Tea Education
Chamomile Tea: What It Actually Does and How to Brew It
Chamomile is the classic wind-down cup. Here is what the evidence supports, what it does not, and how to brew flowers that taste like apple rather than hay.
Key takeaways
- Use whole flower heads, not dust — 1 heaping tablespoon per 8 oz (240 ml).
- Brew at 205°F (96°C) for 5 minutes, covered, so the aromatic oils stay in the cup.
- Caffeine-free, so timing is up to you; most people drink it 30–60 minutes before bed.
What chamomile is
Chamomile is not tea in the botanical sense. It is an infusion — a tisane — made from the dried flower heads of German chamomile (Matricaria recutita) or, less often, Roman chamomile. There is no Camellia sinensis leaf in it, and no caffeine.
Quality varies more than with most herbs. Cheap chamomile is milled stem and broken petals, which brews thin and hay-like. Whole, intact flower heads with visible yellow centers brew sweet and faintly apple-scented, which is where the name comes from — the Greek for 'earth apple'.
How to brew it properly
Chamomile is one of the few infusions that genuinely wants boiling water and a long steep. The flowers are sturdy and the flavor compounds are slow to release, so under-brewing is the usual mistake.
Cover the cup or pot while it steeps. The pleasant part of chamomile is volatile aromatic oil, and an uncovered mug lets most of it leave with the steam.
- Leaf: 1 heaping tablespoon (about 2–3 g) of whole flowers per 8 oz (240 ml)
- Water: 205°F (96°C) — straight off the boil is fine
- Time: 5 minutes, covered; up to 10 for a stronger cup
- Re-steep: once, adding 2 minutes
What the evidence supports
Chamomile has been studied mostly for sleep quality and mild anxiety, and the results are modest rather than dramatic. Reviews generally find small improvements in self-reported sleep quality, with weaker evidence for falling asleep faster.
It is also traditionally used for digestive comfort after meals. The honest summary is that chamomile is a gentle, pleasant, low-risk drink that many people find calming — partly the herb, partly the ritual of sitting down with something warm.
This guide is general information for everyday drinkers, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, taking medication or managing a health condition, check with a healthcare professional before making an herb part of your daily routine.
Buying and storing
Buy loose flowers rather than bags where you can, and buy small. Chamomile fades within about a year; when it stops smelling sweet in the jar it will not taste sweet in the cup.
Store it exactly like tea: airtight, opaque, away from the stove and the spice rack.
Frequently asked questions
- Does chamomile tea have caffeine?
- No. It is made from flowers rather than tea leaf, so it contains no caffeine at all and can be drunk late in the evening.
- Why does my chamomile taste like hay?
- Almost always low-grade material — milled stems and dust rather than whole flower heads — or flowers that are more than a year old.
- Can I drink chamomile every night?
- Most people do so without issue. People with ragweed allergies sometimes react to it, since chamomile is in the same plant family.
About the author
Written by the Leaf & Steep editorial team. We brew, weigh and re-test everything we publish at home with ordinary kitchen equipment — no lab, no sponsorships influencing the verdict. How we test.
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