Strawberry leaf brews up gentler than its fruit namesake suggests: a mild, fruity cup with grassy, herbaceous undertones and an astringent finish, closer in character to raspberry leaf than to a bowl of berries. The plant itself, Fragaria x ananassa, is a hybrid within the Fragaria genus whose wild relatives go back millennia, though the garden strawberry as cultivated today traces to mid-18th-century Brittany. Most people know it only for the fruit; the leaves have caught on more recently as interest in their properties has grown.
There's no caffeine here, which makes it a reasonable swap for anyone cutting back on stimulants without giving up a warm cup at the end of the day. The leaf carries vitamins C and K, iron, and ellagic acid, several of which act as antioxidants. Raspberry leaf tea has long been drunk by expecting mothers in the third trimester for its reported ability to help bring on labour, and strawberry leaf sometimes gets grouped with it for the same use — but the evidence is thin either way, for that and for any claim about boosting milk supply in nursing women, so caution is warranted on both counts.
Steep it in a filter or infuser with freshly boiled water for around 7 to 8 minutes. It's good on its own, though a spoon of honey or a squeeze of lemon suits it if you want something rounder. Expect a cup that leans fruity and floral, with strawberry and raspberry notes threading through the grass and herbs, and honey or lemon working well as an accent rather than a mask.