Lemongrass Tea Benefits: What the Evidence Shows

Lemongrass tea benefits include hydration, a way to reduce added sugar when it replaces sweetened drinks, and a caffeine-free alternative to caffeinated beverages. These are practical benefits of how you prepare and use lemongrass tea, not evidence that it treats a medical condition.

What are the 3 potential benefits of lemongrass tea?

The three best-supported benefits are hydration, replacing a sweetened drink and avoiding caffeine. Try the ai detox recipe generator for ideas, and keep the lemongrass tea unsweetened if reducing added sugar is your goal.

These benefits come mainly from the water and from what lemongrass tea can replace. They do not require a special dose of lemongrass or prove that its plant compounds have a particular effect in the body.

Human studies of lemongrass have examined products such as essential oil for aromatherapy and formulated mouthwash. Those products are different from an infusion of the plant, so their results cannot be assumed to apply to lemongrass tea.

How does lemongrass tea support hydration?

1. It contributes fluid

Mechanism: Lemongrass tea is mostly water, which contributes to the fluid your body needs for normal functions. Hydration helps maintain processes such as temperature regulation and waste removal, but lemongrass tea is not a better hydrator than plain water simply because it contains an herb.

How to use it: Drink lemongrass tea when you want a change from plain water. It can be served chilled or gently warmed, so choose the preparation you find easier to drink. If you enjoy its flavor, it may make an unsweetened drink more appealing.

You do not need to drink lemongrass tea on a fixed schedule to get this benefit. It can be one of the fluids you choose during the day; the amount you need depends on your circumstances, including activity and health.

Strength of evidence: The role of water in hydration is well established. There is no need to assume a special hydration effect from lemongrass, and human studies have not tested lemongrass tea for hydration.

Can lemongrass tea help reduce added sugar?

2. It can replace a sweetened drink

Mechanism: Unsweetened lemongrass tea adds herbal flavor without the added sugar in a sweetened drink. Replacing a sugary drink with it can therefore reduce your added-sugar intake; simply adding lemongrass tea alongside your usual drinks will not have the same effect.

How to use it: Prepare lemongrass tea without sugar, honey or syrup and use it in place of a sweetened drink you would otherwise have. If you buy it ready-made or use a tea blend, check the label: a product called lemongrass tea can still contain added sweeteners.

Taste and preparation matter. A mild infusion may be more enjoyable without sweetener, while a stronger one may taste more herbal. Adjust the amount of lemongrass or strain the infusion when the flavor suits you rather than assuming stronger tea is healthier.

Strength of evidence: This is a straightforward substitution benefit, not a result demonstrated by the lemongrass studies listed below. Whether it changes your overall intake depends on what the lemongrass tea replaces and whether you sweeten it.

Is lemongrass tea a caffeine-free option?

3. It can replace a caffeinated drink

Mechanism: A tea made only from lemongrass and water is naturally caffeine-free. Choosing it instead of a caffeinated beverage can reduce the caffeine in that serving. Blends are different: check the label if they contain tea leaves or other caffeine-containing ingredients.

How to use it: Have lemongrass tea at a time when you prefer to avoid caffeine. Its flavor and warmth can make it a pleasant part of a break, but you do not need to treat it as a sleep aid or a remedy for stress.

Strength of evidence: The absence of caffeine in a plain lemongrass infusion is a property of the ingredients, not a clinical finding that the drink improves sleep or anxiety. In a small 2025 randomized dental study, inhaling lemongrass essential oil was associated with lower anxiety scores during treatment. That study did not test drinking lemongrass tea, and its findings should not be transferred to the beverage.

If reducing caffeine is important to you, compare the full ingredient list of any prepared product. Adding caffeinated tea leaves to lemongrass changes the drink, even if lemongrass is the flavor named on the front of the package.

What does lemongrass tea not do?

Lemongrass tea does not cleanse blood, flush toxins or burn fat. The liver and kidneys do most of the body's detoxification; the lungs and gut also help eliminate waste, while sweat removes only trace amounts. Drinking fluid supports normal body function, but it does not replace those organs or make a special detox necessary.

Research provides no basis for using lemongrass tea to treat anxiety, menopausal symptoms, gum disease or cardiovascular disease. A small 2015 clinical study of lemongrass oil mouthwash measured plaque and gum outcomes after professional cleaning. A formulated mouthwash used in a study is not the same as brewed tea and does not show that drinking the tea treats gum disease.

Similarly, plant compounds in lemongrass do not establish a clinical benefit at the amounts present in a homemade infusion. The amount extracted can vary with the plant and preparation, and the studies of other lemongrass products do not establish an effective dose of lemongrass tea.

How should you drink lemongrass tea?

For the clearest connection to the benefits above, use food-grade lemongrass, plain water and no added sweetener. This refrigerated infusion makes a mild lemongrass tea; it is a preparation method, not a medically established dose.

Simple chilled lemongrass tea

Ingredients

• 1 liter (about 4¼ US cups) drinking water
• About 5 grams (1 tablespoon) sliced fresh lemongrass

Method

1. Rinse the lemongrass under running water and slice it into small pieces.
2. Add the lemongrass and water to a clean, covered container.
3. Refrigerate for 2–4 hours to infuse, then strain out the lemongrass.
4. Serve chilled, or gently warm a portion and let it cool enough to drink comfortably.

Keep the remaining infusion refrigerated and drink it within 24 hours for best flavor. Discard it after 2–3 days, or sooner if it becomes cloudy, slimy or sour-smelling. Do not leave it at room temperature for more than a few hours.

Start with a mild infusion and adjust the flavor on a later batch if needed. There is no evidence that making lemongrass tea stronger, drinking it at a particular time or drinking it on an empty stomach produces extra health benefits.

Who should be careful?

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, are giving lemongrass tea to a child, take medication or have a medical condition, ask a clinician about regular use or concentrated lemongrass products. If you have been advised to restrict fluids, follow your care team's guidance rather than adding extra drinks.

Do not substitute lemongrass essential oil for the plant in this recipe or ingest essential oil. Seek medical advice for persistent or unusual thirst, and get urgent help for confusion, fainting or an inability to keep fluids down.

Sources

The clinical studies linked above and below examine lemongrass preparations, not the homemade tea in this article. Their results are useful context but do not establish tea-specific treatment benefits.

A 2025 randomized trial in menopausal women studied essential-oil aromatherapy, including lemongrass, rather than tea. A 2017 randomized study of lemongrass oil mouthwash assessed periodontal measures and blood markers after professional dental care; it did not establish that lemongrass tea prevents cardiovascular disease.

The practical benefits in this article rest on the drink's water content and on replacing a sweetened or caffeinated beverage. They should not be read as evidence that lemongrass itself has a proven therapeutic effect when brewed.