What Does Elderflower Tea Taste Like?

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Elderflower tea is an under-appreciated herbal flower tea that is probably not going to top your list of herbal infusions. Many people might have never heard of elderflower tea or might be just finding out about it for the very first time. If that is why you’re here welcome aboard because I’m going to let you know what to expect when you taste elderflower tea for the first time.

What Does Elderflower Tea Taste Like? Elderflower tea has a slightly sweet Floral flavor at its core with a hint of an earthy taste to it.  The combination of flavors results and a very mild and refreshing cup of tea but not an overly flavorful one.

For A Wonderful loose-leaf elderflower tea, I recommend Starwest Botanicals Elderflowers(*affiliate link) for this article. Read on as we take each one of these individual taste elements in breaking it down a little bit further so that we can get an overall idea of the flavor profile of elderflower tea.


water dripping down elderflowers

Elderflower Tea Is Slightly Sweet

Elderflower tea has a slightly sweet taste to it. When I’m describing the sweetness of elderflower tea I’m not talking about sugary which is what a lot of people tend to think of when they think of sweet.

This is by no means a sugary tea and it is a very slight sweetness.  In fact, if you’re used to drinking really sugary drinks like fruit juice or soda you might not detect the sweetness at all because it is so subtle.

But it’s that slight sweetness that really keeps elderflower tea from being bitter the way that some herbal flower infusions can be. If steeped properly elderflower tea has very little business and the sweet flavor is really the predominant taste that you’re going to notice along with the next flavor aspect the floral taste.

Elderflower Tea Has A Subtle Floral Flavor

A lot of times herbal flower teas can be overwhelmingly Floral in their flavor. Teas like lavender tea and Rose tea (check out our taste profile here) fall into this category.

The full flavor in these teas tends to overwhelm all the other flavors and turn the tea into kind of a one-note flower tea. That’s not the case with elderflower tea, however. There is a slightly floral flavor to it but it is not at all overwhelming. 

The flower flavor of elderflower tea is very subtle and one could argue that could be construed as bland. As someone who drinks a lot of tea I don’t find out flower tea to be bland, per se, but it is not the most flavorful flower tea that you’re ever going to try. A large part of that is because the floral flavor is so subdued and not as pungent as many of the other herbal infusions.

Elderflower Tea Is A Little Earthy

Another note that’s very common among these flower herbal infusions is a bit of earthiness to the overall flavor. In some of the flower herbal teas, the earthy flavor is very much the major flavor that you going to taste but in the case of elderflower, it’s a more subtle earthy taste.

I think this is the common theme for elderflower tea is that all the flavors are very subdued and Mild instead of one of them being much more pronounced than the other end taking over the entire flavor profile.

So the Earth in this is just a slight bitterness to the tea. I typically describe an earthy flavor as sort of the smell of freshly tilled earth. That doesn’t mean it tastes like dirt but it does have a certain resemblance to it.

Elderflower Tea Is Refreshing

Another aspect of the overall flavor and taste of elderflower tea is that it is a very refreshing tea. I think this is because of the subdued nature of the flavors. If the flavor profile was incredibly floral I don’t think the tea would be quite as refreshing.

But elderflower tea is just very nice and subtle and not offensive in the least. I think this is why elderflower tea makes such a great iced tea. You can drink it on hot summer days. You can blend it with quite a few other teas and flavors to create new flavor experiences for you.

Elderflower Tea Is Very Mild

The last thing that you’re going to notice about a flirty is something that I’ve touched on a few times in the previous flavor aspects. Elderflower tea is incredibly mile. If you’re looking for a strong robust tea to drink then this is definitely not the one for you.

This is a mild refreshing herbal flower and fusion that you can drink just about any time of the day and enjoy it in a variety of ways. It will never compete, in terms of flavor, with a strong black tea or even many of the green teas out there.


elderflower tea being steeped

What Does Elderflower Tea Smell Like?

The aroma of elderflower tea is very similar to The Taste of the tea itself. There is a nice fragrance Floral smell to the tea. It is certainly a fragrant tea but like the taste of elderflower tea, the overall aroma is not overwhelmingly pungent. The best way, I can describe the aroma of elderflower tea is a subdued and mild flowery fragrance.

Sometimes the aroma of the flowers or the tea doesn’t quite match up with the taste of it but that’s simply not the case with elderflower tea. I think you’ll find that the smell and the taste of the tea coincide very well with each other.

It’s not surprising because this tea is not surprising. It’s a very straightforward tea. It’s a very mild tea and it’s a very good herbal flower infusion for people to start out with if they’re new to these types of teas.


The Perfect Finish

And that brings us to the end of our look at the taste profile of elderflower tea. I know it might seem like I’m a little bit underwhelmed with elderflower tea. And there is some truth that it is certainly not my favorite herbal tea. I tend to like might he’s a little more robust with a little bit more flavor and is full-bodied.

But don’t let that scare you away from this tea. That’s simply my opinion of it and you might find it to be one of your favorites. A lot of people who try elderflower tea really like it for the very reason that I find it a little bit underwhelming. Because it isn’t the most flavorful or the most robust around.

But if that’s something that you were looking for a nice smile refreshing tea that you can drink anywhere then elderflower tea might just be right up your alley. Whatever the case maybe I always urge people to try these herbal infusions for themselves along with any other types of tea that they think you might like.

Because ultimately all I can do is give my impression of the taste profile or my review of this tea or that tea. The ultimate criteria for determining what a great tea is completely up to the person drinking it.

That goes for every aspect of tea.  There is no right or wrong way to view elderflower tea. There is no right or wrong way to make a cup of elderflower tea. You want to take your tease and make them your own through experimentation and trying new things. I hope this article has been helpful to you and I hope to see you back here very very soon.

Thank you for stopping by and as always have a wonderful day.