Chamomile

Of all the 2019 teas I have imported, my sampling this year starts with Chamomile. It was surprisingly hard to brew a tolerable or even acceptable flavor. To reach the point of decency took a bit of work, I’ve found the ratio of Chamomile flowers to water is especially important with very little room for error.

I set up a tasting panel with 5 pots of tea based on their infusion strength (tea:water). Brewing strengths of 1:550, 1:300, 1:150, 1:100, and 1:75 were steeped at 96 degrees for 2 minutes. The results were interesting because while 0.6 was weak/watery it had aromas comparable to lemongrass and hay which disappeared if brewed any stronger. 1.1 had notes of lemon and oregano or eucalyptus but I started to detect a floral bitterness. After 1:300 the aroma starts to become similar to a floor cleaner with a pinesol quality at 1:75. Aromatically pleasant in all the infusions (even when it may smell like floor cleaner), the flavor is a completely different story.

Having eaten a flower or 2 in my life, I’ve found they usually suck — and more often than not flowers are bitter with no redeeming features. Chamomile infusions with a strength of approximately 1:300 or stronger start to enter this ‘suck point’. While after 1:300 the flavor of chamomile becomes nearly undrinkable. The bitterness is remarkable. At one point in my tasting I had 8 pots of chamomile on the go. Most of my colleagues who wandered by the tasting table tried them at the 2 extremes and I would carefully watch their face for the ‘what the hell is this’ reaction.

What I’ve taken away from all of this is that somewhere between 1:550 and 1:300 is the ideal ratio for the peak of flavor without the attached bitterness. I went with 1:366 for the future infusions. This could be perfected, but I think its good enough to tinker with the other variables first.

Next I adjusted the infusion time: 1 minute, 2 minutes, and 3 minutes. Pretty standard. I would say that a pattern formed similar to the infusion strength. 1 minute was good but weak, 2 minutes was better but started to become bitter, 3 minutes was similar to 2 minutes richer in texture but again — bitter. For the future brews I would use 1 minute and 30 seconds.

That’s where I am right now, infusion temperature is the next parameter to play with but there’s a limit to how much chamomile I want to force upon myself in 1 sitting. Until next time!