I'm going to talk about one of nature's greatest gift: the chamomile flower.
Chamomile flowers have many uses, but I'll be discussing the 3 most important ones to me:
1. It makes you go fast asleep
2. It can be used to steam your face
3. Products containing chamomile soften skin and stop itching
But first I'll be telling you about quality. All camomile flowers are the same. That is, if you buy the flowers as a whole (picture) or even better, grow them in your garden and dry them.
Like I said, I had used chamomile tea before, but in standard tea bags (crushed flowers). A while ago I stayed at a 4 star hotel and ordered their chamomile tea special. I got a beautiful pot of hot water, a transparant tea bag from a luxury brand filled with the most beautiful little flowers with fluffy cores, a side of white rock candy and a tiny glass of avocado with a little spoon. Let me tell you that was the best tea I ever had...the bitterness of the avocado flushed away with sip of fine chamomile...di-vine!!
Not only did I have a wonderful degustation that night, I also slept like a rose, even while I was sleeping next to my nervous partner who had been drinking coffee instead of tea... Usually it takes me hours to fall asleep. With the chamomile it took me 10-15 minutes. Amazing! And the avocado must have helped too :)
I was in London a week later and passed by a small tea shop on Covent Garden, called the Tea Palace. I know London is a haven for tea lovers, but I wasn't thinking of buying any after drinking a discusting Kenian variety in the hotel. Tasted like bad coffee!! :( But with a name like Tea Palace I just had to give it a try. All varieties stood in large tins behind the counter. I felt like Harry Potter choosing a magic wand. I wanted the chamomil though...I'd seen it lying behind the window...so scrumptious...lurking at me...whispering...drink me...drink me...
I bought around 70 grams for 17 euros. I know, that's a lot for tea, but I just need my sleep. Luckily I was at my local drug store today and noticed they were selling the same amount for only 1,50 euro. Of course it doesn't have the nice packaging, but the label says it only contains chamomile flowers. I compared their appearance and smell, it was very much the same. After a minute I couldn't tell which one was the expensive one. So there you go...
This is the WUTA hand cream in a tin with chamomile. Just my luck: I was just starting to get hives on my arm because of the heat when I decided to apply some hand cream. As soon as I applied the sorbet-like refreshing cream on my hand and arm I wondered if it would sooth the allergy. I did some Googleing and apparantly chamomile does sooth allergies and itching. I liked that, but I've had better hand creams :)
Last but not least, you can add these flowers to a bowl of hot water above which you can steam for 10-15 minutes. Don't forget to add your rose water :) every drug store has it, just ask. You can also use cooled chamomile tea as a natural tonic.
Now, I'm going to make more tea :) I'm a big girl!
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