Lemongrass

Also known as: cymbopogon, 香茅

Herbs

A tall, clump-forming tropical grass whose fragrant stalks and leaves carry a lemon-like aroma, mainly from citral. It is steeped, simmered, or macerated into hot teas, cold infusions, syrups, and fermented drinks across the tropics and, increasingly, worldwide.

How lemongrass is prepared

It is bruised and simmered in hot water, alone or with ginger, pandan, or spices, for teas and warming drinks. It is also cold-steeped or made into syrups for iced drinks, sodas, and mocktails. Dried lemongrass is a common component of tisane blends. It also flavors kombucha, water kefir, and other ferments, adding citrus aroma without sourness.

Fermentation

Microbial transformation of an ingredient. This general term does not identify an organism or fermentation conditions.

Beverages using this technique · 1
PROXIES
Blanc Slate
Still<0.5% ABV
prepared as Fermented Lemongrass

PROXIES uses Fermented Lemongrass in Blanc Slate: lemongrass that has been fermented, softening its sharp citrus note into a rounder, tangier one.[5]

Infusion

Extracting an ingredient into a liquid or fat. Temperature and duration depend on the documented application.

Beverages using this technique · 1
NINO
Ruby
Sparkling rosé0% ABV
prepared as Jasmine, Elderflower, Hibiscus, Rose Petal, Lavender and Lemongrass Infusion

NINO uses Jasmine, Elderflower, Hibiscus, Rose Petal, Lavender and Lemongrass Infusion in Ruby: a tea and herb infusion of jasmine, elderflower, hibiscus, rose petals, lavender and lemongrass.[6][7]

Service signal Works as a infusion component.

Other preparations

Beverages using this preparation · 5
AMA Brewery
AMA No. 540 — Organic Lemongrass
Sparkling
prepared as Lemongrass

Organic, from Amba Estate, Uva Highlands, Sri Lanka.[8][9]

Far & Søn Brewery
Far & Søn Botanicals
Sparkling white0% ABV
prepared as Lemongrass

Far & Søn Brewery uses Lemongrass in Far & Søn Botanicals: lemongrass used as an ingredient. The preparation method is not specified.[10]

Villbrygg
FJELL 01
Sparkling red0% ABV
prepared as Lemongrass

Villbrygg uses Lemongrass in FJELL 01: lemongrass used as an ingredient. The preparation method is not specified.[11]

Villbrygg
SKOG 03
Sparkling0% ABV
prepared as Lemongrass

Norwegian organic.[12]

Zestea
Zestea Lemongrass Kombucha
Sparkling<0.5% ABV
prepared as Lemongrass

Zestea uses Lemongrass in Zestea Lemongrass Kombucha: lemongrass used as an ingredient. The preparation method is not specified.[13][14]

In depth

A fragrant grass of tropical Asia

Lemongrass belongs to Cymbopogon, a genus of aromatic grasses spread across tropical Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Pacific islands. The species most used in food and drink, Cymbopogon citratus, is associated with maritime Southeast Asia. Its close cousin, East Indian lemongrass (C. flexuosus), comes from the Indian subcontinent and Indochina, and the two are often used interchangeably. The older trade names Cochin grass and Malabar grass point to the southwestern coast of India as a historic source. In South and Southeast Asia the plant has long served as a medicinal herb, and the simplest way to take it was as a hot-water infusion of the bruised stalks or leaves. In parts of India, lemongrass is still brewed on its own or added to spiced milk tea for its cooling citrus aroma.[1]

Warming spiced drinks of Indonesia

In the Indonesian archipelago, lemongrass (serai or sereh) belongs to a broad tradition of hot, sweetened herbal drinks. That tradition overlaps with jamu, the Javanese system of herbal preparations. The Sundanese highlanders of West Java drink bandrek on cool evenings to warm themselves. Its base is ginger water, palm sugar, and cinnamon, and many cooks add lemongrass alongside cloves, star anise, cardamom, coriander seed, and a touch of black pepper. The drink may be finished with condensed or coconut milk and sometimes pieces of young coconut, and it is popularly believed to ease a sore throat. Similar ginger-and-lemongrass infusions, often sweetened with palm sugar, are sold by street vendors and made at home throughout Java.[2]

Everyday infusions across the tropics

Lemongrass tea is one of the most widely drunk herbal infusions in the tropical world. It is typically made by boiling cut or crushed stalks and leaves, then sweetening the brew or leaving it plain. In mainland Southeast Asia it is served both hot and chilled, often paired with pandan leaf or ginger. There, the same aromatic grass that perfumes tom yum and other soups also appears in iced drinks sold at markets and street stalls. The practice fits the wider pattern of herbal teas, which are infusions or decoctions of plants other than the tea bush. They are usually caffeine-free and closely tied to folk medicine.[3]

Fever grass in Africa, the Caribbean, and Brazil

As lemongrass was carried around the tropical belt, it became a dooryard plant in West Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America, and each region folded it into its own tea customs. The common English name "fever grass" reflects its reputation as a hot drink for colds and fevers, a use especially familiar in the Caribbean. In Brazil, lemongrass tea is a traditional folk remedy for anxiety and a popular evening drink, though a clinical study in humans found no measurable calming effect. Across these regions the tea is usually made from freshly cut leaves rather than the stalk bases favored in Asian cooking.[1]

A mainstay of Western tisane blends

During the twentieth century, as herbal teas gained a following in Europe and North America, dried lemongrass became one of the standard building blocks of blended tisanes. It supplies a clean citrus top note without the bitterness of citrus peel. It is commonly combined with hibiscus, rose hip, peppermint, ginger, licorice root, and dried fruit, and it also appears in green-tea blends. Because it is naturally caffeine-free, it features prominently in evening and "wellness" blends.[3]

Contemporary ferments and non-alcoholic drinks

In the current wave of low- and no-alcohol drinks, lemongrass is a favored aromatic for kombucha, water kefir, ginger beers, and craft sodas. Home and commercial brewers add it during secondary fermentation, alongside juices and spices, to flavor finished kombucha. Its citral-driven aroma holds up through heat and fermentation better than fresh lemon, and it adds brightness without extra acidity. That makes it useful in already tart ferments. Bartenders and producers of alcohol-free aperitifs also use lemongrass syrups, cordials, and distillates in mocktails. They often pair it with ginger, kaffir lime leaf, galangal, or chili, echoing the Southeast Asian flavor combinations where the grass first became a drink.[4]