Kasni — wild chicory — grows along the canal banks and field margins of southern Punjab, and hakeems have prized its bitter, blue-flowered stalks for centuries as the herb that cools a heated liver. Laraib gathers the fresh plant at its peak and draws the arq off at our Multan works, exactly as the classical texts describe.
What it is traditionally used for
- Quenching the sharp, unrelenting thirst of the hot months
- Drawing heat out of the liver after rich, fried or heavily spiced food
- Soothing the inflammatory heat of the liver in traditional Unani practice
- Taken in Unani homes as a supportive cooling drink where jaundice is a concern, alongside proper medical care
- A gentle everyday cleanser, suited equally to men and women
How it is made
The fresh herb is washed, chopped and steeped, then slowly steam-distilled so only the volatile essence rises and condenses — nothing is boiled dry or forced through with heat. We take our chicory from single-origin growers we have bought from for years, and the finished arq is filtered and bottled with no colour, no essence and no preservative added.
How to take it
Pour 30 to 60 ml into a glass morning and evening, ideally before meals and best served chilled. Most people drink it plain; if the bitterness is unfamiliar, dilute it with an equal measure of cold water and a squeeze of lemon. Through May and June, many families simply keep a jug of it in the fridge.
Good to know
- Available in a 240 ml daily bottle and an 800 ml family size
- An unsweetened distillate — nothing but chicory and purified water, with no added sugar or colour
- 100% natural, prepared at Laraib Herbal Pharma’s DRAP-licensed Unani facility in Multan
- Keep the cap tightly closed and refrigerate once opened
Ayesha Nasir (verified owner) –
My father drinks this every morning through the summer. Clean smell, no sweetness, no chemical taste. We have tried three brands in Rawalpindi and this is the one he keeps asking us to reorder.
Tooba Tariq (verified owner) –
The quality seems genuine and it is clearly real distillate, not flavoured water. But nobody warned me how bitter it is. I now mix it with lemon and a little water and it is fine. Delivery to Faisalabad took five days.
Sohail Mehmood (verified owner) –
Bought it in Lahore after my hakeem suggested chicory for liver heat. It works — I feel far less heavy after heavy meals. Only complaint is the 240 ml goes very quickly, so order the big one.
Fatima Waheed (verified owner) –
Multan gets brutal in June and this is the only thing that actually settles the heat for me. I keep the 800 ml bottle chilled and drink a glass before lunch. My skin has calmed down too, which I did not expect.