Best Tea for a Cough: 8 Teas for Dry and Chesty Coughs, Ranked by Evidence
The best tea for a cough is hot lemon tea with honey, followed by thyme for a chesty, productive cough and marshmallow root or licorice for a dry, tickly one. Honey is the only option with a Cochrane review behind it: in children it shortened cough and reduced night-time coughing about as well as dextromethorphan and better than no treatment, and a 2021 meta-analysis of 14 studies in all ages found it beat usual care for cough frequency and severity. Thyme has two 361-patient RCTs (combined with ivy or primrose) showing fewer coughing fits in acute bronchitis. Everything else here helps by soothing (demulcents), cooling (menthol) or simply being warm liquid, which a crossover trial showed relieves cough for about 30 minutes.
This guide covers the cough that comes with a cold, flu or mild bronchitis and settles within 2 to 3 weeks. See a clinician instead if you are coughing up blood, have shortness of breath, chest pain, a fever above 39°C or lasting more than 3 days, a whooping sound or vomiting after coughing, a cough lasting more than 3 weeks, night sweats or weight loss, or if the person coughing is a baby under 3 months, pregnant, over 65, or has asthma, COPD or heart failure. Those need an examination, not a tea.
The picks below are graded by human evidence for cough specifically, with a note on whether each suits a dry or a wet cough, how to brew it and what can go wrong. After the list: how to choose, popular remedies that do not hold up, the non-tea levers (humidity, reflux, positioning, when a cough medicine actually helps) and the questions people ask most.
Quick answer
- Honey in hot lemon tea — Cochrane review plus a 14-study meta-analysis: fewer, milder coughs and better sleep in children and adults
- Thyme — two 361-patient RCTs (with ivy or primrose) cut coughing fits by about two-thirds in acute bronchitis; best for a chesty cough
- Marshmallow root — mucilage coats the throat; surveys of 822 users report relief within 10 minutes for dry, irritative cough
- Licorice root — soothing and anti-inflammatory; reduced post-extubation coughing in a 236-patient RCT
- Ginger — relaxes airway smooth muscle in laboratory work; warming comfort, no cough trial
- Peppermint — inhaled menthol lowers cough-reflex sensitivity; good for a tickly cough, bad for reflux
The 8 best teas for cough
Ranked by the strength of human evidence. Strong = multiple trials or a meta-analysis. Moderate = a few small trials. Preliminary = early, traditional or animal data.
Honey is the best-evidenced home remedy for cough. The 2018 Cochrane review of honey for acute cough in children (6 trials, 899 children) found it probably relieves cough more than no treatment or placebo and about as well as dextromethorphan, with the clearest benefit for night-time cough and sleep. In the best single trial, 300 children aged 1 to 5 got 10 g of one of three honeys or a placebo 30 minutes before bed, and all three honeys beat placebo on cough frequency, severity and parents' sleep. A 2021 meta-analysis of 14 studies in adults and children found the same pattern against usual care.
- Key evidence
- Oduwole et al., Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2018; Cohen et al., Pediatrics 2012 (300 children)
- How to brew it
- 1 to 2 teaspoons (about 10 g) of honey in 250 ml of hot water with lemon, cooled to drinkable; the trials gave honey 30 minutes before bed, so time the last cup then.
- Best for
- Night-time cough in children over 1 and adults; the first thing to reach for
- Cautions
- No honey under 12 months (infant botulism). Each 10 g dose is about 8 g of sugar, so account for it with diabetes and brush teeth after the bedtime cup. Leave out the lemon if it stings a raw throat.
Thyme is the herb with the best RCT record for a chesty cough. In a double-blind trial of 361 adults with acute bronchitis, a thyme-ivy syrup reduced coughing fits by 68.7% by days 7 to 9 versus 47.6% on placebo, and a sister trial of 361 patients using thyme-primrose root found 67.1% versus 51.3%. Thymol and carvacrol are expectorant, antispasmodic in airway smooth muscle and antimicrobial, and the European Medicines Agency accepts thyme as a traditional expectorant for productive cough. The trials used standardised syrups, so a tea is a weaker version of the same thing.
- Key evidence
- Kemmerich et al., Arzneimittelforschung 2006 and 2007 (two 361-patient double-blind RCTs of thyme combinations in acute bronchitis)
- How to brew it
- 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried thyme (or 3 to 4 fresh sprigs) in 250 ml of water just off the boil, covered to trap the oils, 10 minutes; add honey; 3 to 4 cups a day.
- Best for
- Wet, productive cough with chest congestion; bronchitis
- Cautions
- Safe in culinary amounts; at medicinal doses avoid in pregnancy and with anticoagulants (mild antiplatelet activity). Mint-family allergy can cross-react. Thyme essential oil must never be swallowed.
Marshmallow root is the classic demulcent for a dry, irritative cough: its mucilage forms a gel that coats the pharynx and damps the cough reflex triggered from the throat, and in guinea pigs a marshmallow polysaccharide suppressed citric-acid cough as well as codeine. Human evidence is observational: two surveys of 822 patients using a marshmallow syrup or lozenge reported relief within about 10 minutes in most users and almost no adverse effects. The European Medicines Agency lists it as a traditional remedy for throat irritation and associated dry cough. No RCT, so Preliminary, but it is the gentlest tea here.
- Key evidence
- Fink, Schmidt & Kraft, Complementary Medicine Research 2018 (two surveys, 822 users); Sutovska et al. 2009 animal antitussive study
- How to brew it
- 1 tablespoon of cut dried root in 250 ml of cold water, 1 to 2 hours (cold water extracts the most mucilage), strain and warm gently without boiling; sip slowly so it coats.
- Best for
- Dry, tickly cough that keeps you up; children over 1; pregnancy
- Cautions
- Mucilage can slow absorption of medicines taken at the same time, so leave 1 to 2 hours either side of prescription drugs. May slightly lower blood sugar; otherwise no known interactions.
Licorice is both a demulcent and an anti-inflammatory, and it has a large RCT with cough as an outcome: in 236 surgical patients, a 0.5 g licorice gargle before intubation roughly halved post-extubation coughing and sore throat compared with a sugar-water gargle. Glycyrrhizin and liquiritin reduce airway inflammation in animal models, and glycyrrhizin-based medicines are used for cough in Japanese and Chinese practice. It suits a dry cough with a raw throat more than a chesty one, and the gargle-then-sip method mirrors how it was tested.
- Key evidence
- Ruetzler et al., Anesthesia & Analgesia 2013, 236-patient double-blind RCT
- How to brew it
- 1 teaspoon of cut dried root in 250 ml of just-boiled water, covered, 10 minutes; gargle a cooled mouthful, then sip; 1 to 2 cups a day for no more than a week.
- Best for
- Dry, hacking cough with sore throat; a short course only
- Cautions
- Glycyrrhizin raises blood pressure and lowers potassium: avoid with hypertension, heart failure, kidney disease, low potassium, diuretics, digoxin, corticosteroids or blood-pressure drugs, and in pregnancy. Stop after a week.
Ginger's 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol and 6-shogaol relaxed human airway smooth muscle and enhanced the effect of a beta-agonist in laboratory work, the most interesting mechanism of any cough tea, but it has never been tested as a tea in people with a cough. Its anti-inflammatory and anti-nausea effects are well documented in human trials at 1 to 1.5 g a day. The practical case is that hot ginger tea with honey delivers the two things that do have cough evidence (heat and honey) with a spice that makes a tight chest feel looser.
- Key evidence
- Townsend et al., American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology 2013 (airway smooth muscle relaxation, in vitro); no cough RCT
- How to brew it
- 10 g (4 to 6 slices) of fresh ginger simmered in 300 ml of water for 10 minutes, then honey and lemon; up to 3 cups a day.
- Best for
- Cough with a cold, chills or nausea; a cough that comes with a tight chest
- Cautions
- Mild antiplatelet effect, so limit to 1 to 2 cups with warfarin, clopidogrel or daily aspirin. Can trigger heartburn, and reflux is a common hidden cause of chronic cough. Up to 1 g dried ginger a day is considered safe in pregnancy.
Menthol is a genuine cough modulator: in a volunteer study, inhaling menthol reduced the cough reflex response to citric acid, which is why it is in cough lozenges and rubs. Peppermint tea delivers some of that as you breathe the steam from the cup, plus a cooling sensation in the throat that eases a tickle. No trial has tested peppermint tea itself in people with a cough, and swallowed menthol does little for the lungs, so this is a comfort measure rather than an expectorant.
- Key evidence
- Morice, Marshall, Higgins & Grattan, Thorax 1994 (inhaled menthol reduced cough reflex sensitivity)
- How to brew it
- 1 tablespoon of dried leaf (or 1 bag) in 250 ml of water just off the boil, covered, 5 to 7 minutes; lean over the cup and breathe the steam before drinking.
- Best for
- Tickly, dry cough; cough that is worse in dry air
- Cautions
- Relaxes the lower oesophageal sphincter and worsens reflux, a leading cause of a cough that lingers for weeks; skip it if you have heartburn. Menthol products are not for infants and young children.
Mullein leaf and flower have been used for chest complaints for centuries, and the European Medicines Agency accepts the flower as a traditional remedy for sore throat and dry cough; the plant contains mucilage (demulcent) and saponins (traditionally thought to loosen mucus), and laboratory studies show antiviral and anti-inflammatory activity. There are no human trials for cough. It earns a place as a caffeine-free, pleasant demulcent for people who want a change from marshmallow, with the caveat that the evidence is tradition plus lab work.
- Key evidence
- EMA monograph on Verbascum flower (traditional use); laboratory antiviral and anti-inflammatory data; no human cough trial
- How to brew it
- 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried leaf or flower in 250 ml of water just off the boil, covered, 10 to 15 minutes, then strain through a fine filter to remove the irritating fine hairs.
- Best for
- Lingering dry cough after a cold; people who want a mild herbal alternative
- Cautions
- Always strain well; the leaf hairs irritate the throat if swallowed. No documented drug interactions, but no safety data in pregnancy or breastfeeding, so avoid it then.
It is not a tea, but it would be dishonest to leave out the herbal cough remedy with the most trial data. Pelargonium sidoides root extract (EPs 7630) has several RCTs in acute bronchitis, and a Cochrane review found it may relieve symptoms including cough, though the authors rated the evidence low quality because most trials came from one manufacturer in one country. In a typical trial, adults with acute bronchitis saw a larger drop in bronchitis symptom score by day 7 than placebo. It is sold as drops or tablets; the dried root is not something to brew.
- Key evidence
- Timmer et al., Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2013, Pelargonium sidoides extract for acute respiratory tract infections
- How to brew it
- Not brewed. Use a standardised EPs 7630 liquid or tablet at the label dose (typically 30 drops three times daily for adults) for up to 7 days.
- Best for
- Acute bronchitis in adults who want the best-tested herbal option
- Cautions
- Rare reports of liver injury and allergic reactions; stop if jaundice, dark urine or rash appears. Theoretical bleeding risk with warfarin; not recommended in pregnancy or breastfeeding for lack of data.
How to choose
- Dry, tickly cough: honey first, then marshmallow root or licorice between doses; peppermint if the tickle is the main problem and you do not have reflux.
- Wet, chesty cough: thyme tea 3 to 4 times a day with honey; keep fluids up so mucus stays thin; do not suppress a productive cough with codeine-type medicines.
- Cough and sore throat together: honey-lemon, licorice or a throat-coat blend; the sore throat guide ranks those in detail.
- Cough at night: a honey drink 30 minutes before bed (the timing used in the trials), head of the bed raised, humidifier on; marshmallow or chamomile if you want something caffeine-free and calming.
- Children 1 to 5: honey in warm water or warm diluted juice, or marshmallow root; no licorice, peppermint or medicinal-dose thyme; under 1 year, fluids and a clinician's advice only.
- Cough lasting more than 3 weeks: stop choosing teas and get it assessed; the usual causes are post-nasal drip, asthma, reflux and ACE-inhibitor blood-pressure pills, none of which tea fixes.
What to skip
Pineapple juice as a 'natural cough medicine'
The claim rests on one 2010 study of a pineapple extract mixed with other ingredients in tuberculosis patients, not on pineapple juice for ordinary cough. Bromelain is a real enzyme, but there is no trial of pineapple for viral cough.
Onion or garlic tea
Both have antimicrobial compounds in the laboratory and neither has a human cough trial. Garlic has some evidence for preventing colds, not for stopping a cough you already have.
Eucalyptus essential oil in tea
Eucalyptus oil is toxic when swallowed, even in small amounts in children. Cineole capsules have trials for bronchitis and eucalyptus steam is fine; the oil in your mug is not.
Any tea for a cough with wheeze or breathlessness
Wheeze, breathlessness or a cough that wakes a child gasping suggests asthma, croup, bronchiolitis or pneumonia, which need bronchodilators, steroids or antibiotics. Tea delays the right treatment.
Safety and when to see a clinician
- No honey under 12 months of age (infant botulism); for babies, breast milk or formula, saline drops and a cool-mist humidifier, and a clinician if feeding or breathing is affected.
- Licorice: avoid with high blood pressure, heart, kidney or liver disease, low potassium, diuretics, digoxin, steroids and in pregnancy; stop after a week.
- Thyme, peppermint and mullein are not for pregnancy at medicinal doses and menthol is not for young children; ginger and thyme have mild antiplatelet effects worth mentioning if you take warfarin.
- Mucilage teas (marshmallow, slippery elm) can delay absorption of other medicines; take them 1 to 2 hours apart.
- Do not drink scalding tea: it injures the airway lining you are trying to soothe. Comfortably hot, around 55 to 65°C.
- See a clinician if you cough up blood, have shortness of breath, chest pain, fever over 39°C or beyond 3 days, a whooping sound, vomiting after coughing, night sweats, weight loss, a cough lasting more than 3 weeks, or if the person is under 3 months, pregnant, over 65 or has asthma, COPD or heart failure.
What matters as much as the tea
- Humidify the bedroom to 40 to 50% and sleep with the head raised; dry air and lying flat both make night cough worse.
- Treat reflux if you have it: silent reflux is one of the three most common causes of chronic cough, and peppermint, alcohol, late meals and lying down soon after eating all feed it.
- Saline nasal rinse before bed if post-nasal drip is driving the cough; it is the most common cause of a cough that outlasts the cold.
- Over-the-counter cough medicines: guaifenesin has weak evidence for thinning mucus, dextromethorphan modest evidence for dry cough in adults, and neither is recommended under age 6. Honey is as good or better in head-to-head trials.
- Stop smoking and avoid smoke, vaping and wood-smoke; a cough that lingers in a smoker needs a chest X-ray, not a tea.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best tea for a cough?
Honey stirred into hot lemon tea has the strongest evidence, from a Cochrane review and a 14-study meta-analysis. For a chesty, productive cough, thyme is the best-tested herb, with two 361-patient RCTs. For a dry, tickly cough, marshmallow root or licorice coat the throat and calm the cough reflex.
What tea is best for a dry cough?
Marshmallow root, licorice or a throat-coat blend, because a dry cough is usually driven by irritation in the throat and mucilage coats that. Add honey, which reduces night-time cough in children and adults, and use peppermint if you want a cooling, menthol-style effect and do not have reflux.
What tea helps a cough with phlegm?
Thyme. Its thymol and carvacrol are expectorant and antispasmodic, and thyme-based syrups cut coughing fits in acute bronchitis by about two-thirds in two large trials. Drink it hot, three to four times a day, keep fluids up so the mucus stays thin, and avoid suppressing a productive cough with codeine-type medicines.
Is tea with honey good for a cough and sore throat?
Yes, and it is the combination to start with. Heat relieves both symptoms for about 30 minutes in a crossover trial, and honey has meta-analysis-level evidence for cough. For the sore-throat side, licorice or a throat-coat blend adds a coating effect that lasts; the sore throat guide ranks those in full.
Can I give cough tea to my child?
From age 1, warm (not hot) water or weak chamomile with a teaspoon of honey is safe and is the single best-evidenced remedy for childhood cough. Marshmallow root is also fine. Avoid licorice, peppermint and medicinal-dose thyme in young children, never give honey under 12 months, and note that cough syrups are not recommended under 6.
How long should a cough last before I worry?
Most post-viral coughs settle within 2 to 3 weeks, though a dry cough can linger up to 8 weeks after a cold. See a clinician sooner for blood, breathlessness, chest pain, high or prolonged fever, a whooping sound, or if you are pregnant, over 65 or have lung or heart disease. A cough beyond 3 weeks with no obvious cause needs an examination.
Does ginger tea stop coughing?
Not in any trial. Ginger compounds relax airway smooth muscle in the laboratory, which is a promising mechanism, and the hot liquid and honey you drink it with do have evidence. It is a reasonable, warming choice for a cough with a cold, especially with nausea or chills, but do not expect it to outperform honey on its own.
References
- Oduwole O, Udoh EE, Oyo-Ita A, Meremikwu MM. Honey for acute cough in children. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2018)View source
- Abuelgasim H, Albury C, Lee J. Effectiveness of honey for symptomatic relief in upper respiratory tract infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine (2021)
- Cohen HA, Rozen J, Kristal H, et al.. Effect of honey on nocturnal cough and sleep quality: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Pediatrics (2012)
- Kemmerich B, Eberhardt R, Stammer H. Efficacy and tolerability of a fluid extract combination of thyme herb and ivy leaves and matched placebo in adults suffering from acute bronchitis with productive cough. Arzneimittelforschung (2006)
- Kemmerich B. Evaluation of efficacy and tolerability of a fixed combination of dry extracts of thyme herb and primrose root in adults suffering from acute bronchitis with productive cough. Arzneimittelforschung (2007)
- Ruetzler K, et al.. A randomized, double-blind comparison of licorice versus sugar-water gargle for prevention of postoperative sore throat and postextubation coughing. Anesthesia & Analgesia (2013)
- Fink C, Schmidt M, Kraft K. Marshmallow root extract for the treatment of irritative cough: two surveys on users' view on effectiveness and tolerability. Complementary Medicine Research (2018)
- Morice AH, Marshall AE, Higgins KS, Grattan TJ. Effect of inhaled menthol on citric acid induced cough in normal subjects. Thorax (1994)
- Townsend EA, et al.. Active components of ginger potentiate beta-agonist-induced relaxation of airway smooth muscle by modulating cytoskeletal regulatory proteins. American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology (2013)
- Timmer A, Günther J, Motschall E, et al.. Pelargonium sidoides extract for treating acute respiratory tract infections. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2013)
- Sanu A, Eccles R. The effects of a hot drink on nasal airflow and symptoms of common cold and flu. Rhinology (2008)
- NHS. Cough (2024)View source
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Ask about tea for coughThis guide is educational and is not medical advice. Herbal teas can interact with prescription medicines. Talk with a clinician or pharmacist before relying on any of them, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, have a chronic condition, or take medication.