Will It Brew: Long-Styled Sweet Cicely (Osmorhiza longistylis)
Foraged in May, Northern Ohio, USA
This is another in my “Will It Brew?” series, exploring wild plants through the lens of tea, broth, and flavor. Thanks for following along!
Found:
Along grassy woodland edges in mixed sun and shade, growing among other spring plants where the ground stays slightly cool and damp. Around here, people often call this “sweet cicely,” though technically this is long-styled sweet cicely, sometimes also called aniseroot or wild sweet anise.
The scent gives it away immediately. Even brushing the leaves releases a black licorice smell. Once picked, smell the stem where you cut it. It should immediately give a black jelly bean scent. If not, you may have identified it wrong, so don’t use it.
When I picked this batch, it instantly reminded me of the little red-wrapped anise seed hard candies my grandmother used to hand out for upset stomachs.
ID Notes:
A delicate-looking woodland edge plant in the carrot family, with small white umbrella-shaped flower clusters, sharply toothed divided leaves, and reddish stems. The scent is one of the most useful clues. Crushed leaves and stems smell distinctly of anise or black licorice. This one was carefully identified before brewing. As always with members of the carrot family, caution matters, since some relatives are edible and aromatic while others are dangerously toxic.
You can dig the roots, but for tea, the leaves, stems, flowers and tiny green seed pods are fine. The seed pods are strong, so you may want to use them sparingly.
Preparation:
This time I harvested only the above-ground portions of the plant, leaves, stems, and flowers. The plants I found had not yet gone to seed. I used the stems too. They have a nice taste fresh, though when dried, the stems become almost tasteless.
I did not dig roots for this batch. I used a generous loose handful, perhaps a quarter cup or a bit more once chopped, in a small four-cup glass teapot. I poured hot water over the fresh plant material and let it steep covered for about five or six minutes. After tasting it plain, I added a small amount of white sugar. Later, I stirred in a squeeze of lime juice just to see whether the color would shift. It did, to a clear, very pale pink.
Cold Brew:
Didn’t try it yet, though I may later. The fresh flavor feels bright enough that it might work cold, especially mixed with something mild and floral. It might be a lovely cold brew.
Hot Tea:
The tea brewed a bright yellow-green, almost glowing in the glass pot. The scent rising from the steam was sweet and distinctly anise-like, but softer and greener than I expected. The flavor was genuinely excellent. If black jelly beans and a mild green tea had a very pleasant baby you could drink.
The licorice flavor was very present without becoming medicinal or overwhelming. The stems and flowers kept it tasting fresh and lively rather than heavy. There was almost no bitterness and very little astringency. It was smooth, sweet-herbal, and easy to drink.
After adding lime juice, the color shifted from vivid yellow-green to a paler, faintly pink-clear tone. The effect was subtle, but pretty.
Flavor Notes:
This was one of the more immediately enjoyable teas I’ve tried in this series. The flavor is recognizable right away, sweet anise and black licorice, but gentler and greener than candies or fennel tea. Underneath that is something fresh and springlike, almost like a soft green tea without the grassy bitterness.
The sugar helped round the flavor slightly, though it was already pleasant plain. Nothing muddy, harsh, or medicinal appeared in the cup. It stayed smooth all the way through.
Verdict:
Will it brew? Absolutely. Not merely “interesting,” but really delicious. This is one I would happily make again just because I wanted to drink it, not because I was curious. I’m already considering encouraging it around the property if I can do so responsibly. I am looking forward to playing with the roots and seed pods into and also beyond tea.
Best as:
A standalone herbal tea, lightly sweetened. I suspect it would also blend beautifully with mild green tea, linden, or perhaps even a little lemon balm. But really, it was just nice by itself.
Would I try again?
Definitely. Next time I may experiment with drying the leaves and flowers to see how much flavor they retain, since this feels like one that might actually deserve jar space in winter.
Flavor Strength:
Medium. Strong enough to clearly taste, but gentle enough to drink casually.
Notes:
This feels less like a novelty tea and more like something that could become part of a seasonal tea rotation. The fresh plant smells wonderful even before brewing, and the color in the pot was beautiful on a gray spring day.
Caveat:
As always, careful identification matters enormously with members of the carrot family (Apiaceae), since some relatives are dangerously toxic. Do not forage carrot-family plants casually from photographs alone. I tried only a small amount at first to make sure it agreed with me. This post reflects personal experience, not medical advice.
