Tasting Notes
Elegant and smooth with a unique sweetness and a bright aroma. A vivacious anise flavour with notes of citrus. The mouth feel is soft and round and there isn’t the least trace of bitterness.
Quantity
Use 0.1 oz of leaf per 5.5 fl oz of water (1g per 150ml).
Temperature
For the optimum infusion use 212°F (100°C) water.
Time
Infuse for 2 minutes, tasting regularly to find your optimum time.
Infusions
You can infuse these leaves at least twice. With each careful infusion, different subtleties of flavour are revealed.
Cost Per Cup
$2.40 per cup based on 0.1 oz of leaf per 5.5 fl oz of water and 2 infusions.
History
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) is documented richly throughout history – Pliny (AD 23-79) thought it so powerful that he used it to treat a huge variety of different ailments.
A physician from the thirteenth century noted "he who sees fennel and gathers it not, is not a man but a devil".
Fennel is used extensively as a medicinal plant. Taken as tea, this ancient remedy has been used as an appetite suppressant, to aid digestion, treat heartburn, bloating and to help you sleep or as a simple tool to freshen your breath.
Pollinators
Fennel flowers produce huge amounts of nectar (adding to its sweet taste) – and are a favourite food source for bees and other pollinators that are attracted to its umbels as they are so easy to land on and collect nectar.
Ferran is a humble man. He happily spends his days quietly growing organic fruits, vegetables, and flowers, supplying his bounty to the local community through his small farm shop.
People began coming from far and wide for his outstanding produce.
Word spread further afield, and it wasn’t long before the chefs at Mugaritz (currently no.7 on Worlds 50 best restaurants) went to visit- and they introduced us.
At Rare Tea we are constantly searching for new terroirs, new flavours and new adventures. What Ferran was doing ticked all these boxes, and Henrietta went to visit to ask if we could collaborate – lucky for us, Ferran said yes.
Like many of the farmers we are fortunate to partner with, Ferran quickly became a friend. Back in 2018 he was in London and joined us for our Rare Tea Christmas Party!
