Camomile Tea From The Garden

I poured the dried camomile flowers from the wooden bowl where they have been drying into the small round tea tin.

And as I did, three flowers fell onto the kitchen counter.

As I picked each one up and put it in the tin with the others, I thought of how I picked each of these flowers over the summer and put them in the wooden bowl to dry.

I planted the camomile from seeds in the raised garden bed in a narrow 9×20 inch patch.

Today I boiled water and scooped a teaspoon full of flowers into a tea ball and let it steep.   I made a bit of ceremony about drinking it, putting in the china cup, with a picture of a thimble on it that Kathy sent me.

Then I sat in the living room and took a sip.

I held the liquid in my mouth and let it slow slide down my throat.  Tasting it with the roof of my mouth as well as my tongue and cheeks.

The flavor was more full, rounder than any camomile tea I’ve ever had. It felt strangely filling in a soothing way.

I can easily buy camomile tea, I often do.  But growing it in my garden, harvesting each tiny flower and waiting for it to dry, makes me appreciate the tea in a way I don’t when I buy it in a box or even in bulk.

Now I know what it takes to create such a marvelous drink.

And I will not be tossing the used seeds in the compost, not yet.  I’ll try using them one more time, refilling my tea cup with more hot water and appreciating them one more time.