How to Make Ginger Tea – Ginger tea is a warming, invigorating, and spicy caffeine-free alternative to black tea or coffee, which has numerous health benefits. Ginger is an ancient herb that’s been used throughout history for its medicinal benefits, particularly for indigestion, nausea, and motion sickness.
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GINGER IS DELICIOUS AND GOOD FOR YOU!
Aside from the fact that this tea is hot, spicy and so full of flavour, it’s good for you too. We love the taste and the ritual of it, but we also drink this tea for it’s health benefits: Please note I am not a doctor, I wish I was, but alas I am not. These are just some health tidbits I found floating around the interwebs. The overall lesson here…this is just really good tea…and it’s probably good for you too.
- Ginger is a natural anti-inflammatory, it helps with nausea, circulation, stomach cramps and bloating, and it also improves the absorption of nutrients.
- Lemon is a rich source of Vitamin C, it helps flush toxins out of your body, it has powerful natural antibiotic properties, it’s good for your liver and skin, it helps reduce pain and inflammation in joints…
- Cinnamon has been thought to help with blood sugar control, it has natural antimicrobial properties, it is rich in manganese, iron, calcium and fibre, it’s a powerful antioxidant…on and on…and it’s delicious too!
- Honey is antibacterial and anti-fungal, it’s probiotic, it’s good for you skin, and it helps with sore throats and coughs.
- Cayenne Pepper is a good source of essential minerals and vitamins C and A, it’s beneficial to the circulatory system…plus it adds pizzazz to your tea. True story.
So I dedicate this tea to my Mom, who has been asking for this recipe/post for some time now.
How pretty are those ingredients?! Ahhhhh, I really do love this tea.
COMFORTING AND DELICIOUS DURING COLD AND FLU SEASON.
This ginger tea is so good I just had to share it with you! We drink this tea because we love it, but we also swear that it helps us ward off bugs during cold and flu season. I have nothing to prove this, but we just feel like it helps with our immunity. And when we do get sick, this tea seems to help beat it! But really, we just love ginger tea…and now maybe you will too!
GINGER TEA RECIPE TIPS:
- Ginger. Peeled, fresh ginger is best for this tea.
- Dressing your tea. This part is very individual-taste dependent, so play with the ingredient amounts until you get a combination that you love.
- Spices. A quick little word of warning…most of the cinnamon and cayenne pepper sinks to the bottom of the tea, so you might need to stir your tea. couple of times. But you should drink that part up, that’s where all the good stuff is! My husband and I have an on-going joke about getting that last bit down
- When you’re done steeping the ginger, pour more water on it and let it sit overnight and reheat when you’re ready for another cup.
home made ginger tea
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This Home Made Ginger Tea is a delicious (and healthy) tea made with fresh ginger, lemon juice, honey, cinnamon and cayenne pepper.
- Author: Jo-Anna Rooney
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 2 large mugs of tea 1x
- Category: Drink
ingredients
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- 1 large fresh ginger root (peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (enough to have 8 to 10, 1-inch chunks for each root))
- 5 cups water
- juice from 1 fresh lemon
- honey
- cinnamon
- cayenne pepper (powder)
instructions
- In a saucepan, simmer the ginger chunks in 5 cups of water, for a minimum of 20 minutes, but the longer the better. We like to let ours simmer for 30-45 minutes.
- Divide the tea between 2 large mugs, or 4 smaller mugs, making sure not to serve the chunks of ginger!
NOW IT’S TIME TO DRESS THE TEA. THIS PART IS VERY INDIVIDUAL-TASTE DEPENDENT! WE LIKE OUR TEA VERY STRONG, SO HERE’S WHAT WE ADD TO OUR TEA! FOR EACH MUG ADD:
- juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 tsp honey
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- generous dash of cayenne pepper
A tip for peeling ginger root
One challenge for home cooks working with fresh ginger is peeling it! Ginger root is bumpy with lots of knobs, and the skin is rather tough. Here’s a trick for the best way to peel fresh ginger: peel it with a spoon! It sounds odd until you try it. A spoon easily peels around the odd shapes of ginger, much better than a vegetable peeler can. Give it a try and you’ll be amazed at how well it works!
Ginger tea health benefits
Ginger root has been used for centuries for medicinal purposes. We’re not doctors or nutritionists, but here are a few potential health benefits of ginger tea per a registered dietitian via BBC Food:
- Helps with digestion. Ginger has long been known to help with digestion and nausea. If you’ve got an upset stomach, ginger tea is much tastier than chewing on the actual root (I know from experience!).
- May be anti-inflammatory. Ginger has key phytonutrients known as gingerols, and these may help to support a healthy biome.
- May relieve headaches and migranes. Some research has shown ginger tea to aid in pain relief.
For more more potential benefits of this ginger drink, see this article.
More herbal teas
An herbal tea is tea made from dried fruits, flowers, spices or herbs. So while ginger is not considered an herb, this ginger tea is an herbal tea! You can make tea with all sorts of fresh herbs and spices. Here are a few more DIY herbal tea recipes to try:
More ways to use fresh ginger root
Ginger root brings huge flavor to recipes! Here are some of our favorite ginger recipes for more with this spicy root:
- Cocktails and drinks: Try Ginger Simple Syrup for a tasty addition to drinks.
- Fried rice: The best way to use it! Try Takeout Style Fried Rice.
- Stir Fries: Ginger adds just the right flavor to this Easy Vegetable Stir Fry.
- Hummus: This Ginger Lime Hummus is a fun spin on the classic.
Conclusion
Ginger is native to Asia and is the flowering plant of the Zingiberaceae family. Its root, or stem, adds flavor to many types of cuisine, but is also an ancient herbal remedy for a host of ailments. Drinking ginger tea may help with everything from motion sickness to cancer prevention.