Chamomile
Small daisy-like flowers with golden centres, dried whole. Chamomile smells of apples and honey and makes the world's best-known evening cup.
How Ayurveda reads chamomile
- Part used
- Flower head
Reviewed by the Vapika team.
In the tradition
Chamomile isn't an Ayurvedic herb. It is European, and came to India with Unani medicine, which calls it bābūna and uses its flowers in oils and infusions. It is grown today in parts of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
How we read it
Because the classical texts don't describe chamomile, this page gives it no rasa, guṇa or vīrya. By taste, it is sweet, slightly bitter and aromatic.
In the kitchen
As a tea, mostly. A few flowers steeped in milk for desserts, or in honey.
How we use it
We sell whole dried chamomile flowers on their own. Steep them covered for five minutes; the scent is in the oils, and a lid keeps them in the cup.
Chamomile in our blends
From the texts: Not described in the classical Ayurvedic texts. Used in Unani medicine as bābūna.
For learning, not diagnosis. If you are pregnant, nursing or on medication, please speak to your doctor first.