Char Siu Chicken Kebab

Warm and sweet, with a spicy kick and notes of a licorice-like flavor that’s similar to clove. Frequently thought of as a sweet spice, it also heightens savory flavor.

The star-shaped piece of star anise is an outer lining meant to protect seeds. Interestingly enough, star anise’s flavor comes only from this outer layer, not the seeds themselves!

Strong, bitter, and yet somehow sweet, pungent Clove is the foundation of common warming spice blends, like pumpkin pie spice and speculoos spice blends.

Cloves are so flavorful that they changed the course of human history. Native to a small band of islands in Indonesia, cloves were a driving force in fueling the expeditions that lead to colonization.

Savory and nutty, with notes of licorice and ginger. It’s one of the most important spices in Kashmiri Pandit and Gujarati cooking, and a key ingredient in Chinese Five-Spice.

During the Middle Ages, fennel was hung over doorways to repel evil spirits. It’s also one of the main herbs used to make absinthe—an alcoholic beverage that some have considered an “evil” spirit.

An unmistakable, dry, lemony flavor tingles and leaves a mild and pleasant numbness in the mouth. Sichuan Pepper isn’t truly “pepper,” but that doesn’t mean it won’t bite!

Sichuan pepper shares a close botanical relationship with many species of bonsai tree. Unlike peppercorns, it’s made from the seed husks of several species of closely related prickly shrubs.

White Pepper has the same spicy, peppery taste, but milder and with a slight sweetness. A stronger dose of citrusy flavor keeps it bright.

White pepper and black pepper come from the same berry, harvested at the same time! While black pepper is laid out to dry in the sun, white pepper is soaked and skinned immediately after harvest.