Best Tea for Sore Throat: 9 Teas That Actually Help, Ranked by Evidence
The best tea for a sore throat is a hot one with honey in it: hot lemon and honey, licorice root tea and a throat-coat style blend of slippery elm, marshmallow root and licorice have the best human evidence, with sage close behind as a gargle. Two things do most of the work in any throat tea. The first is heat: in a randomised crossover trial, a hot drink relieved sore throat, cough, runny nose and chilliness immediately and for about 30 minutes, while the same drink at room temperature relieved only the runny nose and cough. The second is honey, which beat usual care, including over-the-counter cough medicines, across a 2021 meta-analysis of 14 trials. Herbs come third, and they help mainly by coating the throat (demulcents) or numbing it slightly (licorice, sage, menthol).
This page is for the ordinary viral sore throat that comes with a cold and clears in 3 to 7 days. See a clinician instead if you have a fever for more than 3 days, trouble breathing or swallowing, drooling, a muffled voice, a stiff neck, pus on the tonsils with no cough, a rash, a sore throat lasting more than a week, or hoarseness lasting more than 3 weeks. Those patterns point to strep throat, tonsillitis or a peritonsillar abscess, which need a swab and possibly antibiotics, and no tea substitutes for that.
Below, each tea is graded by the quality of human evidence for sore throat specifically, with how to brew it for this purpose, who it suits and what can go wrong. Then the popular claims that do not hold up, the non-tea levers that matter as much (salt water, lozenges, ibuprofen) and the questions people ask most, including what to drink for strep throat.
Quick answer
- Hot lemon and honey — heat relieves throat pain within minutes in a crossover RCT; honey beats usual care for cough and night symptoms across 14 trials
- Licorice root — a 0.5 g gargle roughly halved post-operative sore throat in two RCTs of 236 and 40 patients
- Throat-coat blend (slippery elm, marshmallow, licorice) — eased pharyngitis pain within 5 minutes vs placebo in a 60-patient RCT
- Sage — a 15% sage spray reduced throat pain within 2 hours in a 286-patient RCT; works as a gargle
- Chamomile — mildly anti-inflammatory, soothing, caffeine-free; evidence is mostly lab work and tradition
- Ginger and peppermint — warming or cooling comfort with anti-inflammatory lab data; no sore-throat trials
The 9 best teas for sore throat
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 only kitchen ingredient with meta-analysis-level evidence for the symptoms that come with a sore throat: a 2021 review of 14 studies (1,761 participants) found it improved overall symptom scores, cough frequency and cough severity more than usual care, including dextromethorphan. The heat matters too. In a 30-person crossover trial, a hot drink gave immediate relief of sore throat, cough, chilliness and tiredness, while the same drink at room temperature helped only runny nose, cough and sneezing. Lemon adds little evidence of its own but keeps you sipping.
- Key evidence
- Abuelgasim et al., BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine 2021 (meta-analysis of 14 studies); Sanu & Eccles, Rhinology 2008 (hot vs room-temperature drink)
- How to brew it
- Juice of half a lemon and 1 to 2 teaspoons of honey in 250 ml of water at about 60 to 65°C (hot but drinkable); sip slowly, repeat every 2 to 3 hours.
- Best for
- Anyone over 1 year old with a scratchy, painful throat, especially at night
- Cautions
- Never give honey to a baby under 12 months (infant botulism). Each teaspoon of honey is about 5 g of sugar, which matters with diabetes; the lemon's acid can sting a raw throat, so use less if it does.
Licorice has the cleanest human data of any throat herb, from anaesthesia research. In a double-blind RCT of 236 patients, gargling 0.5 g of licorice in 30 ml of water before surgery roughly halved the rate of sore throat afterwards and reduced post-extubation coughing; a 40-patient trial found the same. Glycyrrhizin and liquiritin coat the mucosa and have anti-inflammatory and mild local anaesthetic effects, which is why licorice anchors most throat-coat blends. The trials used a gargle, so gargle the cooled tea before swallowing it.
- Key evidence
- Ruetzler et al., Anesthesia & Analgesia 2013, 236-patient double-blind RCT of licorice gargle
- How to brew it
- 1 teaspoon (2 to 3 g) of cut dried licorice root in 250 ml of just-boiled water, covered, 10 minutes; gargle the first mouthful once warm, then sip.
- Best for
- A raw, scraped throat where you want a coating effect that lasts
- Cautions
- Glycyrrhizin raises blood pressure and lowers potassium: 1 to 2 cups a day for no more than a week, and none at all with hypertension, heart failure, kidney disease, diuretics, digoxin, corticosteroids or blood-pressure drugs. Avoid in pregnancy (linked to preterm birth).
The commercial 'Throat Coat' formula is the only sore-throat tea that has been through a placebo-controlled trial. In 60 adults with acute pharyngitis, a cup of the blend (licorice root, slippery elm bark, marshmallow root and others) reduced throat pain within 5 minutes and the relief lasted about 30 minutes, significantly more than a placebo tea of similar taste. The effect comes from mucilage: slippery elm and marshmallow swell into a gel that physically coats the inflamed pharynx. Relief is real but short, so drink a cup every 2 to 3 hours.
- Key evidence
- Brinckmann et al., Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2003, 60-patient randomised placebo-controlled trial
- How to brew it
- 1 teaspoon each of slippery elm bark powder and cut marshmallow root plus half a teaspoon of licorice root in 250 ml of water just off the boil, covered, 10 to 15 minutes; or a commercial bag steeped 10 minutes and squeezed.
- Best for
- Pain on swallowing; people who want something that works in minutes
- Cautions
- Mucilage slows absorption of medicines taken at the same time, so leave 1 to 2 hours either side of prescription drugs. Contains licorice, so the blood-pressure, potassium and pregnancy cautions apply.
Marshmallow root is roughly a third mucilage by weight, and the European Medicines Agency accepts it as a traditional remedy for throat irritation and dry cough on the strength of long use plus laboratory work showing the mucilage forms a protective layer on epithelial cells. The human evidence is observational: two surveys of 822 people using a marshmallow syrup or lozenge for irritative cough reported relief within about 10 minutes in most, with almost no side effects. No randomised trial exists for sore throat, so it sits at Preliminary despite being the gentlest option here.
- Key evidence
- Fink, Schmidt & Kraft, Complementary Medicine Research 2018 (two user surveys, 822 participants); EMA monograph on Althaea officinalis root
- How to brew it
- 1 tablespoon of cut dried root in 250 ml of cold water for 1 to 2 hours (cold extraction pulls out the most mucilage), strain, then warm gently; do not boil.
- Best for
- Children over 1, pregnancy, and anyone who cannot have licorice
- Cautions
- Can delay absorption of other medicines (separate by 1 to 2 hours) and may lower blood sugar slightly, so people on insulin or sulfonylureas should watch readings. Considered safe in pregnancy at food-like amounts.
Sage is the best-studied single herb for throat pain. In a 286-patient double-blind RCT, a 15% sage throat spray reduced pain intensity significantly more than placebo within 2 hours of the first dose, and a 154-patient RCT found a sage-echinacea spray relieved acute sore throat as well as a chlorhexidine-lidocaine spray. Rosmarinic acid and the volatile oils are anti-inflammatory and mildly astringent, which is why sage works best as a gargle. The trials used sprays, so the tea is a less concentrated stand-in.
- Key evidence
- Hubbert et al., European Journal of Medical Research 2006, 286-patient RCT of sage spray in acute pharyngitis
- How to brew it
- 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried sage leaf in 250 ml of water just off the boil, covered, 10 minutes; cool to warm, gargle 30 seconds, spit or swallow, 3 to 4 times a day.
- Best for
- Sharp, burning throat pain; people who prefer a gargle to a sweet drink
- Cautions
- Sage contains thujone: keep to 3 to 4 cups a day for under a week, and avoid in pregnancy, breastfeeding and epilepsy. It can lower blood sugar and may interact with sedatives and anticonvulsants.
Chamomile is probably the most-recommended sore throat tea on the internet and one of the least studied for it. Its flavonoids apigenin and chamazulene inhibit inflammatory enzymes in laboratory work, and chamomile mouthwash has small, mixed trials for chemotherapy mouth ulcers, but there is no trial in pharyngitis. What it reliably does is deliver a warm, caffeine-free liquid you can drink all day, with a modest sedative effect shown in insomnia trials that helps you sleep through a sore throat.
- Key evidence
- Laboratory anti-inflammatory data (apigenin, chamazulene); small mouthwash trials for oral mucositis; no pharyngitis RCT
- How to brew it
- 1 heaped tablespoon of dried flowers (or 2 bags) in 250 ml of water at 90 to 95°C, covered, 5 to 10 minutes; add honey; drink in the evening.
- Best for
- Bedtime; people who cannot sleep because of the throat
- Cautions
- Avoid with ragweed or daisy-family allergy. Mild blood-thinning effect (care with warfarin) and additive sedation with benzodiazepines and sleep medicines.
Fresh ginger's gingerols and shogaols are anti-inflammatory in laboratory studies and reduce pain in human trials of period pain and osteoarthritis at 1 to 1.5 g a day, which is the usual basis for recommending it for a sore throat. Ginger extract also inhibited Streptococcus pyogenes in a test tube, which says nothing about a cup of tea. There is no trial of ginger for pharyngitis; the practical case is that hot ginger tea delivers the proven heat and honey with a warming spice that makes the throat feel open.
- Key evidence
- Pain RCTs in dysmenorrhoea and osteoarthritis; in-vitro antibacterial data; no sore-throat trial
- How to brew it
- 4 to 6 thin slices (about 10 g) of fresh ginger simmered in 300 ml of water for 10 minutes, then honey and lemon.
- Best for
- A cold-and-sore-throat combination with nausea or chills
- Cautions
- Mild antiplatelet effect, so 1 to 2 cups a day at most with warfarin, clopidogrel or daily aspirin. Can worsen heartburn; up to 1 g of dried ginger a day is considered safe in pregnancy.
Menthol switches on the TRPM8 cold receptor in the throat, producing a cooling, slightly numbing sensation, and in a classic volunteer study inhaled menthol reduced cough-reflex sensitivity. That is why menthol is in most throat lozenges and why peppermint tea feels good on a raw throat, even though no trial has tested the tea itself for pharyngitis. Think of it as a pleasant delivery system for warm liquid with a lozenge-like cooling effect, not an anti-inflammatory.
- Key evidence
- Morice et al., Thorax 1994 (inhaled menthol reduced cough reflex sensitivity); no tea trial
- How to brew it
- 1 tablespoon of dried peppermint leaf (or 1 bag) in 250 ml of water just off the boil, covered to keep the menthol in, 5 to 7 minutes; breathe the steam while it steeps.
- Best for
- A tickly, itchy throat with a cough; people who dislike sweet or sour drinks
- Cautions
- Relaxes the lower oesophageal sphincter and can worsen reflux, itself a common cause of chronic sore throat; skip it if heartburn is part of the picture. Not for infants and young children (menthol can cause breathing spasm).
Green tea catechins, especially EGCG, are antiviral and antibacterial in the laboratory, and gargling them has been tested in people: in a 124-resident nursing-home trial, gargling a catechin solution three times a day for 3 months cut influenza infection to 1.3% from 10% in the water-gargle group. For sore throat itself the data are thinner; a small Iranian RCT found a green tea gargle reduced post-operative sore throat, but there is no trial in viral or strep pharyngitis. It is cheap and low-risk, so it is a reasonable gargle, not a treatment.
- Key evidence
- Yamada et al., Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 2006 (catechin gargle, 124 nursing-home residents)
- How to brew it
- 1 teaspoon of loose leaf (or 1 bag) in 250 ml of water at 75 to 80°C for 2 to 3 minutes; cool to warm, gargle 20 to 30 seconds, then drink the rest.
- Best for
- Prevention during cold season and a mild scratchy throat in the morning
- Cautions
- 25 to 45 mg of caffeine a cup, so keep it to the daytime. Tannins reduce iron absorption when drunk with meals, which matters in iron-deficiency anaemia; green tea can reduce the effect of the beta-blocker nadolol.
How to choose
- Pain on swallowing that needs relief now: a throat-coat blend or licorice tea, gargled first then sipped, every 2 to 3 hours.
- Sore throat at night: hot lemon and honey or chamomile with honey an hour before bed; honey has the best data for night-time symptoms.
- Throat plus cough: honey first, then peppermint or marshmallow root; the cough guide ranks those in full.
- Pregnant, breastfeeding, or giving it to a child over 1: skip licorice and sage; use marshmallow root, chamomile (if no ragweed allergy) or plain hot lemon and honey.
- High blood pressure, heart or kidney disease: no licorice, including most throat-coat blends; sage, marshmallow and honey-lemon are the safe choices.
- Reflux in the picture (morning hoarseness, lump-in-throat feeling, worse lying down): avoid peppermint and strong lemon; chamomile and marshmallow suit better, and treat the reflux.
What to skip
Apple cider vinegar gargles
No trial supports it for sore throat, and acetic acid irritates inflamed mucosa and erodes tooth enamel. Salt water does the same job without the damage.
Oil of oregano or essential oils in tea
Carvacrol kills bacteria in a dish, but essential oils are not meant to be swallowed, burn the mouth and throat, and have no trials in pharyngitis. Oregano leaf tea is fine; the oil is not.
'Antibacterial' teas for strep throat
Strep throat is a Group A streptococcus infection that needs a swab and, if positive, antibiotics to prevent rheumatic fever and abscess. No tea has been shown to clear it; tea is for comfort alongside treatment.
Steam inhalation as a treatment
A Cochrane review of heated humidified air for colds found no consistent benefit, and steam inhalation is a leading cause of scald burns in children. The steam off a mug is pleasant and safe; a towel over a bowl is not worth the risk.
Safety and when to see a clinician
- Honey is unsafe under 12 months of age because of infant botulism; use warm water, diluted apple juice or marshmallow root instead.
- Licorice (including most throat-coat blends) raises blood pressure and lowers potassium: avoid with hypertension, heart failure, kidney disease, diuretics, digoxin or corticosteroids, and in pregnancy; otherwise keep it to a week.
- Sage and peppermint are not for pregnancy or young children in medicinal amounts; chamomile cross-reacts with ragweed; ginger and chamomile have mild blood-thinning effects worth mentioning if you take warfarin.
- Drink teas warm, not scalding: liquids above about 65°C damage the throat lining and, with habitual use, raise oesophageal cancer risk. Let tea stand 3 to 5 minutes after pouring.
- See a clinician if the sore throat comes with fever for more than 3 days, difficulty breathing or swallowing, drooling, a muffled voice, a stiff neck, a rash, white patches on the tonsils without a cough, or lasts more than 7 days (hoarseness more than 3 weeks).
- If you have a weakened immune system, are over 65, or have had rheumatic fever, get any significant sore throat checked early rather than waiting it out with tea.
What matters as much as the tea
- Salt-water gargle: half a teaspoon of salt in 250 ml of warm water, 30 seconds, 3 to 4 times a day; cheap, safe and in clinical guidance.
- Ibuprofen or paracetamol: the best-evidenced pain relief for sore throat, with NSAIDs slightly ahead in head-to-head trials; flurbiprofen or benzocaine lozenges add short-lived relief.
- Humidify the bedroom to 40 to 50% and sleep with the head slightly raised; dry air and mouth-breathing make morning throat pain worse.
- Rest your voice: whispering strains the vocal folds more than quiet normal speech, so talk softly and less, not in whispers.
- Wash hands and do not share cups; most viral sore throats are contagious for the first 2 to 3 days.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best tea for a sore throat?
Hot lemon and honey has the best evidence, because both the heat and the honey have been tested in trials. For the strongest herbal effect, licorice root or a throat-coat style blend of slippery elm, marshmallow root and licorice eased throat pain within minutes in small RCTs. Sage used as a gargle is the best-studied single herb.
What tea is good for strep throat?
No tea treats strep throat; it needs a throat swab and, if positive, antibiotics such as penicillin or amoxicillin. While the antibiotics work (usually within 24 to 48 hours), hot lemon and honey, marshmallow root or chamomile ease the pain. Avoid licorice if you have been given corticosteroids or have high blood pressure.
Is green tea good for a sore throat?
As a drink it is a mild, low-caffeine warm liquid, which helps a little. Its catechins are antiviral in the laboratory and a catechin gargle reduced flu infections in a nursing-home trial, so gargling cooled green tea is reasonable. Brew it at 75 to 80°C so it is not astringent, which can make a raw throat feel worse.
Is chamomile or peppermint better for a sore throat?
Neither has a trial for sore throat. Chamomile is the better bedtime choice because it is mildly sedative and gentler on reflux; peppermint gives a cooling, lozenge-like numbness that suits a tickly throat with a cough, but it can worsen heartburn, which is itself a common cause of a lingering sore throat.
How many cups of throat tea can I drink a day?
For honey-lemon, chamomile, marshmallow and ginger, 3 to 6 cups spaced through the day, because the relief from a demulcent or hot drink lasts about 30 minutes. Cap licorice at 1 to 2 cups and sage at 3 to 4, for no more than a week.
Does honey really help a sore throat or is it just sugar?
It really helps. A 2021 meta-analysis of 14 trials found honey improved cough frequency, severity and overall symptom scores better than usual care, and in children it matched or beat dextromethorphan for night-time cough. It coats the throat, is mildly antibacterial, and sweetness itself triggers salivation and a natural cough-calming reflex. A teaspoon or two per cup is enough.
Should the tea be hot or warm?
Comfortably hot, around 55 to 65°C. The crossover trial that showed a hot drink relieves sore throat used a drink that was hot but drinkable. Scalding liquids injure the throat lining, and very hot tea drunk daily is linked to higher oesophageal cancer risk, so wait a few minutes after pouring.
References
- 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)
- Sanu A, Eccles R. The effects of a hot drink on nasal airflow and symptoms of common cold and flu. Rhinology (2008)
- Oduwole O, Udoh EE, Oyo-Ita A, Meremikwu MM. Honey for acute cough in children. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2018)View source
- 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)
- Agarwal A, Gupta D, Yadav G, et al.. An evaluation of the efficacy of licorice gargle for attenuating postoperative sore throat: a prospective, randomized, single-blind study. Anesthesia & Analgesia (2009)
- Brinckmann J, Sigwart H, van Houten Taylor L. Safety and efficacy of a traditional herbal medicine (Throat Coat) in symptomatic temporary relief of pain in patients with acute pharyngitis. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (2003)
- Hubbert M, Sievers H, Lehnfeld R, Kehrl W. Efficacy and tolerability of a spray with Salvia officinalis in the treatment of acute pharyngitis: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. European Journal of Medical Research (2006)
- Schapowal A, Berger D, Klein P, Suter A. Echinacea/sage or chlorhexidine/lidocaine for treating acute sore throats: a randomized double-blind trial. European Journal of Medical Research (2009)
- 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)
- Yamada H, et al.. Gargling with tea catechin extracts for the prevention of influenza infection in elderly nursing home residents: a prospective clinical study. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (2006)
- Singh M, Singh M, Jaiswal N, Chauhan A. Heated, humidified air for the common cold. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2017)
- NHS. Sore throat (2024)View source
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Ask about tea for sore throatThis 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.