# What makes this tea taste sweet?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-this-tea-taste-sweet/797488>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [September 28, 2017, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-this-tea-taste-sweet/797488 "2017-09-28T04:29:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Tilt-A-Whirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@Tilt-A-Whirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tilt-A-Whirl)\
**Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-this-tea-taste-sweet/797488/1 "2017-09-28T04:29:03Z")

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I have a sore throat, and a friend recommended Throat Coat tea. It doesn’t seem to have any sweeteners, has zero calories, yet tastes intensely sweet to me. Like as sweet as heavily sugared sweet tea. What’s up with that? Is one of these ingredients naturally sweet, or are my taste buds miswired?

The ingredients:  
Organic Licorice Root  
Organic Slippery Elm Bark (USP)  
Organic Licorice Root Dry Aqueous Extract 6:1  
Organic Marshmallow Root (PhEur).  
Organic Wild Cherry Bark (Prunus Serotina)  
Organic Bitter Fennel Fruit  
Organic Saigon Cinnamon Bark  
Organic Sweet Orange Peel

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**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-this-tea-taste-sweet/797488/2 "2017-09-28T04:52:04Z")

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[Licorice root](http://www.umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/licorice).

> [@](#):
>
> Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra) has been used in food and as medicine for thousands of years. Also known as “sweet root,” licorice root contains a compound that is about 50 times sweeter than sugar.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tilt-A-Whirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@Tilt-A-Whirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tilt-A-Whirl)\
**Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-this-tea-taste-sweet/797488/3 "2017-09-28T14:34:01Z")

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Wow! I had no idea. Thanks.

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**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\
**Post date:** [September 28, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-makes-this-tea-taste-sweet/797488/4 "2017-09-28T18:55:49Z")

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Be careful, though. Natural licorice can have a laxative effect.