A visit to Anis: The finest of days with the finest of candies

The Anis Workshops have been open to visitors since 1923, and are now also opening up a small museum. Just follow the gentle scent of aniseed as you make your way through the streets of the village towards the former Benedictine Abbey. Once through the doors, your eyes will be spoiled for choice, between the beauty of the abbey, the tins and packets of Anis candies, and the toing and froing of the workshop teams. A lady will greet you and take you around: THE ANIS WORKSHOP and its basins The sugar-coating workshop will delight your senses with the fresh, spicy scent of aniseed and the sound of the candies rolling around in copper basins, as the seeds are delicately coated in sugar syrup and essential oils. You can also try to identify the other flavours being prepared – is that orange blossom or rose, blackcurrant or mandarin? Once you have come back down from the basins workshop, after a quick glance through the glazed door of the packaging workshop, there will be time for a little conversation and any questions you might have. A pleasant moment to share with your guide, who will be either a longstanding employee of the company or one of the young people from the village who know the Workshops like the back of their hands. THE ANIS CRYPT from Charlemagne… to Aniseed As you step into the Carolingian crypt, history springs back to life. The chant of the monks is a reminder that some 1,000 years ago, this was a place of perpetual prayer. Discover the Sainte Reine Chapel or Notre Dame des Piliers Chapel for an insight into the history of the Abbey from its beginnings back in 719, under the reign of Pepin the Short. The remains of the old abbey church bear testimony to Mediaeval times, and to Gallo-Roman and Gothic art. THE ANIS BOUTIQUE taste the Original & “Petits Anis” Of course, you cannot come and visit without tasting our Anis. In the little boutique, take the time to smell and taste all the natural flavours of our candies. Our Anis de Flavigny are also available in violet, mint, orange blossom, lemon, blackcurrant, ginger, liquorice, mandarin and rose flavours… for the greater pleasure of all those with a sweet tooth around the world. Anis de Flavigny are exported to over 35 countries. In Asia, rose flavour is the favourite, whereas the Americans prefer violet. In France meanwhile, as in all the Southern European countries, there is nothing to beat good old aniseed flavour! THE ANIS MUSEUM small but sweet! For centuries, the abbey attic has been home to old tins, posters and the antique rotating basins. In two magnificent vaulted rooms of the abbey, Catherine Troubat has now opened a small museum presenting illustrations, some of them from as far back as 1828. They all tell the love story between the Shepherd and his Shepherdess, a timeless romance carried down through the years and variations on the tins… Can you spot the difference? The Shepherd reveals his feelings by giving the Shepherdess Anis de Flavigny, with the finest of candies providing the perfect way for him to overcome his shyness and declare his love. Follow the travels of the sugar and aniseed all the way to Flavigny, a small Burgundy village, since ancient times. You will learn how the first candies were made. Back in the days of King Henri IV (1591), Anis de Flavigny candies were given as gifts to passing visitors. The Princes of Condé, the Chevalier d’Eon, the Marquise de Sevigné and Blanche of Castile all appreciated them… Did you know that Louis XIV always had a tin of aniseed candies in his pocket? THE ANIS CAFÉ friends’ corner Anis de Flavigny have been enjoyed the world over for more than 400 years, which is quite a feat. It is a remarkable tale of the men and women who have each contributed to the aniseed, sugar and know-how of Flavigny, who built the abbey here, and who labour away attentively in the Workshop over their finest of candies. As you sip your lemonade in the Workshop courtyard, seated comfortably at one of the pretty enamel tables, you can watch them passing by with packages under their arms, pushing trolleys, preparing packets, receiving sugar, welcoming foreign customers and greeting local people to show the Workshop to their children. As you already know, if Anis de Flavigny have crossed the centuries, it is because this finest of candies is loved by every generation. Carrying your little green bag full of candies, you can head off happily from the Workshop to stroll around the charming Mediaeval village (classified as one of the “Most Beautiful Villages in France”) with three fine gates in its walls (13th, 15th and 16th centuries), its 11th-century church (make sure you admire the stalls, the “smiling angel” and the dais), the town houses with their old shop fronts, the watch tower and the winegrowers’ houses. As this is Burgundy, people here have hearty appetites and you should sit down at one of the tables of the La Grange farmhouse restaurant to savour “Gaston Gérard” chicken served with an Epoisses cheese bake and followed by tart made with fruit straight from their orchards. For more information: www.anis-flavigny.com