Is chamomile tea real tea? Short answer: No. Chamomile tea is considered as herbal tea.
Every taste, aroma and all kinds of (real) tea come from tea plants. Yes, green tea, black tea and oolong tea all come from camellia. Different cultivation methods will produce different kinds of tea, and their smell, appearance and taste are completely unique:
Green tea is made from unfermented mountain tea. Oolong tea is made from partially fermented camellia leaves; ? Black tea is made from fully fermented camellia sinensis. In addition, each tea undergoes a different oxidation process. So, why is chamomile tea so popular if it is not real?
Because of its medicinal value. We will discuss this point in depth later, but it must be pointed out that chamomile is essentially the best-selling herb on earth, because it is relatively cheap, has many health benefits and is easy to eat.
Rome VS german chamomile
There are two different kinds of chamomile:
Roman chamomile- Chamaemelum nobile? (or Anthemis nobilis? )-It is considered to be the real chamomile. This is a low-growth perennial herb, which is most common in dry fields and gardens. You can distinguish noble Chamaemelum from other Anthemis (flowering plants) from the short blunt scales (florets) under the florets.
Roman chamomile
It is worth mentioning that the floret scales of all chamomile plant varieties are below the floret. The researchers studied these scales to distinguish different kinds of chamomile.
German chamomile–Matricaria recutita–is considered as fake chamomile. This is a high-growth perennial herb, which also appears in fields and gardens.
German chamomile
They look similar, smell quite similar, and they are both good warm drinks! The two plants even share many of the same medicinal chemicals, which is why I don't have to worry too much about which species is most suitable for medicine.