Chamomile, Revisited

Most chamomile you've had was bad. Teabags stuffed with dust, steeped too long, drowned in boiling water. The real thing — whole dried flowers from Egypt or Croatia — is something else entirely.

Use a heaping tablespoon of flowers per cup. Water at 90°C. Steep for five minutes, no longer. The cup should taste of apple skin and warm hay, never bitter. A good Egyptian chamomile is bright and almost honey-like. A good Croatian chamomile is more medicinal, a little earthier.

The scientific evidence for chamomile as a sleep aid is mixed and modest. The compound apigenin, present in chamomile, does bind weakly to benzodiazepine receptors in the brain, which may explain the mild calming effect. But the larger truth is probably ritual: making a hot drink, sitting down, and giving yourself ten minutes of unhurried space before bed will help most people sleep better, regardless of what's in the cup.

Good chamomile is not a sleep aid. It is a slow exhale.