Comments on: Growing Chamomile for Tea

By: Rachel

Rachel — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 11:53:58 +0000

In reply to Charity. Hi Charity! Congratulations on your first chamomile harvest! It's not uncommon to find small bugs in freshly harvested chamomile buds. To address this: Shake Off the Bugs: Gently shake the buds to dislodge any remaining bugs. Air Dry: Place the buds in a single layer on a mesh screen or a paper towel in a well-ventilated area. This allows any bugs to crawl away. As you mentioned, rinsing can cause mold. You can lightly mist the buds with water to dislodge the bugs before harvesting, but make sure they dry thoroughly before harvesting.

By: Charity

Charity — Mon, 01 Jul 2024 23:46:40 +0000

I have just grown chamomile for the first time in a pot on my front porch.
I harvested about half the buds just now and started them drying but I’m noticing a shocking number of small black bugs now crawling out onto the paper towel. I imagine I shouldn’t rinse the buds so as not to ruin the flower and also to not encourage mold growth. But also I’m not sure what to do about the bugs. Any suggestions?

By: ©Rachel Arsenault

©Rachel Arsenault — Tue, 20 Jul 2021 11:41:13 +0000

In reply to Meg Mulvey. Meg, I am in New England too and agree it so humid here right now. If the newer batch is still good, I would go ahead and layer it on the dehydrator screens to complete the drying process. If not, just wait for a new flush of blossoms and start with those.

By: Meg Mulvey

Meg Mulvey — Sat, 17 Jul 2021 16:36:34 +0000

I have picked chamomile to dry for tea but it is not drying out. It is particularly humid here in New England right now. So I tossed all except for what I picked this past week. I just purchased a dehydrator. Is it too late to put in what I picked?

In reply to Rita Enes. Rita, Chamomile is a rather bitter plant. However, there are several ways to make your tea less bitter: 1) Harvest blossoms just as the flower opens. Older blooms can turn bitter. 2) Dehydrate with no or low heat. 3) Use hot water around 90˚F to make the tea. 5) Steep for only 5 minutes. Longer steeping increases the flavor. 6) German chamomile tastes more bitter than Roman chamomile. 7) Finally, you may have plants that just tastes sharper than others. You can cut the bitterness of your tea by adding a little honey.