Natural form

Dried chamomile flowers, rooibos needles, and peppermint leaves shown as loose botanicals.

Shows readers the raw dried botanical ingredients that make up common herbal infusions before brewing.

Beverages

Herbal Infusion

Caffeine-free botanical teas for a soothing cup

Caffeine-free and soothing, herbal infusions like chamomile and rooibos steep into a calming cup any time of day. Each blend has its own character. Keep them airtight and dry.

Herbal infusion (tisane) is a caffeine-free 'tea' made not from the tea plant but from steeped herbs, flowers, fruits, roots, or spices — chamomile, peppermint, hibiscus, rooibos, lemon verbena, ginger, and countless blends. Each has its own character: floral and soothing, bright and minty, tart and ruby-red, or warm and rooty. Because it's simply flavored water, an herbal infusion is a flexible, alcohol-free cooking liquid — it poaches fruit, scents syrups and jellies, flavors custards and sorbets, and brightens broths and dressings, letting you build delicate aromatic notes without added sugar, fat, or alcohol.

Measured in: g
Storage: Airtight

Find it in

Beverages

Types & varieties

Chamomile / lemon verbena

Floral, soothing — desserts

Peppermint

Cool, bright — chocolate, granita

Hibiscus

Tart, ruby — syrups, poaching

Rooibos / ginger

Woody-sweet or warm-spicy — broths

How to use in cooking

Brew the infusion strong, then use it as a flavored liquid. Chamomile and lemon verbena scent custards, panna cotta, and poaching syrups; peppermint flavors chocolate desserts and granitas; hibiscus poaches fruit a brilliant pink and makes tart syrups and jellies; ginger or rooibos add warmth to broths and braises. Steep fresh whole herbs in hot water for an instant homemade tisane. Match the infusion's character to whether you want floral, tart, minty, or rooty notes.

How to choose

Pick the herb for the flavor you want: chamomile/lemon verbena (floral, soothing), peppermint (cool, bright), hibiscus (tart, ruby, vitamin-C tang), rooibos (sweet, woody), ginger (warm, spicy). Quality whole-flower or loose blends taste fresher than dusty bags. Most are naturally caffeine-free, useful for kid- and evening-friendly dishes.

Common uses

Poach pears or peaches in a scented infusionMake a hibiscus or chamomile syrupSet an herbal jelly or panna cottaFlavor sorbet and granitaBrighten a light brothInfuse a delicate custardSteep into a fruit compote