Anise Tea

Sweet and scented, Anise Tea can help you deal with many problems with your digestion. You’ve probably tasted it in bread and cookies. However, don’t confuse it with Star Anise. Take a moment to find out why and look deeper at this cleansing tea.

This tea is made from the seeds and leaves of the anise plant (pimpinella anisum), also called anís, aniseed or sweet cumin. This herb comes from the Middle East that spread to the Mediterranean, being brought to Spain by the Arabs.

The plant can reach a height of 50 to 80 cm and has tiny white flowers. It has a sweet and very aromatic flavor that will remind you of licorice, fennel and tarragon. This makes it a wonderful spice you can use to make yourself a cup of tea and many other things.

The Benefits of Anise Tea are as follows:

• Helps with stomach complaints as well as lack of appetite.


• It can be used as a tonic to clear your stomach and intestines.


• Reduces colic and flatulence and you can give it to children for this purpose.


• It can help you relieve a toothache.


• Steeped in water, anise can be used as a natural mouthwash.


• This tea can be good for cleaning your respiratory system, aiding in such cases as asthma, bronchitis, colds, pneumonia and sinusitis.


• Lactating mothers can take it to increase breast milk and to stop breast hardening.


• May be used as a mild antiparasitic.

Please don’t drink this infusion during a pregnancy. Always consult with your doctor first. It may also cause some skin allergic reaction.
Above all, please don’t confuse this herb with Star Anise. Despite the similar name and sweetness, it comes from a different plant altogether. It does have more serious counter-indications and is potentially toxic.

Anise itself is used for several purposes such as baking cookies and bread in some parts of Europe and the Middle East. It is used to flavor some alcoholic drinks such as Absinthe and Anisette. In India, people use this spice to flavor curry and seafood.

The oil from Anise extract is used for making toothpaste, chewing gum, cough syrups and soap.

Because this tea helps with several problems, there is more than one recommended way for you to take it. Here we leave you with a suggestion for dealing with colic and flatulence: take this infusion about 10 minutes before a big meal, this will help with the digestion.

Here’s a nice and sweet tip: you can sweeten your tea with honey, to heighten its flavor.

Return from Anise Tea to Herbal Teas

Return to The Right Tea Homepage

”While there's tea there's hope.” - Sir Arthur Wing Pinero (1855-1934), British actor