Anise Hyssop Uses: Tea, Preparations, and Everyday Applications
Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) is one of those herbs that pulls you in by the scent before you know what to do with it. Sweet, minty, a little like licorice and basil mingled together, with a soft floral edge. Once you have a jar of dried leaves and flowers on the shelf, the question is what to actually do with them.
This post is the practical answer. We cover the everyday uses we reach for most on the farm: tea (by a wide margin the most common preparation), infused honeys and vinegars, herbal sachets and steams, and the harvest and storage details that keep the flavour and aromatic oils at their peak. For the why behind reaching for anise hyssop in the first place, see our guide to anise hyssop benefits. For deeper culinary work like syrups, baked goods, and cocktail applications, our post on cooking with anise hyssop covers the kitchen end of things.
Anise Hyssop Tea
Tea is the primary preparation, both historically and in modern herbal practice. Anise hyssop tea is aromatic, gently soothing to the nervous system, and supportive to digestion, especially when you are feeling a little stressed, overfull, or run down.
To brew a simple infusion:
- Steep 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried leaves and flowers in 250ml (one cup) of just-off-boil water
- Cover the cup or pot during steeping to keep the aromatic oils from evaporating
- Steep 10 to 15 minutes for a full-strength infusion, shorter (5 to 7 minutes) for a lighter cup
- Strain and enjoy warm, or chill over ice for a refreshing summer cooler
You can drink it on its own or blend it with other herbs. We particularly like it with lemon balm for a gently uplifting evening cup, with chamomile for a bedtime blend, or with a small amount of dried peppermint for a brighter morning tea. The licorice-mint notes of anise hyssop play well with most other Lamiaceae herbs and with floral additions like rose petals or elderflower.
Beyond Tea: Other Everyday Preparations
Tea is the default, but anise hyssop's aromatic profile lends itself well to a handful of other home preparations.
Infused Honey
Dried anise hyssop steeped in raw honey produces a naturally calming sweetener that keeps for months. Fill a clean jar one-third full with dried leaves and flowers, cover with raw honey, stir to release any air bubbles, and let sit at room temperature for two to four weeks, stirring occasionally. Strain through cheesecloth into a clean jar. The infused honey is lovely stirred into tea, drizzled over yogurt or fruit, or taken by the spoon when a cough is settling in.
Herbal Vinegars
The flowers and leaves steeped in white wine or apple cider vinegar produce a beautifully aromatic infusion. The purple flower spikes lend a pale lavender hue to white wine vinegar. Fill a jar half full with dried herb, cover with vinegar, cap with a non-metal lid (or place parchment paper between the jar and a metal lid to prevent corrosion), and steep for two to four weeks. Use in salad dressings, deglazes, or as a finishing splash on roasted vegetables.
Herbal Sachets and Potpourri
Because the dried flowers retain their scent and colour well, anise hyssop is a natural addition to drawer sachets, pillow sachets, and dried potpourri blends. Combine with lavender, rose petals, and dried lemon balm for a sweet-floral mix. Refresh with a few drops of a complementary essential oil (lavender works well) if the scent fades over time.
Facial Steams and Herbal Steams
A handful of dried leaves and flowers in a bowl of just-off-boil water makes a simple facial steam. Drape a towel over your head, lean over the bowl at a comfortable distance, and breathe in the aromatic vapour for five to ten minutes. The volatile oils help open the breathing passages and clear the head during congestion, while the warm vapour is gently softening to the skin.
Herbal Ice Cubes
For summer drinks, freeze fresh or dried leaves and flowers into ice cube trays with filtered water. They look beautiful in lemonade, sparkling water, or iced herbal teas, and they release a faint aromatic note as they melt.
Anise Hyssop in the Kitchen
Anise hyssop has a real place in the kitchen — sweet, fragrant, and versatile enough to work in both savoury and sweet preparations. Because the culinary surface is broad, we have given it its own home post. For syrups, cocktails, baked goods, salads, and the full set of culinary applications, see our guide on cooking with anise hyssop.
How to Harvest and Store Anise Hyssop
On our farm, we harvest anise hyssop when the flower spikes are just past full bloom, which is the window when the aromatic oils in the leaves are most concentrated. The plants are usually in this state from late July through August in Charlevoix. We cut the flowering tops with sharp shears, leaving enough of the plant to continue blooming and supporting pollinators through early September.
To dry, hang small bundles upside down in a well-ventilated, shaded space. A dry pantry, an attic with airflow, or a covered porch with shade works well. Avoid direct sunlight — it bleaches the colour and degrades the aromatic oils that are the whole point of the herb. After one to two weeks the leaves should crumble easily between your fingers and the flower spikes should be papery dry.
Once fully dry, store the leaves and flowers in an airtight jar, out of direct light. Properly stored, anise hyssop retains its scent and flavour for a full year. If you find a jar at the back of the cupboard with most of its scent gone, the leaves still work as a mild aromatic background note in blends, but consider it more of a flavouring than a primary herb at that point.
How We Grow and Sell Anise Hyssop
We grow anise hyssop as a Certified Organic perennial on our farm in Charlevoix, Quebec. We start seedlings indoors in early April and transplant after the last frost, typically late May or early June. The plants overwinter reliably here in Zone 4b, and the patch self-seeds gently, so a few original plants tend to become a small bed with no intervention. Our organic anise hyssop ships in 50g to 1kg sizes, with leaves and flowers dried together as a single product. For bulk and wholesale orders, please contact us directly.
A Note on Safety
Anise hyssop is a gentle herb with a long food and tea history. The compound that gives it its sweet flavour, methyl chavicol (estragole), has regulatory attention in concentrated form, which shapes how to use this herb thoughtfully. For the full picture, see the safety section in our anise hyssop benefits post. The short version: whole-leaf tea is reasonable for most adults at typical infusion strength; concentrated essential oil should never be ingested; and for pregnancy, breastfeeding, or young children, we suggest favouring lower-estragole herbs like chamomile, lemon balm, or peppermint for daily teas.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you make anise hyssop tea?
Steep 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried leaves and flowers in 250ml of just-off-boil water for 10 to 15 minutes, covered. Strain and enjoy warm, or chill over ice for a summer cooler.
Can you use anise hyssop fresh as well as dried?
Yes. Fresh leaves are wonderful in salads, infused waters, and tea. Dried leaves and flowers are more versatile year-round and are what most herbalists reach for. Fresh and dried each carry the licorice-mint flavour, with dried being slightly more concentrated per teaspoon.
Is anise hyssop the same as hyssop?
No. Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) and true hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) are different plants in the same mint family. Anise hyssop is sweet and gentle; true hyssop is bitter, more strongly medicinal, and carries safety considerations that don't apply to anise hyssop. See our anise hyssop benefits post for a fuller breakdown including the third commonly confused plant, anise (Pimpinella anisum) in the carrot family.
What herbs blend well with anise hyssop?
Lemon balm, chamomile, and rose petals are our go-to blending partners for an uplifting yet calming tea. A small amount of peppermint brightens a morning blend. Avoid heavy resinous herbs (rosemary, sage) which can overpower the delicate licorice-mint profile.
How long does dried anise hyssop keep?
Stored in an airtight jar out of direct light, dried anise hyssop retains its aromatic strength for about a full year. After that point the flavour fades but the herb is still safe to use as a mild background note in blends.
Can you use the flowers as well as the leaves?
Yes. The leaves and flowers are both aromatic and both edible. On our farm we harvest and dry them together as a single product, which preserves both the visual beauty and the full aromatic profile. The flowers contribute a slightly milder, more floral note than the leaves.
Want to learn more? Check out our other guides on anise hyssop:
- Anise Hyssop Benefits: Flavour, Pollinators & Medicinal Uses
- Anise Hyssop: 9 Things to Know About This Pollinator Favourite
- Cooking with Anise Hyssop: Recipes, Taste, and Culinary Uses
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