Chamomile tea - leaves / flowers

[Demeter]

Hello -

I have some chamomile running rampant in my garden. I realise that traditionally you are supposed to use the flowers for tea, but can you also use the leaves? I've looked on the internet and some people do refer to using the leaves, so I assume they are not actually harmful (!?) but wondered if any of you had tried it and also whether harvesting some of the leaves would significantly reduce the number of flowers I will get in summer.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

[celticmyth]

Hi Demeter,
Apparently you can also use the leaves dried to make tea,i also found this :
WARNING:
If you are allergic to ragweed, aster, or chrysanthemums, you may have a
reaction to even one cup of chamomile tea.

So maybe something to bear in mind ;-)

[Demeter]

Thanks for that Celticmyth - I'd also seen that warning (but forgotten all about it as I'm not allergic to Ragwort etc.) Well I'll give it a try with some fresh leaves and see what happens.

[Demeter]

The verdict - there's a reason why chamomile tea is supposed to be made with the flowers! Tea made with (fresh) leaves just isn't very nice, it has a bitter taste. A lovely appley smell, and an unpleasant bitter taste. Ho hum. Just got to eat some chocolate to take the taste away.

Any ideas for what I can use the leaves for?
(I thought of pot pourri, as they do at least smell nice, but really there aren't enough hours in the day for pot pourri - not in my house anyway! )

[Two_Sheds]

Any ideas for what I can use the leaves for?

COMPOST!

I loathe camomile tea. Melissa (lemon balm) is lovely though.

[Demeter]

COMPOST!

Good point Was hoping for some amazing household of medicinal purpose, but compost will do!!
Might try Melissa though - will have to work out where to put it (its invasive isn't it? Needs to be contained!)

[Two_Sheds]

Yes, Melissa does get quite rampant. I have a couple of plants, they grow real fast, but don't spread like mint. I haven't noticed it spreading at all, to be honest. So far (3 yrs) it has stayed where planted.

[celticmyth]

Thanks for that Celticmyth -

No problem :-)
I'll give the leaves a miss then,lol