The short answer is that peppermint tea has not been shown to lower testosterone in humans. The tea you’re actually looking for is spearmint tea, a closely related but distinct plant. The two are often confused because they’re both in the mint family, but the clinical research on testosterone reduction has been done almost exclusively with spearmint (Mentha spicata), not peppermint (Mentha piperita). This distinction matters if you’re drinking mint tea specifically to manage androgen levels.
Spearmint, Not Peppermint, Has the Evidence
Peppermint and spearmint are both members of the Mentha genus, and early animal studies found that both plants had some anti-androgenic activity in rats. That’s likely where the confusion started. But when researchers moved to human trials, they used spearmint tea, and the results were specific to that plant.
In a 2007 pilot study on women with excess facial and body hair (hirsutism), participants drank one cup of spearmint tea twice daily for five days during a specific phase of their menstrual cycle. Free testosterone dropped significantly, while luteinizing hormone and estradiol increased. A larger 2010 randomized controlled trial in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) confirmed these findings over 30 days: both free and total testosterone levels were significantly reduced in the spearmint tea group compared to placebo.
No equivalent human trials exist for peppermint tea. If you’ve been drinking peppermint tea hoping to lower testosterone, you may want to switch to spearmint.
How Spearmint Affects Hormone Production
Animal research has mapped out a plausible biological pathway. In rats, spearmint extract appears to cause oxidative stress in the part of the brain that regulates reproductive hormones (the hypothalamus). This reduces the brain’s signaling to the testes or ovaries, lowering the hormones that tell the body to produce testosterone. At the same time, spearmint reduced the activity of key enzymes involved in building testosterone from cholesterol, essentially slowing down multiple steps in the production chain.
It’s worth noting that these mechanistic studies used rats, often at higher doses than what you’d get from a cup of tea. The human trials confirmed that testosterone does drop in women drinking spearmint tea, but the exact pathway in humans hasn’t been mapped with the same precision.
What the Studies Actually Measured
Both human trials focused on women with elevated androgen levels, either from PCOS or unexplained hirsutism. The 30-day trial found statistically significant reductions in both free testosterone (the biologically active form) and total testosterone. However, the studies were small and relatively short. The researchers noted that while hormone levels changed within 30 days, objective measures of hair growth did not change meaningfully in that timeframe, likely because hair growth cycles take months to respond to hormonal shifts.
The typical protocol in these studies was two cups of spearmint tea per day, brewed from dried spearmint leaves steeped in hot water. That’s a reasonable, easily replicated amount.
Who This Applies To
All the human evidence comes from women with androgen-related conditions like PCOS or hirsutism. There are no published human trials testing spearmint tea’s effect on testosterone in men or in women with normal hormone levels. The animal research does suggest broader anti-androgenic effects, but it’s impossible to know from current data whether the same tea-drinking habit would meaningfully shift testosterone in someone whose levels are already in a normal range.
For women with PCOS or mild hirsutism, the 2007 study’s authors suggested spearmint tea could serve as a gentle, natural complement to other treatments. Two cups a day is easy to maintain and carries minimal risk for most people. But if you’re dealing with significant hormonal symptoms, tea alone is unlikely to replace more targeted approaches.
How to Tell Spearmint and Peppermint Apart
At the grocery store, the labels will usually say “peppermint” or “spearmint” clearly. If you’re buying loose leaf, look for Mentha spicata (spearmint) rather than Mentha piperita (peppermint). Spearmint has a sweeter, milder flavor. Peppermint tastes sharper and more cooling because of its higher menthol content. Many generic “mint teas” are peppermint-based, so check the ingredients if testosterone is the reason you’re reaching for a mint tea in the first place.