Chamomile — a daisy-flowered herb of the aster family, gathered for thousands of years. The flowers dry to gold, and the gold steeps to calm.
Two hundred degrees — not boiling. Boiling burns the oils and turns the tea bitter. Four to five minutes, covered, so the goodness doesn't fly off with the steam.
From my plot by the Huron to the cup in my hands — the whole transaction. Lavender for the last slow note, chamomile for the body of it. A calm cup is an audit that comes out clean.