What does Chinese Five Spice taste like?

What does Chinese Five Spice taste like?

Chinese Five Spice 五香粉 - the principal spice blend used in Chinese cooking - has a warm, sweet, and aromatic flavor.  The blend generally consists of five spices - star anise, fennel, cinnamon (cassia), Sichuan pepper, and clove.  The blend should be balanced, but many versions are dominated by the flavor of licorice because of the heavy handed use of star anise and fennel.

Unlike versions commonly found in the US, we make our two Chinese Five Spice Powders (Sichuan style & Penang style) by slowly adding in the star anise and fennel as not to overpower the blend with the taste of licorice.

What does Chinese Five Spice taste like?

That depends on the version.  The classic Sichuan-style Chinese Five Spice has the basic five spices, while other versions, such as our special Penang-style Chinese Five - inspired by the famous “Mixed Spices Powder” from Penang, Malaysia - has additional spices, most notably citrus powder, cardamom, and nutmeg.

To find out the taste of Chinese Five Spice, try one of our two handcrafted versions