Best Chamomile Tea UK

Chamomile is the most drunk herbal infusion in the UK, and it is also the one most often poorly made. Whole flower chamomile in a teapot is one of the world's quietest pleasures; supermarket dust grade chamomile in a tea bag is, charitably, hot water with hay in it. The gap between the two is bigger than the gap between supermarket bagged tea and single estate Darjeeling. This guide tells you which UK brands deliver the real thing.

The two grades that matter

Chamomile flowers are picked and dried whole or processed. The two grades are wildly different cups:

• Whole flower chamomile. Recognisable yellow and white daisy heads, intact, tumbled into the bag or sold loose. Brews to a bright golden cup with the characteristic apple honey aroma. Costs more because it requires careful handling. Premium brands use this.
• CTC / cut chamomile. Flowers cut and crushed for quick infusion in tea bags. The cup is muddier, more bitter, less aromatic, the apigenin (the calming compound) is mostly there but the volatile oils that give chamomile its flavour are largely gone. Most supermarket bags use this. Cheap, but you taste why.

The five chamomile teas worth drinking

1. Teapigs Chamomile Flowers 50 Bags. Whole flower in pyramid bags. The benchmark for bagged chamomile in the UK. Brews bright golden, apple honey aroma, no bitterness even brewed long. Check the product page for the current pack and price. Worth it.
2. Pukka Three Chamomile. Three sources of chamomile (Egyptian, Croatian, English) blended for depth. Whole flower fragments rather than full heads. Organic. £0.30 per cup. Excellent for daily drinking.
3. Twinings Pure Camomile. Mid tier. Cleaner cup than supermarket cheap chamomile but not as bright as the premium options. £0.10 per cup. The pragmatic choice for everyday drinkers who want something better than Tetley but not premium.
4. Clipper Organic Chamomile. Organic, ethical, supermarket pricing (£0.12 per cup). Clear cup, no surprises.
5. Tetley Pure Chamomile. The supermarket cheap option. £0.04 per cup. Drinkable. Not transcendent. Buy it if budget is the binding constraint and you're brewing nightly.

Quick Buy: Teapigs Chamomile Flowers 50 Bags

Loose leaf whole flower

For the absolute proper version, buy loose Egyptian or Croatian whole flower chamomile. Whittard's loose chamomile is widely available. You get full daisy heads, brew them in a teapot with a strainer, and the cup is in a different league from any bagged version. Around £0.50-0.80 per cup but each tin lasts months.

How to brew chamomile properly

This is where most people lose the experience. Chamomile needs:

• Just boiled water (95-100°C). Not the mythical "let it cool first", chamomile is robust to heat and the volatile oils need it. Hot water from a freshly boiled kettle.
• Full 5-7 minute steep. Most people pull the bag at 2-3 minutes (because that's the black tea reflex) and miss most of the flavour. Chamomile releases slowly; give it time.
• Cover during brew. Volatile aromatic compounds escape with steam. Putting a saucer or lid on the cup or pot for the first three minutes traps them. Genuinely changes the cup.
• No milk. Milk and chamomile produce a strange dairy floral combination that nobody enjoys.
• Honey works, sugar doesn't. A small teaspoon of honey amplifies the apple honey character; granulated sugar competes with it.

Caffeine

Pure chamomile is completely caffeine free. The plant simply does not contain caffeine. Suitable for evening drinking, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and children over 6 months in moderation. Be aware that some "chamomile blends" (e.g. chamomile + green tea variants) do contain caffeine, read the box if avoiding caffeine is the point.

What chamomile is good for

Mild relaxant, traditionally drunk to wind down in the evening. It is not a sleeping pill. The bigger effect for most people is the ritual itself, a warm caffeine free cup that helps signal "wind down" to the brain, with a gentle herbal lift on top.

Other traditional uses (digestive aid, soothing for sore throat, mild antiseptic mouthwash) have some support but evidence is mixed. Chamomile is also widely used as part of the bedtime routine for restless children, a small warm cup of weak chamomile is well tolerated.

Pregnancy and children

Generally considered safe in moderate amounts (one to three cups per day) during pregnancy. NHS does not flag chamomile as a concern, though some sources advise caution in the first trimester due to limited data. For children, weak chamomile is traditional and well tolerated; one cup before bed for an over-3 is fine.

FAQ

What is the best chamomile tea bag? Teapigs Chamomile Flowers 50 Bags, whole flower in pyramid bags, the cleanest bagged cup we sell.

Does chamomile help you sleep? Modestly, in the traditional sense. The bigger benefit for most people is the pre sleep ritual, warm drink, low light, brain settles.

Can you drink chamomile every night? Yes. No tolerance build up; no contraindications for healthy adults at one to two cups daily.

Why does some chamomile taste bitter? Over brewed (more than 8 minutes) or low grade dust chamomile. Whole flower brewed 5-6 minutes is sweet and apple honey, never bitter.

Is chamomile safe in pregnancy? Generally yes, in moderate amounts. Ask your midwife if uncertain; one cup in the evening is widely considered fine.

Curator's note: spend the extra 30p per cup on Teapigs Chamomile Flowers 50 Bags if chamomile is part of your evening routine. The lift in cup quality is dramatic. If you have only had the supermarket cheap stuff, you have not actually tasted chamomile yet. Lee, Teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

UK chamomile, ranked

Quick take

Chamomile is the UK’s most drunk herbal and the most often badly made: whole flower in a pot is a different drink from supermarket dust in a bag, and the gap is bigger than between bagged tea and single estate Darjeeling. Teapigs Chamomile Flowers 50 Bags is the bagged benchmark, Pukka Three Chamomile the daily organic pick, loose Egyptian or Croatian whole flower the proper version. Brew it the way most people get wrong: just boiled water, a full five to seven minutes, covered, no milk, honey not sugar. It is caffeine free and a gentle, traditional wind down aid rather than a sedative, and the ritual does as much as the cup.

Reference noted

• EFSA Scientific Opinion on the Safety of Caffeine (2015)

More from the tea wiki

• Green tea
• Black tea
• Oolong tea
• White tea
• Herbal tea
• Caffeine in tea
• How to make tea properly
• Loose leaf vs teabag

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