Chamomile Honey Iced Tea

Chamomile honey iced tea with vanilla and mint is the perfect summer drink for taking a nice relaxing afternoon break.

Chamomile is one of the most widely consumed herbal teas in the world and has been used for centuries dating back to the Egyptians. It is known for its ability to induce a feeling of relaxation and relieve stress. Because chamomile is stress relieving it also relieves muscle tension and anxiety.

Chamomile is a small flowering annual herb in the daisy family. It can be brewed from fresh or dried flowers. It’s gentle yet effective. Aside from being a natural sedative, it is also an antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial.

You might be thinking that you’ve had chamomile tea before and never experienced any of these things. If that’s the case, there are reasons for this.

You probably didn’t buy fresh chamomile, but rather a chamomile from a supermarket branded tea in tea bags.

There are different grades of chamomile and all store bought chamomile is not the same. The flowers don’t fit well into a flat tea bag so buying loose chamomile is better. If you are buying in tea bags, you want more of the white petals than the sticks and stems. Open them up and take a look inside.

If you open the bag you may not even find a single chamomile flower. Most of these are just the dust and fannings of the real thing and have been sitting in a warehouse and on store shelves for months or even years.

The key to getting the desired effects from your chamomile tea is to buy real chamomile, including the whole flowers, and to buy it fresh. I love the chamomile from Adagio Tea. They have a very high-quality herbal chamomile tea. A higher grade chamomile will have a taste reminiscent of apple or honey.

Growing Chamomile

Chamomile is an annual plant that grows virtually anywhere. It is easy to grow from seed and self-seeds freely.  It is a short-lived flower lasting about 8 weeks in early spring. A cool weather plant it does best in spring and early summer.

German Chamomile (Matricaria recutitai) is the most common type of chamomile used for making chamomile tea. Most commercially grown chamomile comes from Eastern Europe, Egypt, and Argentina.

Adagio chamomile tea comes from Egypt and is made of the whole flower pieces.

Roman or English chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) has a more pronounced aroma. It is a perennial primarily grown in England. I think I’d like to try growing this in my garden next year. I’ll have to find a sunny spot.

This Chamomile Honey Iced Tea with Vanilla and Mint is very easy to prepare.

Chamomile Honey Iced Tea

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Chamomile

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 12 minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 14 kcal

Author: Life Is Better With Tea

Having a stressful day? Chamomile honey iced tea with vanilla and mint is the perfect summer drink for taking a nice relaxing afternoon break.

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Ingredients

• 24 ounces water
• 4 Tbsp Chamomile flower dried
• ½ tsp Pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp Local Natural Raw Wildflower Honey
• ½ tsp mint or 2 leaves fresh mint

Instructions

1. Bring filtered water to boil. 
2. Add Chamomile flower and steep 10 minutes.
3. Add vanilla extract, honey, and mint.

4. Strain into heat resistant pitcher. 

5. Add enough ice to bring to 32 ounces.
6. Serve and relax!

Recipe Notes

Potassium: 21 mg, Vitamin A: 0%, Vitamin C: 0%, Calcium: 1%, Iron: 1%

Nutrition Facts

Chamomile Honey Iced Tea

Amount Per Serving (8 ounces)

Calories 14

% Daily Value*

Sodium 9mg 0%

Total Carbohydrates 3g 1%

Sugars 3g

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Medicinal Benefits

Best Remedy for a Relaxing Sleep. Chamomile is a daisy-like plant which is often used in herb infusions to help induce sleep.

Sometimes the stress and strain of daily life will cause me to have difficulty falling asleep at night. How about you? Not being able to fall asleep can be the absolute worst. Chamomile tea makes the perfect nightcap.

Hyperactivity. If you have a hyperactive child, you may want to try some chamomile tea to calm them down and get them to relax a little. Chamomile is safe to give to children as long as they don’t suffer from hay fever allergies. People with specific allergies to ragweed, asters, and chrysanthemum may also be allergic to chamomile.

Spearmint, chamomile, lavender and lemon balm are all plants that are very effective in calming and relaxing the nervous system and brain. I always gave my daughters lavender baths before bedtime when they were little. It really does work.

Medicinal Uses

• • Mild tranquilizer

Pain relieving

• Stress reducing
• Moderately reduces inflammation
• Helps fight infections
• Bronchial relaxant
• Relieves nausea

The essential oil in chamomile is called bisabolol. It has been used for hundreds of years for its skin healing properties. Bisabolol is also known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties.

The National Geographic Guide to Medicinal Herbs is an excellent resource guide if you are interested in learning more about herbs, how to grow them and their therapeutic uses. Herbal medicines have been around for thousands of years. But in western cultures, their use has given way to the heavy pharmaceutical push.

Pharmaceuticals have their place in addressing some acute disease states, but prevention is a much more powerful strategy to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Medicinal herbs are a gentler and effective option for daily use.

Technically speaking, herbal teas are called tisanes, since they are not made from the Camellia Sinensis plant. But they fit under the umbrella of tea as they are an infused beverage.

If you are looking for iced tea recipes made with traditional black or green tea, you can check out more of my iced tea recipes here.

Enjoy a Glass of Chamomile Iced Tea

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Have you ever grown chamomile before? I’d love to hear from you!