Fennel tea: 9 tips to make yourself

Fennel tea is said to have many good properties and has long been a very popular home remedy, to treat colds and complaints in the digestive tract gently and purely herbal or to support them treat. In addition, it is very easy to make the tea from fresh fennel yourself and even to grow the vegetable fennel yourself. We help with tips and recipes.

Effect

The supposed effect of fennel tea is supposed to loosen mucus in the bronchi and the rest of the airways, calm the stomach and relieve flatulence. Therefore, the tea is already given to infants when they suffer from flatulence or colic. However, it is also diuretic and gently laxative. Therefore, large amounts of the tea should not be drunk.

Instructions for fennel tea

If you want to make the fennel tea yourself, you need the fennel seeds or fennel fruits. Because these contain the essential oils and secondary plant substances, such as fenchone and trans-anethole. In addition, the seeds contain sterols, phenolic acids, flavonoids and coumarins.

However, tea cannot be brewed from leaves. But they contain vitamins and minerals, secondary plant substances and dietary fiber just like the tuber.

If you don't have fennel on the balcony or in the garden, you can buy the seeds online or in stationary stores to make your own tea. The following utensils are required for this:

• mortar and pestle
• tea strainer
• pot or cup
• tablespoon

The preparation proceeds as follows:

1. Thoroughly crush one tablespoon of fennel seeds per cup in a mortar and pestle. The seeds should no longer be recognizable as fennel fruits. The finer they are ground, the more essential oils are released.
2. The crushed fennel seeds are placed in a tea strainer and poured over with boiling water. 250 milliliters of water should be calculated per cup.
3. After a brewing time of seven to ten minutes, the tea strainer can be removed.

Fennel tea for babies and children

Babies and toddlers can also get the tea to prevent or gently relieve flatulence and colic. However, care must be taken not to give too much tea. From the first day of life to the 6th month it should not be more than 50 milliliters per day. The tea is diluted and of course must not be too hot.

Grow fennel yourself

Although tea cannot be made from the leaves of the fennel, more than one recipe can be prepared from fresh fennel. It is particularly practical to grow the vegetable fennel yourself. This is also possible on the balcony or in the garden.

You should only pay attention to the following points:

1. Fennel seeds are grown indoors or in a greenhouse from mid-March. They should be placed in potting soil and placed in a bright spot. The substrate must always be kept slightly moist, but should not be wet. A germination temperature of around 18 to 22°C is ideal.
2. After about three weeks, the seeds should have germinated and the shoots should already be a few centimeters high. When they are about five centimeters high, they are pricked out. This means that the plants from the cultivation container are placed in larger pots, boxes or buckets and should be about 30 centimeters apart. Germs that are too weak can be removed in the process. In addition, potting soil or another nutrient-rich substrate should be used. For example, potting soil with a compost content is recommended.
3. After another three weeks at around 20 °C, it can be planted outdoors or placed outside in the planters. Covering with garden fleece makes sense until there is no threat of late frost. The location should be sunny, warm and sheltered, as fennel originally comes from the Mediterranean region.
4. The bulbs and seeds for the tea can be harvested between September and October. Tubers harvested later often become tough, dry and bitter.
   The fennel seeds should be kept dry and cool so that they can last for a few months. They should also be checked from time to time so that mold growth is detected at an early stage.

Learn more about processing garden vegetables