Best Tea for Sore Throats, Colds, & Coughs in 2024

A steaming cup of tea is one of the best ways to offer a sore throat some relief. The soothing warmth, aroma, and flavor of tea can be comforting for a bothered throat. Some teas might even help your sore throat heal quicker. When it comes to the best tea for sore throats or colds, the lineup of excellently soothing teas is long, but we’ve narrowed it down to 9, particularly great teas. While each of these teas have countless benefits, we’re naming Traditional Medicinal’s Throat Coat Tea as the best tea for sore throats and cough. Take a read through this list to see what teas are the best for a sore throat.

Our Top Picks: Best Tea for Sore Throats

In a hurry to get better? Check out our top picks:

• Best Overall: Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat Tea. As our overall best tea for a sore throat selection, Traditional Medicinals is certified organic, affordable, and tasty tea to clear your sinuses. 
• Best Runner-Up: Harney and Sons Chamomile Tea. Our runner-up and favorite chamomile tea to help with a sore throat and cough, Harney and Sons delivers an expert tea to soothe that cough.
• Best Budget: Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Throat Tamer. If you’re looking for a bedtime tea that also helps relieve throat pain, try Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime. It’s our top pick for most affordable tea for a sore throat. 
• Best Anti-Inflammatory: Numi Organic Turmeric Tea. Turmeric’s several health benefits are rolled up into one in Numi’s turmeric tea, including aiding your sore throat.  
• Best Enjoyed Hot: Yogi Honey Lemon Throat Comfort. Honey and lemon make an excellent combination when it comes to easing throat pain. Yogi’s throat comfort tea is our favorite hot tea to soothe a sore throat. 
• Best for Regaining Voice: Health King Golden Voice Throat Tea. Health King offers a combination tea that is perfect for helping restore a lost voice. 
• Best Multi-Purpose: Celebration Herbals Marshmallow Root Tea. Famously known as one of the healthiest tea out there, this marshmallow root tea from Celebration Herbals will boost your overall immunity. 
• Best for Recovery: Organic India Tusi Peppermint Tea. Peppermint tea is well-known for its throat-healing properties, and this tasty tea from Organic India does just that. 
• Best for Immunity: Bigelow Tea Green Tea. For a tea to help your sore throat, cough, and cold while also building your overall immunity, Bigelow’s green tea might be a good option.

At the core of the Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat Tea is the slippery elm tree. For decades, tea has been brewed from this tree and used to treat various ailments. As a bonus, Traditional Medicinals use ethical practices when sourcing their tea, is non-GMO, and Certified Organic. Many reviewers cite this tea as their new pre-bedtime ritual for its calming and soothing aromas and flavor. It helps clear sinuses and lungs while soothing sore throats.

Egyptian Chamomile is one of the best herbal teas for a sore throat. Harney & Sons utilizes the best of the chamomile flowers with lemon and honey. This combination is the ideal remedy for a sore throat, cold, or cough. Chamomile possesses several anti-inflammatory features that ease swelling and inflammation in your throat. It’s also loaded with antioxidants to help build your immune system.

Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Throat Tamer Tea is a blend of licorice root, slippery elm bark, chamomile, and mint. The combination of these ingredients can help boost one’s immunity and prevent those dreaded winter colds. Reviewers have named this their go-to nightly drink when hoping to slip off into a restful sleep calmly. Drinkers also noted how this tea eased their irritated sinuses during seasonal allergies. The most exceptional pro is the price. It’s hugely affordable and an excellent option for those on a budget.

On its own, turmeric is known for having a wealth of health benefits. It contains impressive medicinal properties and has been used for hundreds of years to fight a variety of ailments. Numi offers a variety of turmeric blends. Whether you’re looking for a tea that’s a bit more sweet or savory, Numi will have a turmeric-based tea that’s suited for you. Drinkers consistently remark on the deliciousness of a cup of this tea combined with almond or coconut milk. Alone, the tea is vibrant and flavorful, requiring no added sweeteners.

Since turmeric is anti-inflammatory, it should help any swelling in your throat go down — which is why it earned it’s spot on our best tea for sore throats list.

Lemon and honey is one of the best combinations to soothe a sore throat. This tea from Yogi also includes Wild Cherry Bark, which was traditionally used by Native Americans for its soothing properties. As a bonus, Yogi is one of the most sustainable tea brands out there. Their tea comes in individual compostable sachets, so you can rest assured that your sore throat will ease while you’re making the right choice for the environment.

The benefits are in the name of this tea from Health King. Drinkers consistently report on this tea’s ability to help a sore throat and help restore their voices. It works wonders to relax your throat and soothe any inflammation. Health King uses quality herbs to help drinkers of this tea maintain a clear and healthy voice as well as a strong respiratory system. If you’re looking for something to clear your lungs and restore your voice, try this tea.

The first thing to note is that marshmallow root tea has a notoriously poor taste. Most reviewers note that the taste doesn’t improve with a longer steep time. The best way to remedy this is to add honey, milk, or lemon. Bits of roots and fluffy pieces in the tea are entirely normal. Marshmallow root tea is known for helping cold and cough symptoms, as well as easing inflammation in one’s bladder, stomach, esophagus, digestive tract, and urinary tract. It’s an all-in-one for mending your body’s sore spots.

What sets Organic India’s peppermint tea apart from other peppermint teas on the market is the use of Tulsi. Tulsi is a Holy Basil and is a central herb in Ayurvedic medicine, known for its calming properties. Peppermint tea is a prime decongestant that helps break up phlegm and loosen any chest congestion. It will ease your throat pain while being the best tea for a cough. Organic India is delicious hot or cold. However, more reviewers remark that is smells different than most peppermint teas.

Green tea is one of the most highly-recommended teas if you’re looking to build your immunity. It’s also shown to increase the burning of fat, protect the brain from aging, and work as an anti-inflammatory agent. Bigelow offers a handful of different green teas, ranging from the original green to a green tea with hints of lemon. It is worth noting that drinkers of Bigelow’s green tea remark on its somewhat weak taste. A longer steep time or additional sweeteners might be needed.

What to Look for in Tea for Sore Throats

Many teas contain antioxidants that our bodies use to fight off illnesses, boost our immune systems, and promote healing. Additionally, some teas are anti-inflammatory, which can help resolve pain and swelling in a sore throat. When you’re feeling under the weather, it’s exceptionally important to be drinking a lot of fluids. This keeps the throat moist and reduces dehydration, which can lead to an uncomfortable cough. Warm liquids are particularly soothing.

But not all teas are created equal. Let’s check out what to look for when choosing the perfect brew.

Ingredients to Look For

What ingredients make tea good for a cough, sore throat, or cold?

Slippery elm root, licorice root, turmeric, and green teas are some of the most impactful teas when it comes to mending a common cold, cough, and sore throat. Many of the teas on this list are combination teas. These teas combine the health benefits of multiple roots and barks to create the ultimate tea to ease your cold.

Risks to Watch For

Are there any risks associated with drinking tea for a sore throat?

Before trying any tea, it’s best to do your research on what precisely the tea is made with, especially if it’s a combination tea. Also, take note of any medication you might be taking that could mix poorly with a particular kind of tea. The Food and Drug Administration does not regulate herbs. It’s best to choose herbs from trustworthy sources, like those mentioned in this article. Finally, some herbs can be dangerous if you have certain health concerns or consume too much of them. Licorice root is a prime example – this tea can be toxic if you drink too much of it.

Knowing your taste preferences, health goals, and what to look for in teas will help you find the perfect tea to help your sore throat, cough, or cold.

Our Process

For this guide on tea for sore throats, our team spent 3 hours researching the most popular options from over 20 brands and manufacturers big and small. We then read about two hundred user reviews (both positive and negative) to discover what shoppers thought about each blend. After comparing this data, we narrowed our list down to the top 9 teas on the market. You can count on this research to guide you to a mindful purchasing decision.

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