Mulethi Tea: Licorice Root, Made Carefully
Mulethi is licorice root, the sweet woody stick sold in every attar shop and pansari’s in the subcontinent. It makes a beautiful, honey-sweet tea, and of all the drinks in this series it is the one you must be most careful with.
Quick facts
- Makes: 1 cup (about 200 ml)
- Takes: 10 minutes
- Traditionally drunk: occasionally, not daily, usually when someone’s voice has gone hoarse, in small cups
- Go easy if: you have high blood pressure, heart or kidney problems, take any regular medication, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or you were planning to drink this every day. Read the caution block before you make it.
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Read this before the recipe
Most spice drinks are food. You can drink cardamom tea daily for forty years and nothing much happens. Mulethi is not in that category, and anyone who tells you otherwise has not looked into it.
Licorice root contains glycyrrhizin, which is what makes it taste sweet. In regular amounts over a sustained period, glycyrrhizin is well documented as affecting the body’s handling of sodium and potassium. In plain terms, it can push potassium levels down and blood pressure up. This is not a fringe concern or a modern over-caution. Food safety bodies in Europe and elsewhere have published advice limiting regular licorice intake for exactly this reason, and doctors see cases of low potassium in people who have been eating licorice sweets or drinking licorice tea daily for weeks.
None of that makes it dangerous to have a cup. It does mean this is an occasional drink, in small amounts, with real limits, and not a daily habit. Traditional households treated it the same way: a stick of mulethi was something you reached for now and then, not something that lived in the everyday teapot. Anyone with high blood pressure, heart, kidney or liver problems, or anyone on regular medication, should talk to their own doctor before drinking it at all.
Where mulethi sits in the house
You buy it as dried root, either as pencil-thick sticks or as coarse yellow chips, from a pansari or a spice market. Children in old Delhi and Lahore used to chew the sticks like sweets. Singers and qawwals have long kept a piece in a pocket. It turns up in mixed spice blends, in paan shops, and in the sweet-shop world as a flavour.
As a drink it is simple: the root simmered in water, sometimes with a little ginger or cardamom, drunk hot in a small cup. People have long reached for it when a voice has gone hoarse or a throat feels rough from talking, and resting the voice is the part of that habit which does most of the work. That is the honest cultural picture. It is a soothing, sweet, warming cup and that is all anyone should claim for it.
What goes in
| Ingredient | Amount | Why it’s there |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 250 ml | You will simmer some off, leaving about 200 ml |
| Dried mulethi (licorice root), chopped or chips | A small piece only (a short bit of thin stick or a pinch of chips) | The sweetness and the whole flavour. Keep it small and the brew weak, deliberately. |
| Fresh ginger | 2 thin slices (optional) | Cuts the syrupy sweetness |
| Green cardamom | 1 pod, crushed (optional) | Lifts the aroma |
| Fennel seeds | 1/4 tsp (optional) | A common partner, mild and aniseedy |
| Tulsi or mint leaves | 3 leaves (optional) | Freshness at the end |
| Lemon juice | 1/2 tsp, off the heat (optional) | Sharpens it if the sweetness is too much |
| Sweetener | None | Licorice is already intensely sweet. Adding sugar is a mistake. |
The method
The entire skill here is restraint. Small amount of root, short simmer, and stop. Over-steeped licorice goes from pleasantly sweet to cloying, slightly bitter and faintly chemical, and you are also extracting more of the thing you were being careful about.
- Keep the root small: a short piece of thin stick or a pinch of chips, enough to make a pale, weak cup. Do not reach for a handful.
- If you are using a stick, bruise it with the flat of a knife or snap it into two or three pieces so the water can get in.
- Put 250 ml of cold water in a small pan with the mulethi, plus the ginger slices, cardamom pod and fennel if you are using them.
- Bring to a boil, then immediately turn it down to the barest simmer.
- Simmer gently, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Not ten. Not fifteen. Five. The water will go pale gold and smell sweet and slightly woody.
- Take it off the heat. Add the tulsi or mint leaves if you are using them and let them sit in the hot liquid for 1 minute, no longer.
- Strain into a cup through a fine sieve. You should have about 200 ml.
- Taste before you add anything. It will already be sweet. If it is too sweet, stir in half a teaspoon of lemon juice. Do not add sugar or honey.
A little root, five minutes, and then you stop. That last part is the recipe.
Variations, and the mistakes that spoil it
The common variations are all about balancing the sweetness. Ginger and mulethi is the classic pair. Fennel and mulethi is gentler. A pinch of black pepper appears in some households. Some people brew it very weak, with half the root, and treat it as a background note in a wider herbal mix rather than the main event, which is a sensible instinct.
The mistakes are worth listing plainly.
Using too much root. This is the number one error, and it is the one with actual consequences. A spoonful of chips in a mug is far too much.
Over-steeping. Leaving it on a low flame for twenty minutes while you do something else makes a dark, syrupy, unpleasant brew and pulls out far more than you wanted.
Adding sugar or honey. It is already sweet. Sweetening it makes it undrinkable and encourages you to use more root next time to get the flavour through.
Treating it as a daily tea. It is not one. Chamomile is a daily tea. Licorice is not.
Leaving the root in the cup. Strain it. Root sitting in hot liquid keeps extracting.
Old spice sellers will hand you a single stick rather than a bag, and there is wisdom in that packaging. A stick is a portion. Buy small quantities, keep them in a tin away from light, and replace them once a year. Root that has gone pale, dusty and smells of nothing has lost its point, and the temptation then is to use more of it, which is exactly the wrong direction.
How much, how often
Here is the part that matters most. Keep it to one small, weak cup, and only now and then. It is an occasional drink, never a daily one, and never something you keep up for weeks. If you are thinking of using mulethi for anything more than the odd cup, the amount is for the pack’s directions or a qualified practitioner to set, and your own doctor should hear about it first.
Do not drink it every day. Do not drink it for weeks on end. The concern with licorice is specifically about sustained regular intake rather than a single cup, so short, occasional use with real gaps is the pattern to keep. If you find yourself reaching for it daily, stop and switch to something else. There are half a dozen other drinks in this series that are genuinely everyday drinks, and this is not one of them.
Remember too that licorice is in other things. Licorice sweets, some mixed herbal tea blends, some digestive mixtures and some paan preparations all contain it. If you are eating those, they count.
Do not drink licorice root tea at all if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, heart rhythm problems, kidney disease or liver disease, or if you have ever been told your potassium runs low, unless your own doctor has specifically said it is fine for you. Avoid it in pregnancy: licorice in pregnancy is one of the clearer cautions in the herbal world, and it is not worth any risk. Avoid it while breastfeeding. Do not give it to children as a tea, and discourage children from chewing large amounts of the stick. Be particularly careful if you take diuretics (water tablets), blood pressure medication, digoxin, corticosteroids, or any medication where potassium level matters, because licorice can interact with all of these. If you take blood thinners or diabetes medication, or any regular medication at all, ask your own doctor first. Signs that someone has overdone licorice include swelling in the hands, feet or face, headaches, unusual muscle weakness or cramps, tiredness and a rise in blood pressure. If any of those appear, stop drinking it and see a doctor. Kitchen tradition, not medical advice.
Leftovers and reheating
Do not make a big jug of this. The whole point of the recipe above is that it is a single, small cup, and having a litre of it in the fridge makes it far too easy to drink more than you meant to.
If you do have half a cup left, cover it, refrigerate it and drink it the same day, or throw it out. Reheat gently to just hot, never back to a simmer, because further heating will keep concentrating it. Never top up a used pan with fresh water and re-simmer the same root for a second cup: it looks thrifty and it makes a much stronger, murkier brew than you intend.
Start here
Before you make your first cup, look at the piece of root you’re about to use and halve it. Most people start with far more than a weak cup needs. Getting used to a small piece and a pale brew is the single most useful thing you can do with this ingredient.
If you want an everyday drink instead
Honestly, for most people most of the time, the answer is one of the others. Adrak tulsi chai covers the same warm, soothing, scratchy-throat moment and is a proper everyday drink. Haldi doodh is the bedtime one. If it is after dinner and you just want something warm, the saunf and ajwain jug is made for that. Browse the rest under Desi Remedies.
Mulethi tea, asked and answered
Can I drink mulethi tea every day?
No, and this is the one rule that matters with licorice. Sustained daily intake can push potassium down and blood pressure up. Keep it occasional: two or three small cups spread across a week at the very most, then a clear break of several weeks.
How much mulethi should I use for one cup?
One gram of dried root per 200 ml cup. That’s about a 3 cm piece of thin stick or half a level teaspoon of chips. Most people guess three or four times too much, so weigh it once on a kitchen scale to see what one gram looks like.
Is mulethi good for a sore throat and hoarse voice?
It’s a soothing, sweet, warm cup, and people have long reached for it when a voice goes hoarse. Resting your voice does most of the real work. Hoarseness lasting more than three weeks, or with trouble swallowing or breathing, needs a doctor. Our hoarse voice guide covers the rest.
Does mulethi raise blood pressure?
It can, with regular use. Licorice root contains glycyrrhizin, which affects how the body handles sodium and potassium, and doctors do see low potassium and raised BP in people having it daily for weeks. If you already have high blood pressure, don’t drink it unless your own doctor says it’s fine.
Who should not drink mulethi tea?
Anyone with high blood pressure, heart disease or rhythm problems, kidney or liver disease, or a history of low potassium, unless their doctor has cleared it. Also skip it in pregnancy and while breastfeeding, and don’t give it to children as a tea.
Can I drink mulethi tea during pregnancy?
It’s best avoided. Licorice root is one of the clearer herbal cautions in pregnancy, and it’s advised against while breastfeeding too. Check with your midwife or doctor before taking any licorice product, including sweets and herbal blends.
Is mulethi safe for children?
No, don’t give it to children as a tea. A child’s smaller body means the same cup is a much bigger amount for them. Chewing the odd stick was traditional, but discourage large amounts, and ask a doctor before giving a child any licorice product.
Can mulethi interact with my medicines?
It can. Take particular care with water tablets (diuretics), blood pressure medicines, digoxin, steroids, or anything where potassium matters. If you’re on blood thinners, diabetes medicine or any regular medication, ask your doctor before drinking it, and don’t adjust the medicine yourself.
What are the signs of having too much licorice?
Swelling in the hands, feet or face, headaches, unusual muscle weakness or cramps, tiredness, and a rise in blood pressure. If any of these show up, stop drinking it and see a doctor. Say how much licorice you’ve been having, including sweets and herbal teas.
How long should I boil mulethi?
Bring it to the boil, then hold it at the barest simmer for 5 minutes. Not ten. Longer makes it syrupy and faintly bitter, and pulls out more of the thing you were being careful about.
Should I add sugar or honey to mulethi tea?
Leave both out. Licorice is already intensely sweet, and sweetening it tends to push people into using more root next time. If it tastes too sweet, stir in half a teaspoon of lemon juice off the heat.
Can I chew a mulethi stick instead?
People do, and singers have long kept a piece in a pocket. The same limits apply, though, because it’s the same root. An occasional chew is one thing; chewing sticks all day for weeks is the pattern to avoid.
Is DGL licorice the same as mulethi?
No. DGL is a processed supplement with most of the glycyrrhizin removed. It’s a different product from the root you simmer at home, and supplements of any kind are a conversation to have with your doctor.