Anise hyssop tea is one of the sweetest herbal teas you can make from a single plant: a pale golden cup that tastes of licorice and mint with no bitterness and, for many people, no need for honey. It is caffeine-free, easy to brew from fresh or dried leaves and flowers, and forgiving of a long steep. At La Ferme À Ciel Sur Mer we grow anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) as a certified Organic crop in Charlevoix, Québec, and tea is what most of it becomes, on our own table and in our customers' kitchens. This guide covers how to make anise hyssop tea, fresh or dried, what it tastes like, what it is traditionally used for, blends to try, and the one safety point worth knowing.
Despite the name, anise hyssop is neither anise nor hyssop. It is a North American native in the mint family, and it makes a much gentler, sweeter tea than true hyssop does. For the plant itself, its history and its pollinator value, see our guide to anise hyssop benefits; if you would rather start with leaves and flowers grown and dried on our farm, our Organic anise hyssop is in the shop.
How to Make Anise Hyssop Tea
Anise hyssop tea is a simple hot-water infusion, and the only rule that matters is to cover the cup while it steeps. The licorice-mint character lives in the plant's aromatic oils, which drift off with the steam if the cup is left open; a lid keeps the flavour where you want it. Use water just off the boil rather than a rolling boil, which can scald the delicate aromatics.
For dried herb, use one to two teaspoons of leaves and flowers per cup of about 250 millilitres, and steep ten to fifteen minutes for a full-flavoured cup, or five to seven for a lighter one. Anise hyssop does not turn bitter with time the way black tea does, so a forgotten cup is still a good cup. Strain and drink it warm, or chill it over ice.
Anise hyssop tea, step by step
- Measure one to two teaspoons of dried anise hyssop leaves and flowers per cup, or a small handful of fresh leaves, lightly crushed.
- Pour over water just off the boil.
- Cover and steep ten to fifteen minutes for dried herb, five to seven for fresh.
- Strain, and add honey or lemon only if you want it; the tea is naturally sweet.
Fresh or Dried Leaves?
Both make good tea, and they make slightly different cups. Fresh leaves, picked in summer and crushed lightly in the hand before steeping, give a greener, brighter tea with more mint in it. Because fresh herb is mostly water, use more of it, roughly a small handful per cup, and steep it for a shorter time. Dried leaves and flowers are more concentrated and sweeter, with the licorice note more forward, and they are what most people brew from through the year.
Leaves and flowers are both used. The leaves carry most of the aroma; the purple flower spikes are milder and a little more floral, and they make the dried herb prettier in the jar. On our farm we harvest and dry them together as one product, so a spoonful of our dried anise hyssop already has both in it. If you grow your own, cut the top portion of the stems just past full bloom, when the oils in the leaves are at their peak.
What Anise Hyssop Tea Tastes Like
Sweet, first of all. Anise hyssop tea tastes of licorice and mint together, softer than either fennel or peppermint, with a faint floral note from the flowers and no bitterness at all. The sweetness is the plant's own; many people drink it plain who would sweeten any other herbal tea. Brewed strong it leans toward licorice, brewed light it leans toward mint, and iced it is one of the more refreshing herbal teas there is.
Two things about the name confuse people. Anise hyssop is not related to anise, the seed spice, and it is not the same plant as true hyssop, Hyssopus officinalis, which makes a bitter, camphor-scented tea with its own safety rules. If you have a jar labelled simply "hyssop", our comparison of hyssop vs anise hyssop will tell you which one you have.
Blends to Try
Anise hyssop is a natural blending herb, because its sweetness rounds out herbs that are sharper or more bitter on their own. A few pairings we reach for on the farm:
- Lemon balm: half and half, for a gently uplifting evening cup.
- Chamomile: a spoon of anise hyssop sweetens a bedtime chamomile without honey.
- Peppermint: a pinch of mint brightens it into a morning tea.
- Rose petals or elderflower: for a floral, summery pot, best served iced.
- Black or green tea: a teaspoon of anise hyssop in the pot adds a licorice note to plain tea.
For iced tea, brew it double strength, let it cool, and pour it over ice with a slice of lemon. For syrups, cocktails and baking, which are a different subject, see our guide to cooking with anise hyssop.
Anise Hyssop Tea Benefits
Anise hyssop has a long record of use as a tea among the Indigenous peoples of the North American prairies, where it is native; the Cree, Cheyenne and Ojibwa are recorded as using it for fevers and respiratory complaints, and the leaves were also used as a sweetener. In modern Western herbalism it is grouped with the gentle aromatic herbs of the mint family and traditionally used in three ways: as an after-meal tea to ease digestion, as a mild calming cup for a restless evening, and as a warm tea or steam for comfort during a head cold.
It is worth being plain about the evidence. Anise hyssop has not been studied clinically the way echinacea or lemon balm have, and the traditional uses above rest on long use rather than on trials. What can be said is that it is a mild herb with a food history, that its aromatic oils are the same family of compounds herbalists credit for the digestive ease of other mint-family teas, and that it makes a pleasant cup whatever it does beyond that. For the fuller picture of the plant's traditional uses and its value in the garden, see our anise hyssop benefits guide.
Does Anise Hyssop Tea Have Caffeine?
No. Anise hyssop is not related to the tea plant, and the leaves and flowers contain no caffeine. It can be drunk at any time of day, and because it is naturally sweet without sugar, it works well as an evening cup for people cutting back on both caffeine and sweeteners. It is not a sedative either; the calming reputation is gentle, not sleep-inducing.
Drying Anise Hyssop for Tea
If you grow anise hyssop, drying it for tea is easy. Cut the upper stems on a dry morning just past full bloom, bundle and hang them in a warm, airy, shaded place, or lay them on a screen, until the leaves crumble cleanly, then strip the leaves and flowers from the stems and store them whole in an airtight jar away from light. Dried this way the herb keeps its sweetness for about a year. Our guide to growing anise hyssop covers harvest timing and drying in more detail.
A Note on Safety
Anise hyssop is one of the gentler herbs we grow, with a long food and tea history and no major safety incidents on record. The one point worth understanding is estragole, also called methyl chavicol, the compound behind the licorice flavour, which makes up most of the plant's essential oil. In its concentrated form, estragole has been flagged by the European Medicines Agency as genotoxic and carcinogenic in animal studies, and the agency's position is that exposure should be kept as low as practical. Whole-leaf tea at normal strength is a very different exposure from the concentrated oil, and the agency's view is that short-term adult use of estragole-containing herbal products does not pose a significant risk.
In practice: drink anise hyssop tea as one herb among several rather than as your only daily tea, never ingest the essential oil, and during pregnancy, breastfeeding and for young children favour lower-estragole herbs such as chamomile, lemon balm or peppermint. Anyone sensitive to other mint-family plants should start with a light cup. The full discussion, with the regulatory sources, is in the safety section of our anise hyssop guide. This information is educational, not medical advice.
From Our Farm
We grow anise hyssop in Charlevoix, Québec, certified Organic, and re-seed it every year for a strong stand. The crop is hand-harvested from mid-July into early September, when the flower spikes are just past full bloom, and dried low and slow so the leaves keep their colour and the flowers their purple. Leaves and flowers are dried together, which is why a spoonful of our Organic anise hyssop brews the full flavour of the plant in one cup. We grow it in seasonal batches, and it is one of the herbs we have the most of.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you make anise hyssop tea?
Steep one to two teaspoons of dried anise hyssop leaves and flowers per cup of water just off the boil, covered, for ten to fifteen minutes, then strain. For fresh leaves, use a small crushed handful and steep five to seven minutes.
What does anise hyssop tea taste like?
Sweet licorice and mint together, softer than fennel or peppermint, with a light floral note and no bitterness. It is naturally sweet enough that many people drink it without honey.
What is anise hyssop tea good for?
Traditionally it is drunk after meals to ease digestion, as a gentle calming evening cup, and as a warm tea during a head cold. These are traditional uses; the herb has not been studied clinically in any depth.
Can you make anise hyssop tea from fresh leaves?
Yes. Crush a small handful of fresh leaves lightly, pour over water just off the boil, cover and steep five to seven minutes. Fresh leaves give a greener, mintier cup than dried.
Does anise hyssop tea have caffeine?
No. It is naturally caffeine-free and can be drunk at any time of day.
Is it safe to drink anise hyssop tea every day?
For most adults a cup at normal strength is fine, but because the herb contains estragole, it is best enjoyed as one tea among several rather than as your only daily cup, and pregnant or breastfeeding people and young children should favour other herbs.
Is anise hyssop tea the same as hyssop tea?
No. Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) makes a sweet licorice-mint tea; true hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) makes a bitter, camphor-scented tea with its own safety cautions. They are different plants that share a name.
Want to learn more? Check out our other guides on anise hyssop:
- Anise Hyssop Benefits: Flavour, Pollinators & Medicinal Uses
- Anise Hyssop Uses: Tea, Preparations, and Everyday Applications
- Cooking with Anise Hyssop: Recipes, Taste, and Culinary Uses
Interested in knowing more about what's going on on the farm? Our occasional emails bring you stories from the field, new herbs for sale, and herbal insights. Browse our Organic herbs or sign up for our newsletter to stay connected.