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How to make chamomile tea with dried flowers or tea bags. Enjoy this healthful, relaxing herbal chamomile tea warm or iced, with several flavor variations!
If you love herbal teas like mint tea and ginger tea, learning how to make chamomile tea is a must. Known for its calming nature, this simple homemade chamomile tea recipe (manzanilla tea) can be made as a soothing, warming brew or refreshing iced tea, with several flavor add-ins to choose from.
Table of Contents
What Is Chamomile Tea?
Chamomile tea (also called manzanilla tea/tea de manzanilla or camomile tea) is a type of simple, caffeine-free herbal tea. It’s made with dried chamomile heads (usually either German chamomile Matricaria recutita or Roman chamomile Chamaemelum nobile), a daisy-like flower with white petals and a yellow head.
When combined with hot water and left to steep, the resulting warm and soothing herbal infusion has a pleasant flavor. It is also packed with several impressive health benefits.
What does chamomile tea taste like? It has a mellow floral, slightly earthy, sweet flavor with subtle notes of apple flavor.
However, be careful not to overstep the tea or add too many flowers. Otherwise, it can end up tasting bitter. In general, though, it is a very mild-tasting tea.
Is Chamomile Tea Good For You?
Chamomile tea claims several impressive benefits, such as:
- It aids in relaxation – with a bonus of potentially helping with anxiety and depression.
- Helps you sleep thanks to antioxidants & plant compounds that promote sleepiness.
- Stomach soothing – for upset stomach, indigestion + general digestive health boost.
- Contains antioxidants that are beneficial to heart health and warding off cancers.
- It can help control blood sugar levels.
- Offers a boost to the immune system.
- May improve bone density.
- And may even reduce menstrual pain.
To read more, check out this article on chamomile tea on Healthline.
Are there any chamomile tea side effects?
I’ve read that chamomile should be avoided by pregnant and nursing women as it may cause abortions and can also lead to vomiting when over-consumed.
This tea can also interact with several types of medication, including blood thinners, ibuprofen, blood sugar, and blood pressure meds, hormone therapy, etc. It may also cause drowsiness when combined with alcohol, narcotics, benzodiazepines, antidepressants, and several other meds.
For that reason, I recommend consulting a doctor before introducing this herbal tea to your diet if you have any worries.
As a general rule, those with allergies to any plant in the daisy family may have allergies to chamomile.
The Ingredients
- Chamomile: You’ll need food-grade dried chamomile flowers (or a teabag) for this chamomile tea recipe.
- Water: To make up the base of the tea.
- Sweetener: (optional) Subtly sweeten the herbal tea with honey for a beautiful flavor pairing. However, you can use the sweetener of your choice. I.e., vegan dandelion honey, agave, maple syrup, granulated sugar, or a sugar-free sweetener like erythritol/stevia, etc.
What To Add To Chamomile Tea?
Chamomile tea has a fairly mild flavor, so you may want to make it taste better with the below options:
- Citrus: You can add a splash of juice before serving. Or infuse extra flavor by adding the citrus zest while steeping the tea. Lemon juice, lime, or orange will work with chamomile.
- Ginger: Add a few slices of fresh ginger to infuse it with extra zing.
- Lavender: Add edible dried lavender to steep. Adjust the amount to taste. Or, sweeten the tea with a bit of lavender syrup.
- Vanilla: Use around 1/8 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to make a delicious honey vanilla chamomile tea recipe. Adjust the amount to taste.
- Cinnamon: Add some cinnamon (in stick or powder form) to the tea while it steeps.
- Herbs: A small amount of basil or mint (regular or flavored options like apple mint) can be added to the teapot or serving glasses for a subtle aromatic flavor.
Simmer the water and any of the above ingredients on the stovetop for 10-15 minutes (to extract more flavor). Then add the chamomile and steep for 5 minutes.
- Milk: Chamomile tea with milk is soothing and slightly creamy. Use the dairy or dairy-free milk of your choice. For a chamomile tea latte, use equal parts water and milk for the drink.
- Iced chamomile latte: Make a double-strength brew, allow it to chill, then top it up with milk and ice. This tastes lovely with vanilla too.
- Apple juice: Replace some water with apple juice (to taste) for a delicious, refreshing warm, or iced version. It will naturally sweeten it, too.
- Green tea: Add a green tea teabag (or loose leaf green tea).
- Hibiscus: Add a small amount of hibiscus for tangy flavor and several health benefits.
- Berries: Add some muddled or whole berries to an iced chamomile tea for more flavor and texture. Strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, etc., will work.
How to Make Chamomile Tea (Manzanilla Tea)?
The tea to water ratio: keep in mind that you need 1 tablespoon of chamomile (or 1 chamomile tea bag) per 1 cup of water. Then it’s easy to scale this recipe to the number of servings desired.
Warm chamomile Tea
- Heat water either on the stovetop or in a kettle to a boil.
- Once boiled, place the chamomile flowers in a glass/teapot and cover them with the water. Allow it to steep for 4-5 minutes. Then strain the tea from the pot, sweeten (I make honey chamomile tea), and enjoy.
To make it easier to remove the chamomile flowers, you could use a tea infuser/strainer. If you’re making it in a teacup, you could place the flowerz in a tiny strainer that dips down into the water. Alternatively, make your own “tea bag” by wrapping the flowers in a cheesecloth parcel.
Iced Chamomile Tea
My preferred method of preparing iced chamomile tea is simply to follow the instruction above, allow it to cool, and then serve over ice with some diced fruit.
Some methods have you leave the chamomile (and any add-ins) to steep in hot water for 1+ hour or longer. I’m wary of doing so, though, as chamomile can become bitter when over-steeped. However, feel free to experiment if you’d like.
If you’d prefer a longer steep, I recommend cold brewing the tea in cold water overnight (up to 20hrs).
Storage Instructions
You can store any leftover cooled chamomile tea in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
You could also pour leftovers in an ice cube tray for longer-term storage.
FAQs
While I haven’t tried, I know it’s possible. I recommend using double the amount of fresh flowers compared with dried ones. It’s best to use them on the same day they’re harvested. You can keep any unused flowers in a ziplock bag with a damp paper towel for a further couple of days.
For traditional chamomile tea, remember that it’s just the yellow heads used, not the petals or leaves. However, the whole chamomile blossoms are edible.
No, chamomile flowers are naturally caffeine-free.
Drinking a cup of chamomile tea 45-60 minutes before bed is said to help induce a quick sleep. And, in fact, according to limited research, it can even improve sleep quality.
How? Because it contains a chemical compound that acts as a mild tranquilizer.
There is lots of anecdotal evidence of chamomile tea being beneficial for acid reflux and various other tummy issues. But there isn’t actually any scientific evidence to support that – so it’s hard to say it is a fact. However, if people are to be believed, then it may help.
You only need 4-5 minutes to steep chamomile tea. Don’t squeeze the flowers/tea bag while steeping. Otherwise, the chamomile tea taste can become bitter.
In general, a soothing cup of tea can do wonders for a sore throat. However, chamomile tea also has the benefit of anti-inflammatory properties, which can reduce swelling and redness. In fact, this herbal tea has been used for centuries to soothe sore throats.
When combined with a drop of honey (which is known for soothing a sore throat and cough) and a squeeze of lemon juice (which provides an immune boost), it’s perfect for when you feel any throat or cold-like niggles.
Chamomile tea has a reputation as a calming tea but why? Chamomile flowers contain a plant compound that can affect the body similarly to benzodiazepines (anti-anxiety meds). So drink a cup (or two) on days you’re feeling particularly stressed to help you de-stress.
I recommend drinking up to 4 cups per day. However, I don’t recommend exceeding 5 cups, as overconsumption can lead to vomiting and other adverse side effects.
Recipe Tips and Notes
- Don’t squeeze the chamomile: Otherwise, it will release bitter flavor into the tea. Instead, let it steep untouched.
- It’s best to use an infuser: Otherwise, small parts from the dried flowers may linger in the tea unless thoroughly strained.
- The optimal temperature: Herbal teas are generally okay to steep in boiling or near-boiling water. For the best results, I recommend allowing the water to cool to 203ºF/95ºC before steeping the tea.
- Adjust the sweetness according to personal taste. You can even omit it entirely.
- Adjust the strength: For a stronger tea, adjust the ratio of chamomile flowers (or tea bags) added to the water. Or increase the steep time by 1-2 minutes (not any longer, or it may become bitter).
- To keep the teapot hot: Pour some hot water into it, swirl it around, then discard. Then add the brewed tea.
More Tea Recipes
If you try this chamomile tea recipe, I’d love to hear your thoughts/questions below. Also, I’d appreciate a recipe card rating below, and tag me in your recipe recreations on Instagram @Alphafoodie!
How to Make Chamomile Tea (Hot and Iced | + Flavor Variations)
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup chamomile food-grade dried chamomile OR use chamomile tea bags
- 4 cups water
- 2-4 honey or your sweetener of choice (granulates, agave/maple, erythritol, etc.); adjust to taste or omit
Instructions
Warm Chamomile Tea
- Heat water either on the stovetop or in a kettle to a boil.
- Once boiled, place the chamomile flowers in a glass/teapot and cover them with the water. Allow it to steep for 4-5 minutes. Then strain the tea from the pot, sweeten (I make honey chamomile tea), and enjoy.To make it easier to remove the chamomile flowers, you could use a tea infuser/strainer. If you're making it in a teacup, you could place the flowers in a tiny strainer that dips down into the water. Alternatively, make your own "tea bag" by wrapping the flowers in a cheesecloth parcel.
Iced Chamomile Tea
- My preferred method of preparing iced chamomile tea is simply to follow the instruction above, allow it to cool, and then serve over ice with some diced fruit.Some methods have you leave the chamomile (and any add-ins) to steep in hot water for 1+ hour or longer. I'm wary of doing so, though, as chamomile can become bitter when over-steeped. However, feel free to experiment if you'd like.If you’d prefer a longer steep, I recommend cold brewing the tea in cold water overnight (up to 20hrs).
Storage Instructions
- You can store any leftover cooled chamomile tea in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You could also pour leftovers in an ice cube tray for longer-term storage.
Notes
- Don’t squeeze the chamomile: Otherwise, it will release bitter flavor into the tea. Instead, let it steep untouched.
- It’s best to use an infuser: Otherwise, small parts from the dried flowers may linger in the tea unless thoroughly strained.
- The optimal temperature: Herbal teas are generally okay to steep in boiling or near-boiling water. For the best results, I recommend allowing it to cool to 203ºF/95ºC before steeping the tea.
- Adjust the strength: For a stronger tea, adjust the ratio of chamomile flowers (or tea bags) added to the water or increase the steep time by 1-2 minutes (not any longer, or it may become bitter).
- To keep the teapot hot: Pour some hot water into it, swirl it around, then discard. Then add the brewed tea.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
