Star anise
Illicium verum
Dried fruit · warming · aromatic
One star that perfumes a whole pot of broth or tea.
In the mouth
How it tastes
Strong licorice, sweet and piercing. One star is a pot.
Traditional use
A single point of a star in pho or mulled wine is the kitchen dose. Folk use leaned on it for a cold cough and a windy belly, close cousin to fennel and anise seed.
In the cup
One whole star in a pot, simmered 10 minutes, then removed. Beautiful in chai or pear compote.
Blood
Sweet blood · sweet
Sweet first warms, then cools, and it softens. It is relaxing — the reason sugar went into cough syrups — nutritive, building, and hormonally active. Sweet herbs feed the brain and nerves, nourish spleen and pancreas, and coat dry tissue. They cleanse by moving blood toward the organs that wash it.
Read sweet bloodReached for
The promise
A careful hand
Some people, or a long pot, need extra care.
Only Chinese star anise (Illicium verum). Japanese star anise is toxic. Buy from a culinary spice source.
Read the whole promiseSits well with
Cinnamon
Cinnamomum verum
Bark that smells like a warmed cupboard and acts like a slow fire.
Indigestion · Chill & congestion · Cold hands & sluggish blood
Warm, move, and stimulate
Ginger
Zingiber officinale
The stillroom’s first answer to a cold belly or a coming chill.
Nausea · Indigestion · Chill & congestion
Warm, move, and stimulate
Fennel
Foeniculum vulgare
The after-dinner seed that lets wind leave quietly.
Bloating · Indigestion · Nausea
Ground, build, and settle
Traditional kitchen and folk use only. This is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you are pregnant, nursing, on medicine, or unwell, ask a clinician before drinking anything as a remedy.