Nightshade Chamomile Sleep Tea

A loose blend of whole Egyptian chamomile flowers, French lavender buds, and a light scatter of lemon balm leaf — no dust, no bagged fannings, only the whole flowers and leaf opening slowly in the pot. Despite the name on the tin, there is no nightshade anywhere in the blend; the word gestures only at the deep, unbroken dark of a good night's sleep. Chamomile has been Europe's bedtime cup for centuries, its dried flowers a fixture of household remedy chests long before tea became a category of its own. Lavender's calming scent has an equally long history in sachets and pillow herbs, and lemon balm has traditionally kept it company as a mild nervine since at least the medieval monastery gardens where all three were commonly grown together. The three are traditionally used to ease the mind toward sleep, the floral scent alone doing a good part of the work before the first sip. Steep a heaped teaspoon for five minutes in water just off the boil, letting the flowers fully open before straining. Caffeine-free, so there is nothing in the cup working against its own purpose. A bedtime tea traditionally used to support rest and a settled mind; it is not a treatment for insomnia, and it does not replace medical advice for ongoing sleep trouble.