Short answer: no. If you are wondering does liquorice tea have caffeine, a cup of plain liquorice tea is naturally caffeine-free. It is a herbal tea, or tisane, made by steeping or gently simmering the sweet root of Glycyrrhiza glabra rather than the leaves of the caffeinated tea plant, Camellia sinensis. That single fact is the whole reason a pure liquorice infusion carries essentially no caffeine.
You will also see the root and the drink spelled "licorice" in some places, particularly outside the UK. Liquorice and licorice are the same plant, and the same answer applies to both spellings.
Does liquorice tea have caffeine? The short answer
No. Plain liquorice tea is caffeine free because, botanically, it is not really "tea" at all. True tea — black, green, white, oolong and pu-erh — all comes from a single plant, Camellia sinensis, and that leaf naturally contains caffeine. Liquorice tea is brewed from a root instead, so there is no tea leaf in the cup and no meaningful caffeine to begin with.
That places liquorice tea in the broad family of herbal infusions. If you want the full picture of what separates a herbal "tea" from the real thing, our guide to what herbal tea is walks through it. For this question the useful takeaway is simple: root, flower and leaf infusions that skip Camellia sinensis start out with no caffeine.
The way liquorice tea is made reinforces the point. A tea bag of black or green tea is a quick two or three minute steep of caffeinated leaf. Liquorice tea is often steeped a little longer, or even gently simmered, to coax the sweetness out of the woody root — yet no amount of extra time adds caffeine that was never there in the first place.
Why root and herbal teas are naturally caffeine-free
Caffeine is a compound the tea plant produces in its own leaves and buds. When you brew black or green tea, some of that caffeine dissolves into your cup. Liquorice root simply does not make caffeine, so there is nothing to extract, however long you steep or however hard you simmer it.
The same is true of most root, flower, seed and leaf tisanes — think chamomile, peppermint, ginger, rooibos and liquorice. They are caffeine-free by nature, not because of any decaffeinating process. If you like understanding where the caffeine in a cup actually comes from, see does tea contain caffeine, and for a wider look at the naturally zero-caffeine options, caffeine-free tea explained covers the whole category. Both land on the same underlying rule: no tea leaf, no caffeine.
It is worth drawing one careful line here, because it trips people up. "Caffeine-free" and "decaffeinated" are not the same thing. Decaf tea is real tea that has had most of its caffeine removed and usually keeps a small trace behind. Plain liquorice tea was never caffeinated in the first place, so it belongs in the naturally caffeine-free group, not the decaf group.
Caffeine in liquorice tea: always check the blend
Here is the one caveat worth remembering. The caffeine in liquorice tea is zero only when the liquorice is on its own. Liquorice root is a very common blending herb — it is naturally sweet, so it turns up in all sorts of mixes to round out the flavour without any added sugar. That includes blends built on a base of green or black tea.
If liquorice has been blended into a green tea, a black tea, a spiced masala-style blend or a wellness-marketed mix that lists real tea, then that product will carry caffeine from the tea leaf — not from the liquorice. How much depends on how much actual tea is in the blend, so it can be hard to pin down. The reliable move is to read the ingredient list: if you see green tea, black tea, white tea or Camellia sinensis named, assume there is some caffeine. If the ingredients are only liquorice root plus other herbs or spices, it is caffeine-free.
| What is in the cup | Caffeine |
|---|---|
| Plain liquorice tea (herbal root infusion) | None — naturally caffeine-free |
| Liquorice blended into a green or black tea | Contains caffeine, from the tea leaf |
| Green tea (for comparison) | Caffeinated, roughly 20 to 45 mg per cup |
The caffeine figure for green tea above is a rough, widely cited range and it can swing a lot with the leaf type, the amount you use and the steep time, so treat it as a loose ballpark rather than a precise measurement.
What liquorice tea tastes like
If you have never tried it, plain liquorice tea is strikingly sweet — almost syrupy — with a faint aniseed or fennel-like note running underneath. The sweetness comes from the root itself, which is exactly why many people drink it with nothing added at all; it rarely needs sugar or honey. Brewed strong it tastes rich and rounded, and brewed light it is gently sweet and clean.
That natural sweetness is a big part of the appeal, especially for anyone trying to cut back on added sugar later in the day. It also blends easily: liquorice is a common partner for mint, ginger and fennel, and it can soften a sharper herbal mix into something rounder and easier to sip. We keep this page focused on the caffeine question, so for how people actually use liquorice tea and what to expect from it more broadly, see liquorice tea benefits.
A gentle note on liquorice root (this part is not about caffeine)
One thing worth flagging has nothing to do with caffeine at all. Real liquorice root contains a natural compound called glycyrrhizin, and because of it, large or daily amounts of liquorice tea are worth moderating rather than drinking in unlimited quantities. This is especially something to keep in mind if you have high blood pressure, a heart condition or kidney concerns, or if you are pregnant.
Responses vary a lot from person to person, and this is general information rather than medical advice, so if any of that applies to you — or you take regular medication — it is best to check with your own healthcare provider about how much liquorice tea is sensible for you. As a small aside, some products labelled "liquorice-flavoured" use only the flavour and may contain little or no actual liquorice root, which is one more reason to glance at the ingredients.
Who drinks liquorice tea, and when
Because it has no caffeine, liquorice tea is an easy choice for the times of day when a caffeinated cup would get in the way. Plenty of people reach for it in the evening or before bed, when a black or green tea might feel too stimulating. It is also a natural pick for anyone cutting down on caffeine generally, or who simply likes a sweet, warming drink that does not need any sugar to taste good.
So here is the short version once more. On its own, liquorice tea is a naturally caffeine-free herbal infusion, and the only time caffeine enters the picture is when liquorice has been blended with real tea. Read the ingredients, and you will always know exactly which kind of cup you are holding.