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Star Anise comes from China. The part used in cooking is the seed and pod and it had a flavor similar to true anise and licorice root. It can be purchased at most grocery stores in whole form, but is often less expensive at an asian grocery.
In a non combustible format, this stuff can be very strong on the licorice end of things, so it may be a bit off putting if you're not an licorice fan. It can be heated in a skillet to fragrance without charcoal.
In a combustible formula, it's a very slow burn and resistant to igniting, making it much like a resin. Since too much resin will prevent the incense from staying lit, it's best in moderation. This provides an aroma more like the creamy notes in a good thai tea, sweet and more like a kiss of vanilla. It's best in a blend where sweeter desert-like notes are favorable and other ingredients may cause too fast of a burn speed in a mixture. For a stronger anise smell, a fragrance oil or essential oils will be needed to keep the mix combustible.
For best blend quality, remove the seeds from the star casing and set them aside for cooking. The seeds themselves tend to smell like a blend of burning peanut butter and licorice and have more protein and oil, not a big deal in tea or cooking but noticeable in a combustible blend. Take the woody casing and run it FOREVER in a coffee grinder. The casing is very hard and will take a fair bit of time to actually brake into small particles. Once a powdery state has been reached, empty the ground casings into a reusable mesh coffee filter and use a paint brush to rub it through the mesh, tapping often into a bowl. The high oil content of the material will tend to cling and clump together during sifting, making this a time consuming step, but helps loads for shaping texture. Any particles that are too big to go through the filter and too hard to grind down further can be mixed into baked goods with seeds, but don't play nicely for shaping cones or sticks.
Happy blending.
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