile Tea
EQUIPMENT
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup water + more to warm teapot for hot tea
- 1 tablespoon chamomile loose tea
INSTRUCTIONS
- Boil water.If using an electric kettle with temperature setting, set it to 208°F. Boil a little more water than needed so that it can be used to warm up the teapot. Filtered water is best.
- Warm up teapot.Pour some hot water into a teapot and swirl it around a bit. Discard the water.
- Put chamomile tea into teapot and add hot water.
- Cover teapot and steep for 5 minutes.
- Strain chamomile flowers and pour hot tea into a teacup.
Such an interesting article! I love chamomile tea for its taste and lightness, when ordinary black tea bothers me, I turn to chamomile. I did not know that there were any subtleties in its preparation. Usually I just make boiling water and let the tisane brew. Chamomile tea calms well and helps with stomach-ache.
Hi Ann, I like to drink chamomile at night since it’s so calming. Try it cold brewed in the summer!
Great article. I am planning to make a litre of chamomile tea (roughly 4.5 US cups/ 34fl oz), every night to drink at room temperature the next day. I only have chamomile teabags to use. My plan was to boil water and leave it on the kitchen table to brew overnight. Do you know roughly how many teabags I should use for this? I’m assuming it’s fewer than the amount you’d use ratio-wise for having the same amount of individual mugs Many thanks.
Hi Beth, if you’re using tea bags, I would suggest 5-6 for your 4.5 cups.
What is the make of your teapot and cup? They are so pretty!
Hi Melissa, the teapot is the Kinto Unitea teapot and the cup is from CB2.