Want to know how to make tarragon tea? It is simpler than it sounds. Tarragon tea is a fragrant, gently sweet, caffeine-free infusion made by steeping fresh or dried tarragon leaves in just-off-boil water for several minutes, until the liquid turns pale gold and smells softly of licorice and fresh green herbs. Strain, sweeten lightly if you like, and sip it hot or over ice.
Tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) is a classic kitchen herb, and a cup made from its leaves is one of the quietest, most aromatic tisanes you can brew. Below is a simple tarragon tea recipe, the difference between French and Russian tarragon, and a few notes on serving and storing it. For the wider world of leaf-and-flower infusions, see our guide to what herbal tea is.
What Tarragon Tea Is
Tarragon tea is simply hot water infused with the slender green leaves of the tarragon plant. There is no true tea leaf involved, so it is naturally caffeine-free, which makes it an easy afternoon or evening cup. The flavour is delicate: a soft anise or licorice note up front, a green, almost grassy freshness in the middle, and a faint sweet-hay finish as it cools. It is far gentler than star anise or fennel, and nothing like a bracing black tea.
The herb earns its place in the kitchen well beyond the teapot. French tarragon is one of the classic fines herbes of French cooking, alongside chervil, parsley and chives, and it flavours sauces such as bearnaise, herb vinegars, roast chicken and compound butter across French and Mediterranean tables. Brewing the same leaves as a tea is really just borrowing that culinary aroma and letting hot water carry it. If you enjoy teas made from culinary herbs, it sits neatly beside marjoram tea and sage tea on the same shelf.
French Tarragon vs Russian Tarragon, Fresh or Dried
Not all tarragon tastes the same, and this is the one detail worth getting right. French tarragon is the aromatic type, prized for that clean anise perfume, and it makes the best french tarragon tea. Russian tarragon is hardier and easier to grow from seed, but it is noticeably milder and can taste faintly bitter or grassy, with less of the signature sweetness. If you are choosing a plant or a bunch, look for French tarragon where you can.
Both fresh and dried leaves work for tarragon leaf tea. Fresh tarragon gives the brightest, greenest cup and the liveliest aroma, so reach for it in summer when the plant is growing. Dried tarragon is more concentrated and more convenient the rest of the year, so you simply use a little less. Whichever you have, the tender leaves and soft sprigs are the part you want.
Ingredients for a Tarragon Tea Recipe
This makes one cup. Scale it up for a small pot.
- A small handful of fresh tarragon (roughly 1 tablespoon of loosely packed leaves and soft sprigs), or about 1 teaspoon of dried tarragon
- About 250 ml (1 cup) of fresh water, heated to roughly 95 C (just off the boil)
- Optional: a thin slice of lemon
- Optional: a little honey or another sweetener, to taste
- Optional: a few leaves of fresh mint, for a cooler, brighter cup
The lemon lifts the anise note, the honey rounds it off, and the mint adds a second layer of freshness. None of them are required. Start with just tarragon and water so you learn the herb's own flavour first, then dress it up on later cups.
How to Make Tarragon Tea, Step by Step
- Prepare the leaves. Rinse fresh tarragon, then lightly bruise or tear the leaves and sprigs between your fingers. This cracks the leaf surface and releases the aromatic oils that carry the flavour. For dried tarragon, just measure it into your cup or a tea infuser.
- Heat the water. Bring fresh water almost to the boil, then let it settle for a moment to about 95 C. Water at a full rolling boil can scorch delicate herbs and drive off some of the aroma.
- Pour and cover. Pour the hot water over the tarragon and cover the cup or pot with a saucer or lid straight away. Covering traps the aromatic steam so those licorice notes stay in the cup instead of drifting off into the room.
- Steep 5 to 8 minutes. Let it infuse until the water turns pale gold and smells clearly of tarragon. Five minutes gives a light, fresh cup; eight minutes gives a deeper, more herbal one. Taste at five minutes and decide.
- Strain. Pour through a small strainer or lift out the infuser, so you are left with a clean cup and no loose leaves.
- Finish and serve. Add a squeeze or slice of lemon and a little honey if you like, stir, and serve it hot. To learn the general rhythm of steeping any leaf or flower, our guide on how to brew herbal tea walks through the same steps for other plants.
Here is the quick reference for amounts and timing:
| Tarragon form | Amount per cup (250 ml) | Steep time |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh leaves and sprigs | Small handful (about 1 tbsp) | 5 to 8 minutes |
| Dried tarragon | About 1 teaspoon | 5 to 7 minutes |
| Fresh, for a lighter cup | About 2 teaspoons | 4 to 5 minutes |
Iced Tarragon Tea and Storing the Herb
Tarragon tea is lovely cold. Brew it a little stronger than usual, using an extra pinch of leaves or an extra minute of steeping, then strain and let it cool before pouring it over plenty of ice. The chill tames the anise edge and turns it into a clean, garden-fresh cooler; a sprig of mint or a strip of cucumber makes it even more refreshing on a warm day. It is a gentle, caffeine-free alternative when you want something aromatic but not sweet.
To store fresh tarragon, wrap the sprigs loosely in a damp paper towel and keep them in the refrigerator, where they stay usable for several days. For longer keeping, strip the leaves and freeze them, or dry them in a cool, airy spot away from sunlight and store the dried leaves in an airtight jar out of the light. Dried tarragon holds its aroma for several months but slowly fades, so brew it while it still smells lively. Any brewed tea you do not finish keeps in the fridge for about a day.
Is Tarragon Tea Safe to Drink?
For most people an occasional cup of tarragon tea, made from ordinary culinary tarragon in normal food amounts, is a gentle, everyday drink. Keep to the same leaves you would cook with, and steep them as described above. The one thing to avoid is tarragon essential oil, which is a highly concentrated extract meant for other uses, not for brewing or drinking; the fresh or dried leaf is all you want here.
Think of it as a pleasant, aromatic cup rather than a remedy. Any effects people describe are mild and personal, responses vary from person to person, and none of this is medical advice. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or you take any medication, it is sensible to keep culinary herbs to normal food amounts and to ask your own healthcare provider before making tarragon tea a regular habit. Otherwise, enjoy it the way you would any herb from the kitchen: occasionally, in modest amounts, and mostly for the pleasure of the aroma.
Once you have the method down, the same gentle approach opens up a whole shelf of culinary-herb infusions to explore, from the soft warmth of a sage cup to the sweet, oregano-like lift of marjoram.