As I write this blog I am on day 8 of my spring cleanse. One of the staples of the cleanse, kitchari aside, is CCF tea.

CCF is short for Cumin, Coriander and Fennel. Since the first round of Ayurveda school back in 2012, I’ve been hearing about the great benefits of CCF tea. For this cleanse I decided to drink CCF tea each day – sipping it after breakfast. It is subtle, tasty and has been wonderfully soothing.

Ayurveda is really big on what I call “kitchen medicine” – using the foods from our kitchens in a way to promote health and healing. CCF tea is huge medicine! Let’s dive a little deeper into why…

Cumin – also known as Cuminum cyminum-semen (unbeliferae):

·      – Enkindles digestion – great for digestive sluggishness

·      – Digests toxins – helpful when cleansing or after questionable food

·      – Encourages the flow of vata downward, which reduces bloating and nausea

·      – Alleviates intestinal spasms

·      – Clears excess mucus from the large intestine, lungs and head

Coriander – also known as Coriandrum sativum-folium/semen (umbelliferae):

·      – Stimulates appetite

·      – Promotes digestion and enkindles agni (digestive fire) without aggravating acidity

·      – Digests toxins

·      – Alleviates intestinal spasms, burning in the body, hot skin, thirst

·      – Worm killer

·      – Lifts the spirits J

Fennel – also known as Foeniculum vulgare-fructus (umbelliferae):

·      – Enkindles the digestive fire (agni)

·      – Alleviates intestinal spasms

·      – Encourages the flow of vata downward, which reduces bloating and nausea

·      – Anti-emetic, meaning reduces vomiting

·      – Helpful to reduce nervous tension in the muscles

How to prepare CCF tea

In a clean container, mix 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and fennel seeds. Now you have your mixture. It’s super simple and there’s no grinding required – the whole seed works beautifully.

To make the tea itself, I use ½ teaspoon of the seed mixture and put it in my Davids Tea mug (cause it has the loose leaf built in strainer), then add boiling water. Let it steep for 5 to 15 minutes. Then sip and enjoy!

Simple, nourishing, and helpful. Go Ayurveda!!!

Have a great day everyone, enjoy a cup of tea today

Om shanti & prema (universal peace and love),

m xo

Ps. One of the reasons I love eating at Indian restaurants is that they have a small bowl of “seeds” that you can chew on as you leave to help you digest your meal… guess which seeds they are?