Chamomile tea is one of the world’s most popular herbal teas with about a million cups consumed every day. With its gentle notes of apple – mellow and honey-esque in its sweetness – it makes for a delicately floral herbal tea. One of the oldest, most widely used and well-documented medicinal plants in the world, chamomile has also been recommended for a variety of healing applications.
If you’re looking for a tea with a similar flavor to chamomile, you’re in good company. There are several teas that produce the same kind of taste. Some of these include lavender and violet teas, as well as Lady Grey and hibiscus tea. Not only do they share flavors but they come with great health benefits!
We’ve assembled a list of teas like chamomile that you should definitely look into trying.
1. Rose Tea
Roses are one of the oldest flowers in the world, beloved by gardeners as a hardy, long-lasting plant. It makes sense that they make for a great cup of tea, too. Drinking rose tea is a great source of vitamins and antioxidants. It is also caffeine-free, sugar-free, and calorie-free. It contains Vitamins E and C, which are some of the best vitamins to promote healthy skin, especially when taken together.
There are hundreds of rose varieties that are considered safe for human use. Roses are added to a range of products for both their fragrance and potential health benefits. Roses are also often used in the kitchen, especially in Middle Eastern, Indian, and Chinese cuisine.
2. Hibiscus Tea
Hibiscus tea, also known as Sorrell tea or “sour tea,” is a fragrant tea made from the dried calyxes of the tropical Hibiscus sabdariffa flowers. Hibiscus sabdariffa flowers are native to Africa and grow in many tropical and subtropical regions around the world.
Hibiscus tea has a fruity, refreshing flavour that many enjoy hot or iced. On top of the flavour, it has a host of potential health benefits. Summary human and animal studies have found that hibiscus extract may benefit liver health by increasing drug-detoxifying enzymes and reducing liver damage and fatty liver.
3. Lady Grey
Yes, funnily enough, Lady Grey tea is quite similar to Earl Grey in that it’s a black tea flavoured with citrus, but the black tea tends to be lighter in flavour and reddish in colour if you steep it properly and more citrus is added. In addition to the bergamot oil, Lady Grey tea will usually have pieces of lemon and orange peel too.
As a black tea blend infused with several healthy ingredients, Lady Grey tea is naturally full of powerful antioxidants, especially in the bergamot oil, that will improve your immunity and help you fend off common colds and even the flu. What’s not to love here?
4. Jasmine Tea
Jasmine tea is an old, but golden brew. Both tea and jasmine were cultivated in China during the Tang Dynasty (618–907), but people may have drunk jasmine tea even before that time. It has a fragrant floral aroma with a sweet, subtle taste and can be purchased as tea bags, loose leaves, and pearls. For most, drinking jasmine tea is a recreational experience; for others, a health choice.
Although some people make jasmine tea with oolong or black tea, the traditional brew uses green tea leaves. In the classic method, growers layer green tea leaves with jasmine blossoms. They remove and replace the flowers until their fragrance infuses the tea. Despite the scent of jasmine adding another dimension to the whole experience, most health benefits come from the tea itself.
5. Lavender Tea
Lavender tea, made by brewing the purple buds of the Lavandula angustifolia plant with hot water, is thought to calm nerves, lead to better sleep, and improve skin health. More broadly, lavender extract is used as an aromatherapy agent to help with anxiety, depression, and fatigue.
As for the taste, ;avender tea features hints of rosemary and mint. Some blends offer a smoky or woody flavour while others tend to be more floral and sweet. Lavender tea can also have hints of green apple and rose, often overlapping with those of green tea. Studies suggest that compounds in lavender may even stimulate activity in certain areas of the brain, boosting mood and producing calming effects. One study in 80 new mothers in Taiwan found that those who drank 250ml — or 1 cup — of lavender tea per day for two weeks reported less fatigue and depression, compared with those who didn’t drink the tea.
6. Darjeeling
Darjeeling tea, a black tea produced in India, has a fruity aroma and a golden or bronze colour, depending on the way it’s brewed. On a good day, it has hints of citrus fruit and flowers. Generally, Darjeeling tastes sweeter and less bitter than other forms of black tea.
Often called “the champagne of teas” due to its similarity to the sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region of France, Darjeeling can only be grown and produced in the Darjeeling district, a geographically protected region in West Bengal, India. A special one to treat yourself to in the coming months!
7. Passion Flower
To prepare this tea, you need to steep a dried passionflower or use pre-packed tea bags in a boiling pot of water. It will take about 5–7 minutes for the flavour to diffuse, and will taste earthy and grassy. This can be sweetened by honey, sugar, or corn syrup. Do not be put off by accusations of passion flower tea being bland. While there are more fruitful teas, the calming effects ought to convince you alone.
Most of the health benefits of passionflower tea are the result of significant levels of harmine, flavonoids, and organic acids, such as linolenic, palmitic, and myristic acid, as well as various amino acids, coumarins, and other antioxidants.
8. Rooibos
Arguably the best-named tea in the world, Rooibos is a tisane traditionally made by fermenting the leaves of the flowering shrub aspalathus linearis. Green rooibos differs in flavour and carries a higher price tag. Although it has no connection with traditional black or green tea, rooibos is enjoyed in a similar way, either with or without milk and sugar.
As a naturally caffeine-free beverage, rooibos is suitable for those who want to avoid the stimulating effects of caffeine. And because it’s naturally caffeine-free, rooibos doesn’t need to undergo a decaffeination process, making its rich polyphenol content remains unaffected.
9. Green Tea
Green tea – a cliché of good health but a deserving one. Early in the 17th century, this beverage was introduced to consumers in Europe by the Chinese. By the 18th century in England, green tea was so valuable and popular that it was frequently smuggled in to avoid taxes.
While there are many compounds, nutrients, vitamins, and minerals in green tea leaves, those elements are very diluted in a single cup of tea. Once steeped, a green tea beverage is pretty much entirely water. And be careful, green tea is also notorious for developing bitter flavours if brewed incorrectly. If you’ve tried green tea and thought it was bitter, you’re probably making it wrong. The taste of green tea should be grassy, vegetal, nutty, or herbaceous, but never bitter.
10. Violet Tea
The pleasantly named violet tea has a sweet and woodsy flavour. The viola odorata plant produces the distinctive violet aroma, a scent which contains ionone. To prepare, use one teaspoon per cup and one for the pot with freshly boiling water and infuse for three to five minutes. Apologies to all the milk and sugar fans out there, but this is best enjoyed without them.
Some people use sweet violet for respiratory tract conditions, particularly dry or sore throat, stuffy nose, coughs, hoarseness, and bronchitis. Other uses include treating pain in the minor joints, fever, skin diseases, headache, and insomnia.
11. Oatstraw
Oatstraw might sound stodgy and bitter but it’s anything. This is a subtle, calming cup of tea with slight earth tones. It’s the kind of tea you can sip on and off all day and not feel overdone, much like chamomile.
This brew is made from the same grasses that produce the oatmeal some of you may eat for breakfast. Oatstraw isn’t exactly gonna have a negative effect on anyone who has it, but it benefits women in particular, strengthening bones, soothing the nervous system, stabilising blood sugar, and nourishing your pancreas, liver, and adrenals. Mainly though, it’s just a nice tea!
12. Elder Flower
Elderflowers come from a small tree native to Europe that makes small white flowers with a very strong fragrance and small berries that are dark with a darker taste. These things make for a really interesting cup of herbal tea, which you’ll have noticed mimics the charms of chamomile.
Aside from just being a delicious and vibrant alternative to chamomile or just a drab cup of black tea, elderflower is an antiseptic, antiviral, and antibacterial powerhouse. Elderflower has been used in medicine for centuries for its conducive effect on those suffering from flu or sinus infections. Like a lot of herbal teas, elderflower tea is a rich source of vitamin C and antioxidants.
13. Honeybush
Honeybush tea is a herbal tea made from the honeybush plant on the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The flowers, unsurprisingly, have a honey-ish aroma and taste. It’s often compared to rooibos tea, only sweeter and less medicinal.
An in vitro study from 2015 found that honeybush tea might aid bone health. Most famously, it’s known to calm a nasty cough. Honeybush is full of an expectorant that has been proven to relieve cough and cold symptoms. It also decreases blood sugar and eases menopausal symptoms.
14. Calendula
Also known as marigold, calendula is a plant used for medicinal purposes and cups of delicious, refreshing tea. It offers a sweet fragrance similar to chamomile but with a slightly spicy and bitter taste, so you might want to add a sweetener of some sort to your brew.
Calendula’s antifungal and antimicrobial properties have been known to help prevent infection and heal injuries to body tissues. One cup of this stuff will also treat you with a smattering of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory components which may help fight heart disease and even cancer.
15. Osmanthus
Osmanthus is an infused tea from the South East provinces of China that is most associated with love, weddings, and marriage. Unlike most other flower petals that are super bitter, osmanthus petals only have a slightly bitter taste, while also throwing in a mildly sweet tone!
Osmanthus works as a natural detox and helps clear out your body of toxins, particularly in the kidney and liver. As a herbal tea, it is also caffeine-free, but once you have been drinking osmanthus for a few weeks you will feel start to feel truly energised.