Sage tea is the most widely recommended tea for reducing breast milk supply, followed by peppermint tea. Both have a long history of use among breastfeeding mothers during weaning, though it’s worth knowing upfront that neither has been proven effective in clinical trials on humans. That doesn’t mean they don’t work for some people, but the evidence behind them is traditional and anecdotal rather than scientific.
Sage Tea for Drying Up Milk
Sage (Salvia officinalis) is the herb most commonly associated with lactation suppression. Lactation consultants and midwives frequently suggest it for mothers who are weaning or dealing with oversupply. The typical recommendation is one to three cups of sage tea per day, made by steeping about one teaspoon of dried sage leaves in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes.
Sage contains natural plant compounds that are thought to have a mild estrogen-like effect in the body. Since estrogen can interfere with prolactin, the hormone responsible for milk production, this is the proposed mechanism behind sage’s reputation. However, the National Institutes of Health’s LactMed database notes that no scientific studies have actually evaluated sage’s effect on milk supply. Its use is based entirely on traditional practice.
If you try sage tea, expect a strong, slightly bitter, earthy flavor. Many women mix it with honey or lemon to make it more palatable. Sage is also available in capsule form, sometimes combined with parsley, though capsules carry the same lack of clinical evidence as the tea.
Peppermint Tea as an Alternative
Peppermint is the second most popular tea choice for reducing milk supply. Interestingly, some cultures use mint for the opposite purpose: mothers in Turkey reportedly drink it to increase milk production and improve milk flavor. This contradiction highlights how uncertain the evidence really is.
Lab studies show that menthol, peppermint’s active compound, can suppress milk production in cell cultures and in mice at high doses. But no clinical trials have confirmed this works in humans, and researchers aren’t sure whether a typical cup of peppermint tea delivers enough menthol to have any real effect on lactation. Concentrated peppermint oil is sometimes suggested as a stronger option, but it carries a higher risk of stomach upset.
For mothers who simply enjoy peppermint tea and are already in the process of weaning, drinking a few cups a day is unlikely to cause harm and may provide a small additional nudge. But it probably shouldn’t be your only strategy.
Parsley, Jasmine, and Other Herbs
Parsley tea appears in some lists of milk-suppressing herbs, and commercial supplements sometimes combine parsley with sage. The evidence here is even thinner than for sage alone. One study in Iran tested a proprietary herbal mixture containing parsley (along with fennel, anise, cumin, and black seed) and found no measurable difference in infant weight gain compared to placebo, suggesting the herbs had no meaningful effect on milk production in either direction.
Jasmine flowers have been used externally, applied directly to the breasts rather than consumed as tea, as a traditional method for suppressing lactation. A Cochrane review of lactation suppression treatments noted jasmine flower application as one of several non-drug approaches that have been tried, but found no trials comparing it to no treatment at all.
What Actually Works Faster
If you’re looking for something with measurable results, it helps to know what the research does support. A single 60-milligram dose of pseudoephedrine, the decongestant found in many cold medications, reduced milk production by an average of 24% over 24 hours in a small study of eight nursing mothers. Repeated use appears to further interfere with lactation. This is a significantly more concrete result than anything shown for herbal teas.
The most effective non-drug approaches remain the basics: avoid nursing or pumping (or gradually reduce sessions if weaning slowly), wear a firm and supportive bra, and apply cold compresses for comfort. A Cochrane systematic review found no evidence that any non-pharmacologic method, including herbal approaches, outperforms simply letting the body’s supply-and-demand system do its work. When you stop removing milk, your body gets the signal to stop making it.
A Realistic Timeline
No published research gives a specific timeline for how long herbal teas take to dry up milk, because no controlled studies have been done. What is well established is the general timeline for lactation suppression once you stop breastfeeding or pumping. Most women notice a significant drop in supply within three to five days of stopping milk removal entirely. Engorgement typically peaks around day three or four and then gradually subsides. Full suppression can take one to two weeks for some women, or several weeks for others, depending on how established the supply was.
Drinking sage or peppermint tea during this process is unlikely to cause problems and may provide some comfort, both physically and psychologically. But the heavy lifting is being done by the reduction in nursing or pumping, not by the tea itself.
Safety Considerations
Sage tea in moderate amounts (one to three cups daily) is generally considered safe for short-term use. Sage does contain thujone, a compound that can be toxic in very large quantities, but the levels present in brewed tea are far below any dangerous threshold. Sage essential oil is a different story and should not be ingested, as it contains much higher concentrations of thujone.
Peppermint tea is safe for most adults in normal amounts. Women with gastroesophageal reflux may find it worsens symptoms, since peppermint relaxes the valve between the stomach and esophagus. If you’re still partially breastfeeding and only trying to reduce oversupply rather than wean completely, be cautious with any of these approaches. You don’t want to drop your supply faster than intended, especially if your baby still depends on breast milk for nutrition.