Burdock vs Dandelion: What's the Difference, and Which Should You Drink?

By Suhail Rivera, founder of Alkaline Herb Shop

Burdock and dandelion root get mentioned in the same breath, and for good reason. They are both roots, both in the daisy family, both brewed as bitter caffeine free teas, and in Britain they were combined into a single old soft drink called dandelion and burdock. But they are different plants with different flavours, and if you are choosing one, the difference is easy to sum up: dandelion is the bitter, coffee like one, and burdock is the milder, earthier, slightly sweet one. Here is the fuller comparison.

The quick answer

If you want a bold, bitter cup that stands in for coffee, choose dandelion root. If you want something gentler and earthier that is easy to drink on its own, choose burdock. If you cannot decide, they were made to go together.

How they taste

This is the biggest difference. Dandelion root is properly bitter, in a coffee direction, and it is often toasted and drunk as a coffee alternative. Burdock is far milder, earthy and lightly sweet, closer to a root vegetable than to a bitter. People who find dandelion too sharp usually get on with burdock. Both are caffeine free.

What they are

Dandelion is Taraxacum officinale, the bright yellow flower that comes up through every lawn, called diente de leon in Spanish. Burdock is Arctium lappa, a tall plant whose root is an everyday vegetable in Japan, where it is called gobo. Both are in the daisy family, Asteraceae, and it is the root of each that is dried and brewed.

How you brew them

Both are roots, so both give their best over a simmer rather than a quick steep. For dandelion, use 1 to 2 tablespoons of loose root per cup and simmer about 15 minutes, or brew a tea bag for 5 to 7 minutes. For burdock, use 1 to 2 teaspoons per cup, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes. Dandelion takes especially well to toasting the root first for a coffee style cup. The full method for each is in our guides to making dandelion root tea and making burdock root tea.

Dandelion and burdock together

The two are a classic pairing. Dandelion and burdock was a fermented soft drink in Britain for centuries, and the roots still work well brewed together: dandelion brings the bitterness and burdock rounds it out. Simmer a tablespoon of each in a couple of cups of water, strain, and sweeten if you like.

Which should you buy?

Choose dandelion root for a bitter, coffee leaning cup, available as loose root or as pre portioned tea bags. Choose burdock root for a milder, earthier, lightly sweet cup, as loose root or as capsules. Both are single ingredient, organic or wildcrafted, with nothing added. And there is nothing stopping you keeping both and blending them.

One safety note for both

Because burdock and dandelion are both in the daisy family, the same caution applies to each. If you are allergic to ragweed, chrysanthemum, marigold or other daisy family plants, you may react to them. Neither is recommended during pregnancy or nursing, or for anyone under 18, and if you have a medical condition or take prescription medicine, speak to your doctor first.

Suhail Rivera is the founder of Alkaline Herb Shop, which sources and sells the burdock and dandelion root described in this article.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.