Herbs and Spices are the original flavours; they’ve been used as food flavouring for thousands of years. These parts of plants were discovered early on to enhance food by imparting often complex, natural aromatic compounds to meals of proteins and other base sustenance. A little note on terminology:

Herbs can be used fresh such as in the case of mint leaves, but often herbs and spices are more concentrated in flavour, easier to store and easier to use when dried (dehydrated). The drying of herbs and spices is often done simply by leaving them in the sun, but they can be rapidly dried using hot air.

The physical form of herbs and spices can be whole (e.g. Star Anise, Peppercorn Seed), crushed (e.g. Chilli) or ground-up as a powder (e.g. Turmeric powder).