Chamomile Tea Syrup

Store in a sealed glass bottle in the refrigerator for up to one month. Keep refrigerated.

Chamomile infuses extremely quickly and gently — use water at 90°C (not boiling) and steep for only four minutes; longer infusions become bitter and medicinal. The natural apple-honey character of chamomile syrup makes it naturally suited to cocktails without additional flavoring — its most appealing characteristic is what it already tastes like, not what is added to it. Loose dried chamomile flowers produce a markedly better syrup than commercial chamomile tea bags, which often contain blended herbs that muddy the delicate floral character. Allow the syrup to cool completely before bottling to preserve the most volatile aromatic compounds.

Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla) is one of the most ancient and widely used medicinal plants in Western history, documented in the Egyptian Ebers Papyrus as a remedy for fever and used by ancient Greek and Roman physicians as a digestive aid and anti-inflammatory. The dried flower heads produce a mild infusion with distinctive apple-honey aromatics derived from the compound chamazulene and related volatile oils. Chamomile tea has been consumed as a calming bedtime drink in European households for centuries and entered global mainstream awareness through commercial tea brands in the 20th century. In the craft cocktail world, chamomile became associated with a distinctive fat-washing and infusion technique, where the floral apple notes of chamomile complement gin, vodka, and bourbon in ways that other teas do not — the honey-and-apple character of chamomile syrup creates a unique bridge between the sweet and botanical elements of a cocktail.

A chamomile-honey syrup, made by substituting wildflower honey for white sugar, produces a richer, more complex sweetener with doubled floral character excellent in Bee's Knees variations and gin cocktails. A chamomile-lemon syrup can be made by adding the zest of one lemon to the warm syrup after straining — the citrus lifts the floral notes and creates a bright, elegant syrup for sparkling wine cocktails. For a chamomile-vanilla syrup suited to bourbon and rum drinks, add half a split vanilla bean to the sugar-water mixture before adding chamomile.

No common top-eight allergens. Naturally vegan and gluten-free. Chamomile is in the Asteraceae (daisy) family — those with known ragweed, chrysanthemum, or other Asteraceae allergies should use with caution, as cross-reactivity is possible.