Lemongrass Tea (Hierba Luisa) from Peruvian Naturals

How to Brew Hierba Luisa (Peruvian Lemongrass Tea)

June 13, 2026

If you've spent any time in a Peruvian household, you've probably had hierba luisa without anyone announcing it. It's the lemony, slightly sweet tea that shows up after lunch, the one that smells like a citrus grove even though there's no citrus anywhere near it. And if you've also tried our cedrón (lemon verbena) tea, you might assume they're the same plant with two names. They're not, and the difference is worth knowing before you brew either one.

What Hierba Luisa Actually Is

Hierba luisa is the Peruvian name for lemongrass, Cymbopogon citratus, a tall, fibrous grass that grows in dense clumps and smells intensely of lemon the moment you bruise a stalk. It's the same plant used throughout Thai and Vietnamese cooking, though in Peru it almost never ends up in food. Instead, the dried leaves go straight into tea, usually after meals, as a digestive and all-purpose calming drink.

Cedrón (lemon verbena, Aloysia citrodora) is a completely different plant: a small, woody shrub from the verbena family with a more delicate, almost floral lemon scent. Both end up tasting "lemony" in a cup, which is exactly why people mix them up. If you've read our guide to brewing cedrón, think of hierba luisa as its grassier, more assertive cousin: less floral, more straightforwardly citrusy, and noticeably more forgiving if you oversteep it.

How to Brew It Properly

Lemongrass is tougher than most herbs in our lineup, which means it can handle near-boiling water without turning bitter the way more delicate leaves can.

Water temperature: 95-100°C, just off the boil, or a full boil is fine
Ratio: 1 teabag, or about 1 tablespoon of dried leaf, per 8oz cup
Steep time: 7-10 minutes, covered
Why covered matters: a saucer or small plate over the cup keeps the volatile lemon oils in your tea instead of evaporating into your kitchen

Ten minutes sounds long compared to green tea, but lemongrass doesn't turn tannic or bitter the way black tea does when oversteeped. If anything, a longer steep gives you a stronger lemon flavor without the harshness you'd get from over-brewing something more delicate, like manzanilla or toronjil.

Three Ways Peruvians Actually Drink It

Hot, after a meal. This is the default. A cup of hierba luisa after lunch is as ordinary in Peru as a mint after dinner is elsewhere. It's mild enough to drink daily without it feeling like "taking a supplement."

Iced, on a hot afternoon. Brew it double-strength (two bags per cup, same steep time), let it cool, then pour over ice with a thin slice of lime. The lemongrass aroma actually comes through more clearly cold than hot, which surprises a lot of people the first time they try it.

Blended with muña or toronjil. Hierba luisa's strong lemon flavor pairs well with both muña for an after-meal digestive blend, and toronjil for an evening wind-down cup where the lemongrass brightens up the lemon balm's softer flavor. Steep them together for the same 7-10 minutes; the lemongrass holds its own and won't get overpowered by the gentler herb.

What the Research Actually Says

Lemongrass's main active compound is citral, the molecule responsible for that intense lemon smell. Lab studies have found citral has antimicrobial and antifungal properties, and a handful of small studies, mostly in animals, with a few in humans, have looked at lemongrass tea's effect on anxiety and sleep, reporting modest, short-term improvements. None of this rises to the level of a treatment claim, and we're not going to pretend it does. What it does support is the very old, very simple use case: a pleasant after-meal tea that a lot of people find genuinely relaxing, whatever the exact mechanism turns out to be.

A Couple of Things to Know

Lemongrass tea is considered safe for most people in normal tea-drinking amounts. The main caution is around pregnancy: some traditional sources advise against concentrated lemongrass oil or large amounts of strong tea during pregnancy, though occasional cups are generally considered low-risk. If you have a known citral or citrus allergy, start with a weaker brew and see how you react. And as always, if you're on prescription medication and drinking herbal tea daily, it's worth mentioning to your doctor or pharmacist, just so it's on the record.

Worth Trying Alongside

If you've already got our cedrón tea in the cupboard, hierba luisa makes a good side-by-side comparison: same general flavor family, different plant, different mood. Both are part of our herbal tea collection, alongside muña, toronjil, manzanilla, and the rest of the after-meal lineup.