# Fennel Seed Tea

> Whole fennel seeds from Gujarat, sun-dried on open threshing floors: crush a spoonful, steep it long, and sip a licorice-sweet cup with a clean aniseed finish after supper.

Price: 11.00 USD · in stock

## About
Supper is over, the plates are stacked, and the kettle goes on one more time. Fennel seed has been chewed and brewed at the close of a meal across cultures from the Mediterranean to South Asia for a very long time, a plain, old habit that has earned its place in the cupboard.These are ridged, pale-green seeds, oval and faintly striped, with an aroma somewhere between licorice and fresh hay. Crush a few between your fingers and the scent sharpens: sweet, warm, faintly medicinal in the way good herbs often are. Steeped, they turn the water the color of weak straw and leave a clean, aniseed finish.DetailsWhole fennel seed, grown in Gujarat, IndiaSun-dried on open threshing floors in the old wayHand-sieved to remove stems and chaffKept whole, since fennel's volatile oils begin to fade the moment the seed is crackedHow to useCrush a teaspoon lightly with the back of a spoon to open the seed, then steep in just-boiled water for eight to ten minutes: fennel wants time to give up its oil. Drink it warm after a heavy dinner, and keep a jar by the stove for whenever the meal runs long.A plain, patient cup for the end of the day.