Any tips on brewing fennel tea?
#35540 - 01/06/04 03:01 PM
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I just purchased Heather's fennel Tummy Tea - however, when I made it, it took me 3 hours to drink it because the seeds were all floating on top and made it difficult to drink. If I'm missing something really obvious as far as correct preparation, could someone please help me out?
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Mash It All Down
#35549 - 01/06/04 03:31 PM
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Bevvy
Reged: 11/04/03
Posts: 5918
Loc: Northwest Washington State
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I recall Heather mentioning using a mortar and pestle (pestal?) -- you know that little ceramic mashing thingymabob -- to make it all mashed down, getting the full benefit of the fennel.
Do a search -- you'll find a lot of stuff in here about brewing the fennel. I hate the stuff -- the taste really does me in -- so I buy "Tummy Mint" in the tea bags of fennel and peppermint -- no brewing needed! -- it's not as intense and doesn't work as well as what you've got going there, but I don't need no mortar and pestill!!! 
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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Pretend the fennel seeds are loose leaf tea. Brew them in any kind of big tea ball or mesh strainer just like you would brew loose tea. You don't have to crush them with a mortar and pestle - that just makes the tea a little stronger. But even if you crush the seeds, you still need to put them in a strainer to brew them. No need to have loose seeds floating around - yuck!
And for Bev...you can mix the fennel and peppermint together in a strainer, then brew. That really helps hide the fennel taste if you don't like it. If you brew with loose teas, the results will be MUCH stronger than brewing from tea bags, because you're starting with a larger leaf, higher volatile oil herb. Stronger tea means more effective results for IBS symptoms!
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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LOL...thanks, Heather! It should have been obvious to me, I know, but I've never brewed tea in any form other than teabags before, so I'm still pretty dumb when it comes to this stuff. I'll get a tea strainer today....that tea was pretty crunchy, otherwise, LOL. 
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Bev - thanks for the info. I'm going to get a mortar and pestle anyway (I can use it for other things as well as the tea).... I know what you mean about the taste - my husband wanted to try the tea, took one sip, and went to pour it out. I ended up drinking it because I didn't want to waste it, but as I'd mentioned earlier it took me forever to drink it (I'm such a dork). Thanks for the Mint/Fennel tea combo idea as well. That might be a little more palatable, lol.
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Hi there, I also found that using a coffee filter and a twistie or twist tie to close it up (with tea inside) worked great with loose tea. The little makeshift tea strainer just floats in your cup as you brew it. I found some tea strainers to leak the leaves out too much and this has been very cheap to do. I pack some to take with me so I can brew tea like this at work.
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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I FIND THIS INTERESTING ABOUT THE TEA. I HAVE JUST ORDERED YOUR BOOK, THE TEA AND PEPPERMINT SUPPLEMENT. I AM NEW TO ALL THIS. I HAVE BEEN EVERYWHERE TO TRY AND CORRECT MY PROBLEM BUT TO NO AVAIL. I HAVE SCOPES, COLONOSCOPIES, ETC., ETC., I HAVE THE PAIN, BUT I HAVE EXTREME THROWING UP AT ANY TIME OF THE DAY OR NIGHT. IT JUST HITS ME AND THEN I GET PAIN. I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO READING YOUR BOOK, HEATHER, AND TRYING ALL THE THINGS YOU RECOMMEND AS I HAVE LIVED AN ALTERED LIFE AND ALMOST SCARED TO GO ANYWHERE, DUE TO THE GETTING SO SICK AT INOPPORTUNE TIMES. GRADY 
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WELCOME GRADY!
#35769 - 01/07/04 06:37 PM
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Bevvy
Reged: 11/04/03
Posts: 5918
Loc: Northwest Washington State
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First of all, welcome to the boards, Grady. You'll get a lot of help and support here. I don't understand what you mean, you "have been everywhere to try to correct [your] problem?" I assume you mean to a GI and had the colonoscopy, etc.? What were the results?
Have you begun changing your diet yet? Are you taking any supplements? Have you cut out coffee, alcohol, dairy, red meat? Are you eating insolubles without having the soluble first?
The guidelines in Heather's book are right on -- once you begin following them you should start feeling better very soon. And the help you will get here will be invaluable, Grady, so don't despair. I started feeling much better once I stuck STRICTLY to the program. Read Heather's book tonight -- you'll feel better in the morning!
Bev
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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Thanks for all the info - I have just bought Heather's book, the tea and the peppermint supplement. So I am just getting started. I have had the colonoscopies, the light down in my tummy, barium enemas. They have treated me with zelnorm which did not work. I stay pretty stressed - I never relax much, and when I eat, I eat fast, as I have always had to. I am 67 and have this since I was 15. But for the past few years I have gotten much worse. I have a lot of projectile vomiting with mine and have dehydrated. I am looking for all kinds of help. grady
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Hi Grady - Extreme throwing up is definitely not a hallmark of IBS. It's possible for people to vomit from a bad attack, usually as a result and nausea and severe pain. But if you just suddenly vomit any time of the day or night, this would point to something other than IBS.
- Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Help for Grady
#35778 - 01/07/04 07:02 PM
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Bevvy
Reged: 11/04/03
Posts: 5918
Loc: Northwest Washington State
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Grady, you're 67, have had this since you were 15 -- but you're just getting started? How have you been treating it for the past 52 years? WOW!
Are you eating large meals? They're murder on the tummy! We eat very little meals, keeping something in our tummies -- soluble fiber. Are you concentrating on WHAT you're eating? And eating fast too, eh? Hmmm..... Dehydrated too? Are you drinking any water? We drink a LOT of water -- you have to with the fiber -- it's really important to keep yourself hydrated. ARE you taking any fiber? If so, how much? What kind?
That stress is mean stuff, you have to do something about it. Is it your job? You have to find a way to "chill out" -- take breaks, go for walks, take that lunch hour.
Are you getting exercise? Do you meditate? Do you do yoga? All this really helps. Exercise is crucial. Relaxing is VERY important. Have you considered hypnosis? There's a terrific hypnosis program here -- I'm doing it, and it's helping me IMMENSELY -- check out the hypnosis board and read what others think of it.
We're gonna help you, Grady. But get that water in you, okay?
Everyone -- any suggestions for Grady?
Bev
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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That's a great idea! Thanks for the info.
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Sampietro2003 I'm so glad you said you have never
brewed tea before. I have never done it either and
have been waiting for someone to post how to do it.
I guess you buy something and put the fennel in it
and then what...put in water and wait for awhile?
I feel so dumb but hey I usually can find what
I want in a tea bag. I guess I have to find out
what these tea balls are called and go to cooking.com
and order one. 
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A Safe Place
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Hi, i know you posted this a long time ago, but I was just doing a search for fennel. I just want to say that is a very smart idea. I buy loose tea and seeds to brew at home but spend way too much money on tea bags to bring to work (not convenient to brew tea at work). But I did the coffee filter thing with a twist tie and it worked great! Now I can save my money (those boxed teas/teabags are so expensive, and they are not even potent enough anyway!)cheers
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I'm glad I'm not the only one, LOL. Just FYI, I've heard the "tea balls" don't work as well as, say, a tea strainer. Speaking of tea strainers (and I swear I must be brain-dead) - I'm still not sure exactly how to use one and am afraid to ask...
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it's no harder than using a tea bag. Once you have the fennel in your tea ball or strainer, just put it in your cup, add the boiling water, and let it steep for several minutes. Taste to see if it's strong enough. You can treat the tea ball just like a tea bag - the only difference is that the ball is metal and re-useable while the tea bag you'd use once and throw out. They're really both just little flow-through containers for the tea inside.
You can also find tea pots that have strainers built in, so you can brew a whole pot with the loose fennel, then as you pour out an individual cup the lid of the pot will keep the loose fennel in the pot, so you just get brewed tea in your cup.
No fear - it's pretty hard to mess this up! The only thing you don't want to do is actually boil the fennel (or any other herbs or teas). This will destroy the volatile oils. Other than that, any way you brew it will work.
- Heather
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Tea balls are metal mesh, and they completely enclose the tea, so you can dunk the whole ball under water in your cup. Some tea strainers are like a mesh cup, with an open top. You put them in your tea cup, add the boiling water, and just lift the strainer out when you're done. You can often add more tea to an open strainer than a tea ball, as the strainers are bigger.
Or try something like the Bodrum tea press. Shell Marr has posted a lot about those - she has one and loves it. That's like a tea pot with a strainer built in.
Have no fear - you can't really make a mistake here.
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Heather - I still don't understand, I guess. If the seeds are submerged, then won't they float out of the strainer? And if they're not submerged, how do they steep? Also, if boiling them is bad, then how does pouring boiling water over them not hurt the seeds?
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Hi - the tea strainers are pretty tall (almost as tall as your tea cup), so you can pour the water into the strainer in the cup and the water level will be beneath the top of the strainer. So the tea will brew, but the seeds won't float out of the strainer. They'll be under water and steeping just fine, but they'll stay in the strainer unless you pour in so much water that you overflow the strainer itself.
Pouring boiling water over the tea/fennel isn't the same as actually bringing a pot of water to boil, adding the tea/fennel, and continuing to boil it. The heat from the water is what will release the volatile oils - so that's why adding boiling water to your cup is what you want. But if you kept the fennel (or any other herbal tea) in a pot of water and just kept the whole thing boiling, that prolonged heat would dissipate all of the volatile oils and you'd lose the benefits.
I actually only mention the non-boiling thing because someone had written to me to say they were bringing a saucepan to boil on the stove, adding the fennel, and letting the whole pot boil away. Just think of the fennel seeds as a tea bag. You wouldn't brew tea by boiling a tea bag in a pot of water - you'd just pour boiling water over it into a cup. Same thing with the fennel, or any loose herbs. You don't want to COOK them - you just want to brew them.
Does that help?
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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Ahhhh....that helps tons, actually. I swear I was NOT playing games with that question...I'd just never brewed "loose" tea before I got the fennel seeds (thus the crunch fennel tea, lol). Thank you, Heather, for being patient with me!
I also just bought your Acacia fiber today, too - can't wait for it to get here!
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All this talk about tea strainers reminded me of my friend who drank a lot of tea (back in my coffee-drinking days). She fascinated me with this wonderful little basket-like strainer thingymabob. It was deep, so the basket went all the way to the bottom of the cup, and the bulk tea went inside the basket; she poured boiling water over the entire thing, then lifted the basket out of the cup. There was no way any solid particles could get through that basket -- and, bingo bango she had perfect tea!
As I recall, she got that little contraption at either Cost Plus or Pier I Imports. Think I'll haveta check them out......
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
Edited by Bevrs (01/09/04 01:02 PM)
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Pier 1? I'm there....LOVE that store and now have an excuse to go. Thanks, Bev!
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I for one am so glad you brought this up. Now I can
look for the tea ball and finally order some
fennel tea. Thanks for being the brave one!
val....
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A Safe Place
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