Dried Chamomile Flowers

✨ Dried Chamomile Flowers — Babonj, the Golden Tea of Calm

Chamomile is one of the gentlest and best-loved herbs in the Moroccan home. It is known as البابونج (Babonj or Babounj) in Arabic and Darija, camomille or matricaire in French, and Matricaria chamomilla (also written Matricaria recutita) by botanists, often called German chamomile. Our Moroccan chamomile comes as whole dried flower heads: small golden-yellow domed centres ringed with cream petals, with a few thin stems among them. Open the bag and you meet a soft, sweet, apple-like scent with a light honey note, and the tea it makes is pale gold and mild.

🌿 Traditional and Cultural Uses

For generations, Moroccan grandmothers kept a jar of babonj in the kitchen. A warm cup was traditionally poured in the evening to help the family unwind before sleep, and after heavy meals it was served to settle the stomach. Across the Arab world and around the Mediterranean, chamomile has long been valued as a calming household herb, and in ancient Egypt the flower was honoured and linked with the sun.

Its place in beauty traditions is just as old. Women rinsed their hair with a cooled chamomile infusion to bring out golden highlights in light hair, used it in face steams at home and before the hammam, and laid cooled chamomile compresses over tired eyes.

🍵 How to Use

• 🍵 Herbal tea — on its own, or with honey and a slice of lemon
• 🌿 Blended — with mint or lemon verbena (louiza)
• 💆 Face steam — a handful in a bowl of just-boiled water
• 💛 Hair rinse — the cooled infusion poured over the hair after washing
• 👁️ Compress — cooled tea on a clean cloth or cotton pad for tired eyes

🥣 Recipe: A Classic Cup of Babonj

1. Put 1 tablespoon of dried flowers (about 2 g) in a cup or small teapot.
2. Pour over 250 ml of water just off the boil.
3. Cover and steep for 5 to 10 minutes, so the aroma stays in the cup.
4. Strain, then add a spoonful of honey or a slice of lemon if you like.

For a hair rinse, steep a generous handful in 1 litre of hot water for 20 minutes, let it cool, strain and pour it over clean hair as the final rinse.

🔬 Product Profile

• 🌼 Plant: chamomile, Matricaria chamomilla, of the daisy family (Asteraceae)
• 📍 Origin: Morocco
• 🌾 Part used: whole dried flower heads, with some short stems
• ✅ Composition: 100% chamomile, nothing added

📦 How We Sell It

Whole dried chamomile flowers, loose, available in 100g, 250g, 500g, 1kg, 2kg, 3kg and 5kg. The small sizes suit a daily cup at home; the larger ones suit families, herbalists and cafés that brew it often.

🌤️ Storage

Keep the flowers in an airtight jar or a well-sealed pouch, in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight and strong-smelling spices. Stored this way, chamomile keeps its colour and aroma for about 12 months. Use a dry spoon so no moisture gets in.