Camomile Tea

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Caretaker

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Camomile Tea
« on: August 08, 2006, 18:48 »
Camomile tea.
My wife can only drink this stuff for medical reasons and it cost a bomb.
Can I grow it on the allotment and how do I get the seeds, and the plant, how do I convert it in to tea leaves?
Oh just one other thing, how do I put it in to the little bags.
I have just read the packet and it is a flower.
Reg.
I'm lost without my SatNav.

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Heather_S

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Camomile Tea
« Reply #1 on: August 08, 2006, 20:06 »
I'm not sure if you can grow the chamomile for tea in this country. I believe you use the "heads" (not the petals or leaves of the flower) for tea. You could sow a simple, small drawstring bag out of unbleached muslin fabric to steep the dried flower heads in, then you can turn it inside out into the compost pail and compost it and reuse the little bag. You could made lots of them so you could be lazy and just do one load of laundry of them.
Check Jekka's herb farm website or beans & herbs website.
 http://www.jekkasherbfarm.com/
http://www.beansandherbs.co.uk/

Make sure you get the correct chamomile, not Dyer's Chamomile since those flowers are usually just used for yellow dye.
wistfully hoping to one day be mostly organic gardener in North London.

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Heather_S

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Camomile Tea
« Reply #2 on: August 08, 2006, 20:08 »
Chamaemelum nobile  or Roman Chamomile is what you're looking for apparently :)

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Oliver

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Camomile Teabags
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2006, 00:19 »
Quote from: "Heather_S"
You could sow a simple, small drawstring bag out of unbleached muslin fabric to steep the dried flower heads in.

Sounds like a bit of a palaver! You can buy a little strainer sort of thing used for making tea - its like two holey teaspoons hinged together. You fill the thing with leaves and dunk it in the cup. Then when yo are finished, just take it out, open the two halves and tip the contents on the compost heap. Sorted.

The Chinese also have a little strainer which fits inside the cup - put the tealeaves in this container, add water, steep, remove, compost. Also sorted.

Or, just put a measured amount of 'heads' in a cup, add water, strain and drink.

Or - we have a tea merchant who bags his own tea. Maybe he would oblige and fill some bags. Do you have someone like this nearby?
Keep the plot cultivated, that's the best way to ensure its future.

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Heather_S

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Re: Camomile Teabags
« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2006, 00:30 »
Quote from: "Oliver"

Sounds like a bit of a palaver! You can buy a little strainer sort of thing used for making tea - its like two holey teaspoons hinged together. You fill the thing with leaves and dunk it in the cup. Then when yo are finished, just take it out, open the two halves and tip the contents on the compost heap. Sorted.


I find the metal tea strainers to be more of a faff to clean out. The chinese tea pot "socks" as I call them are a similar idea and are equally fairly easy to invert and brush off any tea bits into a container. I've not seen these many places, though, just a specialist tea merchant's shop and maybe the oriental market.

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jaycee

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Chamomile Tea
« Reply #5 on: August 09, 2006, 10:01 »
I was very interested to read the postings on chamomile tea. It brought back fond memories of a time 40 years ago, living at my in-laws in Italy (and before the use of tea bags)
They used to dry the flower heads and make tea by putting in a cup, adding boiling water, letting it brew for a few minutes, then just strain it into another cup. Used very regularly as a restoratve, a headache cure and pick me up.
If you find it a bother doing this every time you want a drink why not make a quantity of tea up in the morning and the just take off a cup and reheat when required.  It won`t taste any different.

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Caretaker

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Camomile Tea
« Reply #6 on: August 09, 2006, 11:34 »
I have never had such  good reply's.
I thank you all, now all I have to do is start growing.
If it was not for you all, I would have given up long ago.
You are my inspiration to all my allotment needs.

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Oliver

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Inspiration
« Reply #7 on: August 09, 2006, 12:59 »
Quote from: "Caretaker"
If it was not for you all, I would have given up long ago.
Ditto! But thanks for that :) O


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