Chamomile Tea

The Story

Chamomile is such a beloved herbal tea, but it is hard to find this tea outside of tea bags. Our chamomile tea is loose and packaged in clear cellophane bags, so you can tell the flowers are compact and full of color, just inviting you to brew the sweet-bitter nectar. Chamomile brews very strong, so for a pleasant, relaxing tea, use only a few flowers per cup, otherwise the tea may taste bitter. (If you end up with a bitter infusion, dilute it with water after brewing.)

We grow our own organic chamomile (Chamomile Farm 1; limited supplies are available each summer to fall) and we also have it grown for us by a few other United States-based dedicated organic herb farms. The tiny flowers are picked laboriously throughout the summer by hand, often a handful or a few per day, then dried in a dark drying room. 

Properties

Chamomile tea has a long history of use in folk medicine. In Eastern Europe, many households always keep this tea on hand for difficulty falling asleep, nervousness, stress, apprehension, anxiety, and to help one unwind at the end of a busy day. Ava reports that chamomile and peppermint were the two teas regularly given to children when she was growing up: chamomile was given to reduce anxiety before school tests or exams or before dance recitals, and peppermint was given for any digestive complaints. Polish women dip cotton rounds in warm chamomile tea to make an eye compress before a special event to make the eyes look rested and beautiful. Herbalists recommend chamomile tea for countering the effects of excess coffee intake.

Flavor

Reminiscent of wildflower honey with a hint of bitterness.

Ingredients

Whole organic Matricaria recutita (chamomile) flowers.

Origin

Washington, Idaho, or Vermont, United States

Directions

Measure out 1/2–2 teaspoons and place inside a teapot, tea mug, or French press. Brew using filtered, freshly boiled water. Steep, covered, for 10 minutes, then strain. Add honey or agave nectar if desired. The same flowers may be brewed up to three times.

Sustainable Packaging

Our teas are packaged in eco-friendly clear bags made from cellulose, which is a naturally abundant organic material, then in cardboard boxes for shipping. The cellulose used in the bags is derived from renewable wood pulp that is sustainably harvested from FSC-managed plantations. The bags are certified 100% compostable, meaning they can be composted both by individuals at home and in industrial composting facilities, and are marine degradable, which means that, unlike many other "biodegradable" products, these bags can break down not only in landfills, but also in marine environments.

And perhaps even more important than the materials we have chosen are the materials that we have opted not to use. Our teas are never packaged in individual tea bags or pouches, which produce an enormous quantity of waste that typically ends up in landfill sites. Most tea bags are made from wood pulp or vegetable fiber that is bleached using potentially toxic chemicals, and contain noncompostable metal staples, and many are lined with heat-resistant polypropylene plastic in order to prevent them from bursting open when in transit or in the cup. This means that even tea bags labeled “biodegradable” or “compostable” will, for the most part, not completely break down in a compost heap. We also avoid aluminum tea pouches, which are not compostable, and metal tea tins, which in many cases are not accepted for recycling.

Full size 48 g (1.7 oz).

Due to the very high cost of our ingredients and the labor-intensive (highly time consuming) small-batch production process, we are unable to accept returns of opened or unopened products at this time.