Star Anise Tea: How to Brew It Without Bitterness

To make star anise tea without bitterness, use one whole star for two cups of water, pour the water on once it boils, cover and steep off the heat for 7 to 10 minutes, then remove the star. Boiling it hard or using several stars is what makes it taste medicinal. Use only culinary star anise, and never give it to babies or young children.

Simple star anise tea

Ingredients (2 cups)

• 2 cups (about 400 ml) water
• 1 whole star anise (2 for a stronger cup)
• Honey or a little jaggery, optional

Method

1. Bring the water to a boil and turn off the heat.
2. Add the star anise, cover the pan, and steep for 7 to 10 minutes.
3. Lift out the star. Taste after 7 minutes, as it gets stronger the longer it sits.
4. Let it cool for a minute and stir in honey if you like.

Steeping off the heat, rather than boiling, keeps the flavour sweet and rounded. Boiling pulls out more of the harsh, bitter notes.

Star anise with black tea

1. Steep 1 star anise in 2 cups of just-boiled water for 5 minutes, covered.
2. Add 1 teaspoon of black tea and steep for 2 to 3 minutes more.
3. Strain, and add milk and sugar if you like.

With milk, the star anise works like a gentle chai spice. Add one crushed cardamom pod along with it for a more familiar cup.

What pairs well with star anise?

For other ways to use the spice in cooking, see how to use star anise.

Getting it wrong

• Boiling the star in the pan for 10 minutes. Steep instead.
• Using three or four stars. One is plenty for two cups. More doesn't taste better, only harsher.
• Leaving the star in the pot for hours. Remove it after steeping.
• Confusing it with anise seed. They taste similar but are different plants. Our post on star anise vs anise seed explains the difference.

Is star anise tea safe to drink?

Culinary star anise (Chinese star anise, Illicium verum) is used widely in cooking. The concern is its close relative, Japanese star anise (Illicium anisatum), which is toxic, looks almost identical, and has been found mixed into star anise sold for tea.

In 2003 the US Food and Drug Administration reported that brewed teas containing star anise had been linked to illnesses in about 40 people, including around 15 infants, with effects ranging from vomiting and jitteriness to seizures. It advised people not to drink teas brewed from star anise while it looked into the problem.

So keep these precautions:

• Never give star anise tea to babies or young children.
• Buy only culinary star anise from a food seller you trust, clearly sold for cooking, not decorative or craft use.
• Keep it occasional. An adult cup now and then is very different from drinking it daily.
• Check with a doctor first if you're pregnant or breastfeeding, have a health condition, or take regular medication.

Star anise is traditionally used in home remedies for digestion and coughs, but it isn't a treatment. For more on its uses and side effects, read star anise benefits and side effects.

How to choose good star anise

• Whole, mostly unbroken stars, usually with eight points, reddish-brown in colour.
• A strong, sweet, liquorice smell when you snap off a point.
• Clearly labelled for culinary use, from a seller who can tell you what it is.

Our whole star anise is sold for cooking and packed whole, so you can see every star before you use it.

Sources

• US FDA: 2003 enforcement story archive, star anise tea advisory
• AAP News: FDA issues advisory on star anise teas