New to Peruvian Teas? 5 Beginner-Friendly Brews to Try

July 10, 2026

Walk through any market in Peru, from Surquillo in Lima to the covered stalls of Cusco, and you'll hit a wall of dried herbs. Muña, cedrón, boldo, anís, hierba luisa, cola de caballo, and a dozen more you've never heard of. If you didn't grow up with a grandmother pressing a hot cup into your hands after lunch, it's hard to know where to begin.

So here's a starting point. Five Peruvian teas that are easy to like on the first cup, easy to brew, and all under $12. We've ordered them from most approachable to least, and we'll be honest when we get to the acquired taste at number five.

1. Muña: the Andean mint

If you only try one herb on this list, make it muña. It grows wild above 3,000 meters in the Andes, and highland families have chewed the leaves and brewed the tea for centuries, mostly for one reason: it settles the stomach after a big meal.

The flavor sits somewhere between peppermint and oregano. Sharper than the mint tea you already know, with a cool finish that lingers. In Cusco, hotels serve it alongside coca tea to new arrivals, and porters on the Inca Trail swear by it for altitude headaches. The research on that last claim is thin and mostly anecdotal, so take it as tradition rather than proof. The taste, though, needs no defending.

Brew it simple: one bag, water just off the boil, 5 minutes with a lid or saucer on top. Our Andean Mint Muña Tea comes as 25 bags of wild muña leaves for $11.98.

2. Cedrón: the after-dinner classic

Cedrón is what English speakers call lemon verbena. The dried leaves smell like lemon candy, but the brewed cup is soft and round, all citrus perfume with none of the acidity. Nobody needs sugar in this one.

In Peruvian homes it's the evening tea, the one that comes out after dinner when the conversation is still going. A few small studies have looked at lemon verbena for mild digestive complaints and sleep quality, but the evidence is early and the trials were small. Peruvians didn't wait for the studies, and after one cup you'll understand why.

Our Lemon Verbena (Te de Cedrón) is 25 bags for $11.97, grown in Peru.

3. Hierba Luisa: the bright one

Hierba luisa is lemongrass. And yes, it's a different plant from cedrón, even though plenty of market vendors in Lima use the two names interchangeably. Where cedrón is soft and floral, hierba luisa is bright and grassy, closer to the lemongrass you know from Thai cooking.

It makes an excellent iced tea. Brew it double strength, pour it over ice, add a squeeze of lime. In a Lima summer that solves half of January. Hot, it's a clean, light cup that works any time of day since there's no caffeine. Find it as Hierba Luisa tea bags, 25 for $9.99.

4. Anís: naturally sweet

Anise seed tea tastes gently of licorice and needs no sweetener at all. In Peru it's the standard answer to a heavy lunch, and it's often the first herbal tea given to children because the flavor is so friendly.

Anise seeds have one of the longest traditions of digestive use of any herb, stretching from the Mediterranean to the Andes, where the seed took root in both kitchens and home remedies. Crush the bag lightly with a spoon before steeping and you'll get noticeably more flavor out of it. Our Anise Seed Tea is $11.82 for 25 bags.

5. Boldo: the honest warning

We said we'd tell you when we reached the acquired taste. This is it. Boldo is bitter and a little medicinal, with a camphor edge that surprises people on the first sip. It's also the tea Peruvian and Chilean grandmothers reach for after fried food, and it has survived every generation of skeptical grandchildren for a reason.

Start with a short steep, 3 minutes, and see where you land. Some people add a slice of fresh ginger to soften it. One honest note: boldo is a sometimes tea, not an everyday tea. Traditional use keeps it occasional, after the meal that needs it, and that's good practice. It's Boldus Herbal Tea, 25 bags for $9.99.

How to start without overthinking it

Pick two. Muña for after meals and cedrón for the evening covers most of life. Brew every herbal tea covered, 5 minutes, so the aromatic oils condense back into the cup instead of escaping with the steam. That one habit improves every cup you'll ever make.

From there, browse the full herbal tea collection and follow your nose. Tea bags are the easiest entry point; once you find a favorite, the loose leaf versions usually give you a stronger cup for the money.

A few cautions

These five are gentle, everyday teas in Peru, but two notes. Skip boldo if you're pregnant or have liver or bile duct conditions. And if you're pregnant, nursing, or taking prescription medication, run any new herbal routine past your doctor first. We're a tea company, not a clinic.