Every culture that ever figured out how to cook a good meal also worked out what to drink after it. Chinese households reached for pu-erh. Indian tables ended with fennel seeds. European herbalists reached for peppermint for digestive complaints long before any of these traditions compared notes. T2's digestion collection draws from all of them: different origins, different flavour profiles, the same instinct at the end of a meal.
Key ingredients
Pu-erh
Pu-erh is a post-fermented tea from Yunnan province, China. It undergoes microbial fermentation after drying, which gives it its characteristic earthy, woody, smoky depth. It has been consumed as an after-dinner tea in China for centuries, traditionally sipped to follow richer meals and documented in Chinese texts as far back as the Tang Dynasty. In T2's collection, pu-erh appears in The Belly Blend and as a standalone loose leaf cube for those who want to explore the base tea on its own terms.
Peppermint
A hybrid of watermint and spearmint, peppermint has been used in European folk herbalism as a post-meal herb since ancient Greece. Its active compound is menthol — the cool, clean component that gives peppermint its signature flavour — and it has a long tradition of after-meal use across European and Middle Eastern cultures. The after-dinner mint has much older roots than the chocolate-coated version. In T2's collection, peppermint is the key ingredient in Tummy Tea and Mint Mix, where its smooth, cooling character does most of the work.
Fennel
Native to the Mediterranean, fennel has been used as a post-meal herb across Italian, Indian, and Chinese folk traditions for centuries. In India, roasted fennel seeds (saunf) are a post-meal staple, offered at the end of restaurant meals across the subcontinent. In European herbalism, Dioscorides and Pliny both documented fennel as a digestive herb. Its flavour is sweet, gently anise-like, and mild, the same aromatic family as star anise and liquorice, thanks to the active compound anethole. T2 uses fennel as a key ingredient in Detox.
Chicory root
A member of the daisy family, chicory has been cultivated across Europe and North Africa for centuries, both as a leaf vegetable (the ancestor of modern endive) and for its root. Chicory root has long been used in European folk herbalism as a digestive bitter, and it became widely known as a coffee substitute and extender, particularly in French and Belgian cuisine and in the New Orleans-style coffee tradition. Its flavour is nutty, earthy, and robustly bitter, which is why it works so well alongside pu-erh in T2's The Belly Blend.
Ginger
One of the most widely documented post-meal herbs in the world, ginger has been used in Ayurvedic, Chinese, and Arabic medicine for more than 2,000 years. In Ayurveda, fresh ginger was consumed before and after meals to warm the digestive system. In Chinese medicine, it has been recorded as a stomach-warming herb since at least the 4th century BCE. Its flavour is warm, spicy, and fiery, and in T2's digestion range it comes through in Spi Chai, a spiced blend where ginger shares the cup with star anise and warming botanicals.
FAQ
What is the difference between Tummy Tea and The Belly Blend?
Tummy Tea is peppermint-forward — smooth, menthol, and sweet, with a cool and clean finish. The Belly Blend is built on pu-erh and chicory root, resulting in a deeper more earthy flavour with a cocoa quality. Tummy Tea is the lighter, fresher option; The Belly Blend is for those who want something more substantial and grounding.
When is the best time to drink digestion tea?
The most natural moment is after a meal, which is exactly when pu-erh, peppermint, and fennel have traditionally been consumed across Chinese, European, and Indian cultures respectively. That said, Tummy Tea and Mint Mix work well any time of day. If you're choosing a caffeinated option like Pu-erh or Oolong, late evening is probably better swapped for a herbal alternative. For a post-dinner ritual, The Belly Blend or Tummy Tea are the two most logical starting points.
