CHamomile Tea

Its Manzanilla season! 

Manzanilla is Spanish for chamomile, its name comes from the translation “little apple” because of its sweet, apple-like flavor. In my 9b zone, my self seeding Chamomile flowers are in full bloom. 

In our Mexican culture, this herbal tea is used for all kinds of medicinal things. Among its many uses, the women in my family have always found it to help ease menstrual cramps. My grandma and mom have always sworn by it to help colicky babies (a very diluted tea).

Chamomile can be grown indoors or outdoors, from seed, in a container or in the ground. It is a self-sowing perennial and will come back again and again without much help. One perk I love about adding chamomile to my herb garden is that it actually encourages faster growth or better taste in the plants around them. So I sprinkled some seeds 3 years ago next to my jalapeño pepper and Thai basil plants.

The daisy like flowers are super fun to pluck and make a great activity for kids to help in the garden with!

When I asked my mom for a recipe on how to make fresh home grown chamomile tea using my recent harvest, she replied "this much" while holding up a handful of just picked chamomile flowers. Saying "just heat up a cup of water and in 5 minutes you have tea. You can even use the plant leaves too."

uh, ok, thanks for the exact recipe mama. I was happy to hear that could use the leaves as well! 

my own recipe

I decided to try my hand at my own recipe. I boiled 8 oz of water and removed from the heat. Added 1 tbsp of fresh chamomile flowers (just the flowers this time) and let them steep for 5 minutes before straining thru a fine mesh strainer into a mug, adding a little agave sweetener. And let me tell you, its was an absolutely amazing cup of chamomile tea. Unlike any store bought bagged tea I've ever had. The water had developed this beautiful golden tone to it. The tea was lite yet flavorful, not overly floral and hit the spot. I will be adding this ritual as long as the chamomile in my garden will allow.

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Step by step:
CHamomile Tea recipe

Step one:

boil 8 oz of water and remove from the heat.

Step two:

Add 1 tbsp of fresh chamomile flowers (just the flower Heads) and let them steep for 5 minutes.

Step three:

strain through a fine mesh strainer into a mug. Add sweeter to your liking, and enjoy!

Fun fact: apparently, according to this study, regular ingestion of manzanilla will help you live longer if you a woman, so get that home grown chamomile going!