Chamomile tea

Chamomile tea (also spelled camomile, or chamomile infusion) is a herbal drink made from the dried flowers of German chamomile, Matricaria recutita. It does not come from the tea plant and has no caffeine: USDA lists 0 mg per 100 g of the brewed drink. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) covers the flowers in a dedicated 2015 monograph.

German chamomile belongs to the daisy family, Asteraceae. EU documents also use the synonyms Chamomilla recutita and Matricaria chamomilla. The tea uses dried flower heads, and the raw material must meet the European Pharmacopoeia monograph.

The route from field to pack is short: the flower heads are picked and dried. For Czech Chamomilla Bohemica the recommended drying temperature is 40 °C, and it is sold both in tea bags and loose. Hungarian chamomile from the Great Hungarian Plain is hand-picked from wild plants on saline soils.

Two names are protected in the EU. Chamomilla Bohemica was registered by Regulation (EC) No 656/2008 of 10 July 2008; it grows in Bohemia at 230 to 480 m with 500 to 700 mm of rain a year. Alföldi kamillavirágzat was registered by Regulation (EU) No 165/2012 of 24 February 2012; its essential oil is described as holding at least 20 % more α-bisabolol than cultivated chamomile.

Official documents do not describe the colour or taste of the infusion, but the Czech specification requires at least 4 ml of blue essential oil per kilo of dry flowers.

Among other herbal drinks, the closest neighbour is rooibos: also caffeine-free and under the same EU limit for pyrrolizidine alkaloids, 400 µg/kg of dry product. Linden is another infusion brewed without tea leaves. Black tea, for comparison, has 20 mg of caffeine per 100 g.

On the pack, look for Chamomilla Bohemica or Alföldi kamillavirágzat with the PDO symbol, and for Matricaria in the ingredients. EMA gives 1.5 to 4 g of flowers per 150 ml of boiling water; official sources do not state a steeping time. If you are allergic to chamomile or other plants of the daisy family, avoid it: EMA records severe allergic reactions as well.

Why this matters to you: you get the exact amount from the EMA monograph, you can spot the protected names, and you know the allergy warning that comes with this flower.