Chill! with Chamomile Tea for the Hectic Holidays

 Chamomile Secrets That’ll Surprise You

By Cal Orey

‘Tis the season of family gatherings, holiday shopping, cooking, and baking… It is the time to chill and reap the perks of chamomile tea!

CHAMOMILE (Matricaria chamomilla). Sweet Chamomile is my number one favorite brew year-round and has been for years—despite the wide array of non-teas and sitting in my tea cupboard. Let me count the several ways why I love chamomile, for my mind, body, and spirit, with fervor I have reading one of Emily Dickenson’s love poems in the springtime outdoors amid blossoming trees in the Santa Cruz mountains, a place I recall drinking chamomile tea… 

     Chamomile tea (a mainstay in my diet regime, both bags and loose leaf) goes back more than 2,000 years. A daisy-like plant, found in both the United States and Europe, has been considered a medicinal miracle, known as “ground apple” by the Greeks because of its fragrant scent. The Egyptians believed it to be sacred to the sun god Ra. In ancient Europe, chamomile petals were crushed to make soothing teas.  

     It is the herbal tea of choice to relax and sleep like a baby—or bunny. Remember the Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter? After Peter’s big adventure, his mother put him to bed with a cup of chamomile for sweet dreams.  

     Researchers also believe that drinking chamomile tea can boost urine levels of glycine, a compound that relaxes muscles spasms or even menstrual cramps.  Chamomile contains anti-inflammatory ingredients, so it’s no wonder it can shrink hemorrhoids—and putting a wet chamomile tea bag on each eye can reduce puffiness, too.  Not only does calming chamomile contain glycine, but it also has other vitamins and minerals that provide the wow factor.

     And it’s not surprise that drinking several cups of chamomile tea weekly may add years to your lifespan, according to researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. Findings show chamomile tea may lower the risk about 30 percent of death from all causes in older women. The scientists of the published study in The Gerontologist point to the anti-immunity boosting effects which may be one reason why it may stall Father Time. But more research is needed. Meanwhile, I will save my chamomile tea because I love its calming effects. 

Chamomile Tea, Brewed

237 grams (8 fluid ounces) 1 cup

236 grams water

2.4 calories

47.4 IU vitamin A

2.4 micromilligrams folate

47.4 milligrams calcium

21.3 milligrams potassium

2.4 milligrams sodium

30.8 micromilligrams fluoride

(Source: USDA SR-21 National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.)

       While it isn’t an intensely flavorful tea (unless you add honey and citrus or it’s in a tea blend), it’s an acquired taste with healing powers I’ve grown accustomed to drink almost every day, in the afternoon and at night. What’s more, chamomile tea blends are available. That means, vanilla chamomile, green tea and chamomile, and fruit flavored chamomile herbal teas provide more taste and more health perks. 

     I’m hardly alone in my love for chamomile tea. Tea Master Daniel Johnson’s favorite herbal tea is a blend of peppermint and chamomile. “I find the energetics of the floral, sweet, vanilla chamomile and the acrid dispersing peppermint to be very balanced,” he explains. “It is relaxing and clearing,” he says, adding, chamomile also “serves as a great foundational tea blend for modification.”  He further points out that chamomile and mint work together to help soothe the throat and calm the mind. “It is my favorite tea to drink in the evening as an herbal ‘night cap’, which is complimented by a sweet drizzle of local honey.”    So, the chamomile tea blend Daniel favors relaxes him after a long day, while I turn to it mid-afternoon and a few hours before bedtime or before being a late-night guest on a radio show because the tea and honey help keep me balanced.

     In the memorable film “You’ve Got Mail,” the tea prepared by actor Tom Hanks for Meg Ryan’s character may likely be chamomile (it makes sense because her favorite flower is the daisy) since it’s comforting and can be helpful fighting a cold (no doubt due to the stressful event linked to losing her bookstore). In the tea scene it was a tea bag sitting in a cup served—not strained loose leaves--that caught my eye.  I have enjoyed chamomile bag dunking days and strained loose leaves—both do the trick. But it doesn’t end there…

     One summer after the hectic Fourth of July holiday that wreaked havoc on my nerves, I tried Evening in Missoula, an herbal blend of chamomile, including raspberry, red clover, rosehips, lemon grass, peppermint, star anise, lavender, and other herbal favorites. At first, I thought: “A basic tea bag of chamomile will do.” But after I brewed a cup of the loose leaves of this herbal blend (from The Cozy Tea Cart) I felt transcended to a calm place and was glad I to a risk and traveled outside my chamomile comfort zone.  And don’t forget, I got more of a variety of herbs so that translates to more healing benefits, too.

Tisane Time: Pour 1 cup of hot water over 1 teaspoon of dried leaves or 1 tea bag. Steep for 4-5 minutes, strain and add sweet and citrusy orange blossom honey.  Health Check:  Some chamomile brands contain licorice root which can raise blood pressure. Also, if you are allergic to ragweed, caution is advised. 

So, during the hectic holidays while eggnog, hot chocolate, and wine may be on your list of favorites, don’t forget to take a tea break and brew a cup of chamomile tea. It will be a perfect gift for your body and mind. And remember, January is National Hot Tea Month.