Recipe
🥤 DRINK
Liberian Lemongrass Tea
Fragrant lemongrass ("fever grass") simmered with ginger and sweetened, Liberia's soothing, citrusy everyday tea.
Liberian · easy · serves 4
prep 5 min · cook 15 min
~39 cal · 0g protein · 10g carbs · 0g fat · 0g fiber · 10g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Liberian tea is a fragrant herbal infusion made from fresh , widely grown in Liberian gardens, the stalks steeped into a bright, citrusy tea, sweetened and served hot or cold. Caffeine-free and soothing, it is an everyday drink and home remedy.
('fever grass') is valued across West Africa for both its refreshing flavor and its traditional use for colds and fevers. The tea's clean, lemony aroma makes it a comforting, wholesome brew.
Enjoyed in homes across Monrovia and the Liberian countryside, tea is a fragrant daily infusion, also drunk for colds and fevers.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
4 fresh stalks, bruised
5 cups water
1-inch fresh ginger, sliced
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 lime
Instructions
1
Bruise the lemongrass stalks with the back of a knife and cut into lengths.
2
Simmer the lemongrass and ginger in the water for 10 minutes until fragrant and pale gold.
3
Sweeten to taste and add a squeeze of lime.
4
Strain into cups and serve hot, or chill over ice for a cooler.
Liberian home-remedy tradition.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Monrovia. Liberia was founded by freed African Americans from the 1820s and the kitchen carries both sides of that: rice at nearly every meal in the West African way, alongside American Southern habits in collards, cornbread and doughnuts sold on the street. Palm butter and cassava leaf are the everyday sauces.
🗺️
Liberia. The American strand is specific rather than general. Liberia was settled from the 1820s by free and freed Black Americans, and Americo-Liberian households brought with them cornbread, doughnuts and Sunday-dinner habits that sit alongside, rather than blend into, the Indigenous West African cooking of rice, pepper soup and cassava leaf.
🌍
Africa. Africa's fifty-four nations hold cuisines as different as Morocco's slow-cooked tagines and South Africa's open-fire braai, yet shared threads run through them: ancient grains like millet, sorghum, and teff; stews thickened with groundnut, okra, or palm; and fiery condiments from Tunisian harissa to Ethiopian berbere. Staple starches, fufu, injera, ugali, couscous, anchor communal meals often eaten by hand from a shared dish, where hospitality is a point of honor.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Liberia
TorborgeeA pungent, spicy Liberian stew of red cowpeas and bitter eggplant with smoked meats and fish, slicked with red palm oil.
Liberian Rice BreadA moist, tender quick bread of rice flour and mashed ripe banana, spiced and baked into a golden loaf for breakfast or tea.
Palm Butter RiceChicken simmered in a rich palm-nut sauce with chili and greens, ladled over rice, one of Liberia's most cherished dishes.
Browse all Liberia recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a Liberia meal
Dumboy and Pepper SoupDinner
Kanyah (Peanut and Rice Sweet)Dessert
Similar dishes from around the world
Azerbaijani ChayAzerbaijan
Shahi EritreaEritrea
Kinkeliba TeaGuinea
Iraqi ChaiIraq
Rooibos Iced TeaSouth Africa
Choi KabudTajikistan
Drinks
Frequently asked questions
What is Liberian Lemongrass Tea?
Fragrant lemongrass ("fever grass") simmered with ginger and sweetened, Liberia's soothing, citrusy everyday tea.
Where does Liberian Lemongrass Tea come from?
Liberian Lemongrass Tea is a Liberian dish from Monrovia, Liberia.
Can Liberian Lemongrass Tea be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Liberian Lemongrass Tea recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Liberian Lemongrass Tea safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Liberian Lemongrass Tea take to make?
About 20 minutes total (5 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 4.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.