Chamomile Evenings: Building a Wind-Down Ritual

The best evening routines are boring on purpose. The body loves a signal it recognises, and a warm cup at the same hour is one of the oldest signals there is.

The ritual, in four steps

1. An hour before bed, put the phone in another room. The kettle is the replacement notification.

2. A teaspoon of whole chamomile flowers per cup — whole, because crushed flowers in dusty teabags gave up their oils long ago.

3. Steep covered, five minutes. Covered matters: the aroma you smell escaping is the part you wanted in the cup.

4. Drink it away from screens. That's it. The magic is the repetition, not the recipe.

Chamomile pairs beautifully with a pinch of spearmint on warm days, or a thread of honey in winter. Keep the flowers airtight and away from light; a flower that has faded in colour has faded in the cup too.