Lemongrass Tea

Lemongrass tea is a caffeine-free herbal tisane made by steeping the fresh or dried stalks and leaves of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) in hot water. Brewed, it gives a pale straw-gold, faintly greenish liquor that smells intensely of fresh lemon zest, lemon sherbet and a soft grassy-floral sweetness, all without the sourness of the fruit itself. On the palate it is light, clean and mildly sweet, with only the gentlest astringency and no bitterness to speak of, finishing with a cooling citrus lift. Because it comes from a tropical grass rather than the tea plant, it carries no caffeine, and it is drunk hot or over ice across Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, Africa and Latin America as a soothing, digestive and everyday refreshment.