Maison Tisane
The Glycyrrhiza glabra, pure and in full growth (hero image)

Botanical cuisine

Liquorice pieces

Glycyrrhiza glabra

Why we love this botanical

L icorice root opens with a warm, deep sweetness reminiscent of honey wood and soft caramel. The first impression is round and friendly, with a subtle spicy undertone that brings warmth without weighing it down. In the mouth, licorice root feels soft and enveloping, almost like a velvety layer over the infusion. The herb gives blends a natural rounding and lifts both fruity and spicy notes in an elegant way.

During steeping, licorice root develops a rich, syrupy warmth that gives the infusion body and depth. The sweetness remains natural and layered, making bitters softer and citrus feel milder. Licorice root creates a harmonious structure in which floral or earthy botanicals get more space to shine. The aftertaste remains long, soft, and comfortingly present, making the herb particularly suitable for full, round blends with a warm signature.

Habitat & Origin

Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) grows in warm, sunny areas of Southern Europe, West Asia, and the Middle East, where deep, loose soils allow the rhizomes to branch out for meters. Only after several years are the roots harvested, cut, and dried slowly to preserve their warm, honey-woody aroma. Maison Tisane selects licorice root based on fiber structure, fracture quality, and a pure sweet aroma without burnt tones.

Active compounds

Licorice root contains glycyrrhizin, saponins, and sweet aromatic compounds that build the warm, deep sweet profile, with light bitters as a soft counterpart. This combination gives infusions a full, round body and a long, velvety aftertaste. In blends, licorice root acts as an enveloping base that rounds off sharp edges and lends spices, flowers, and citrus a friendly glow.

Ayurvedic approach

Licorice root is seen in Ayurveda as cool, sweet, and enveloping: an energetic that mainly soothes Vata and Pitta, but can clearly weigh down Kapha due to the round softness. In West and Central Asian traditions, licorice was considered 'desert wood': a root that gathers sweetness in dry valleys and thus symbolized resilience. Energetically, licorice feels like a warm straw-honey glow — mild, carrying, and kindly rounding.

Thermal energy (Virya) cooling

Pitta

Balancing

Increasing Balancing

Effect: strong balancing

Vata

Balancing

Increasing Balancing

Effect: light balancing

Kapha

Increasing

Increasing Balancing

Effect: light increasing

Flavour profile & Blending

Intensity

Strong

Accessibility

Accessible

Character

lingering, sweet, full

Role in the blend

Balanced herb (10–20%): creates a harmonious foundation and supports the other flavours.

The indicated percentage refers to the approximate weight proportion of this herb within the total blend, but it can of course be adjusted to give the herb a more dominant or more subtle role.

Licorice root supports blends with a deep, round sweetness that binds citrus, spices, and floral elements together. It softens the heat of ginger, gives cinnamon and cardamom a fuller rounding, and makes hibiscus less sharp. In combination with rooibos, a warm, comforting base is created, while licorice gives chamomile and linden blossom more honey depth. It acts as an enveloping carrying tone: softening, rounding, and bringing fusion.

Licorice root combines excellently with warm spiced pastries, gingerbread, honey cake, rice pudding, vanilla cream, and desserts with citrus. The deep sweetness strengthens baking aromas and makes creamy preparations fuller. In savory applications, licorice can work subtly in stews, root vegetables, or tomato sauces, where it adds roundness and mildness.

More flavour details

Selection guide (aroma directions)

Intensity
6
Freshness
1
Citrus
0
Fruity
1
Floral
1
Spicy / Herbal
2
Earthy / Woody
3

Food pairing (structure)

Sweetness
9
Sourness
0
Bitterness
1
Astringency
1
Body
6
Aftertaste length
9
Sharpness / Pungency
0
Blending notes: vegetal (3/10)

Precautions

Naturally sweet, but may raise blood pressure; enjoy in moderation with heart or kidney issues or pregnancy.

Experience Liquorice pieces

Discover the versatility of this botanical in our blends, or use it as the foundation for your own creation in our Blendstudio.


Contact

Reach us via chat
Chat WhatsApp
9am-6pm on working days
Reach us by email
E-mail contact@maisontisane.nl
Response usually the same working day
Reach us by phone
Call 040 – 240 5807
9am-6pm on working days

Customer Service

Contact Shipping Returns

Create your own

Blendstudio

Inspiration

Botanicals

You can shop safely with us

You can shop safely with us (Webwinkel Keurmerk)

Pay securely with:

iDEAL VISA Mastercard American Express Riverty PayPal

Shopping Cart

( )

Your cart is empty

Total