New harvest of star anise

Early last December, our project leader in Lang Son (Vietnam) shipped a new harvest of star anise to the Netherlands. This star anise grows on large trees that are many years old. When harvested, the star anise fruits are green.

During the subsequent drying process, the fruits turn brown and acquire the well-known star anise shape. The star anise we buy in Vietnam is manually selected after drying, which means that we only offer star anise that is whole and looks beautiful. The last star anise season was difficult. Once every 7 to 9 years the trees bear less fruit, which leads to a fairly poor harvest of star anise.
As star anise is also used in the production of the anti-flu drug Tamiflu, demand for star anise has risen dramatically due to the recent influenza epidemic. As a result of this strong demand and the poor harvest, the market for star anise is presently coping with a shortage. Thanks to our excellent co-operation with the farmers in Vietnam, we have managed to obtain a highly satisfactory delivery of star anise.