Best Chamomile Tea UK

Chamomile is a UK favourite among herbal infusions, and it is also 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 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

Prices below are our autumn sale prices on 18 September 2026 (the sale ends 15 November), divided by the bags in the pack; each product page shows today's price.

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. 22.4p a cup (£11.20 for 50). Worth it.
2. Twinings Pure Camomile. Mid tier. Cleaner cup than supermarket cheap chamomile but not as bright as the premium options. 18p a cup (£3.60 for 20). The pragmatic choice for everyday drinkers who want something better than the cheapest.
3. Loyd Pure Camomile. A straightforward single-ingredient camomile. 9.5p a cup (£3.80 for 40).
4. Tetley Camomile. The supermarket cheap option. 8p a cup (£3.20 for 40). Drinkable. Not transcendent. Buy it if budget is the binding constraint and you're brewing nightly.

Well known but not sold here: Pukka Three Chamomile (three sources of chamomile, organic, an excellent daily cup) and Clipper Organic Chamomile (organic, a clear cup).

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 elsewhere (we don't sell it). 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). Ignore the myth about letting it cool first, because chamomile takes the heat well 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. Do that and the cup tastes noticeably different.
• 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. That makes it a favourite for evening drinking, but caffeine free does not mean suitable for everyone: see pregnancy below. 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. Mostly it is a warm, caffeine free cup to finish the day on, with a gentle herbal taste and an apple and honey sweetness.

There are other traditional uses too, though the evidence is mixed and we don't make claims about them.

Pregnancy and children

During pregnancy, the NHS advises limiting total caffeine to 200mg a day. Its current advice also says to have no more than four cups of herbal tea a day, naming chamomile and peppermint, and to avoid teas containing liquorice root; there is not much research on herbal teas in pregnancy (NHS: foods to avoid in pregnancy). A caffeine-free label does not establish that every herbal blend is suitable. We can't advise on ages or doses for children, so take the question to a pharmacist, health visitor or GP.

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 pull for most people is the evening routine itself: a warm drink under low light before bed.

Can you drink chamomile every night? Many people do, as part of a wind-down routine. If you are pregnant, see the NHS limit above; if you take medication or have a medical condition, ask a pharmacist.

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? The NHS says to have no more than four cups of herbal tea a day in pregnancy, including chamomile, and to avoid teas containing liquorice root. Ask your midwife if you are unsure.

Curator's note: spend the extra 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 a UK favourite herbal and 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 (not sold here), 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 gentle, nothing like a sedative, and the evening routine matters as much as what is in the cup.

Reference noted

• NHS: foods to avoid in pregnancy

More from the tea wiki

• Tropical Sun Camomile: A Caribbean Chamomile
• Twinings Pure Chamomile
• Teapigs Chamomile: A Review
• Twinings Calm: Spiced Vanilla Chamomile
• Teapigs Chamomile & Manuka Honey: A Premium Sleep Tea
• Pukka Relax Chamomile

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