Are you in the middle of purging out those closets? Or rolling paint on those walls?
Well, come sit for a spell, because I have a very special treat to share with you today. Better yet, quickly read this, then go steep yourself a quick cup of hot, fresh ginger tea! Once you try it, you’ll be hooked!
Last year when I was feeling under the weather, there was a knock on the door. My hero neighbour Janette entered with a pitcher full of something special. It smelled amazing… spicy! But I had no idea what it was.
“I made you some ginger tea! Just mix it with honey.”
Wow. What a treat! And you can bet I was up for anything that anyone offered to make for sick little ‘ol me!
So bed head and pajama clad and all, I poured a cup, added a teaspoon of light honey, and…. OH. MY. WORD.
The smooth,warm tangy taste jolted my tongue, as if there were a million flowers… or something, having a dance party all in the same spot.
It was out of this world!
I’ve made it many times since. But over the Christmas break when I was feeling under the weather, the first thing I made sure I was stocked with was fresh ginger root.
That’s all you need!
This is by far my fav beverage to pour, if I’m about to embark on some book reading, movie watching, or even a little browsing on the internet. Any time of day.
Why fresh ginger tea?
Ginger is loaded with antioxidants. It’s really good for you!
It’s said to help reduce nausea symptoms, and many other things.
It’s super easy to make… in minutes!
But the #1 reason I personally love it?
It’s flat out delicious!
I’ve been experimenting on how to brew the perfect cup of fresh ginger tea, and I do believe I have it nailed.
Here are two ways: sliced, or freshly grated.
Sliced method:
This is the quickest, less messiest way.
You simply slice the ginger, place it a pot of water, bring the water to a boil, then remove from heat, cover, and steep for about 10 minutes.
The trick is to not over boil. Think of it as placing a tea bag in water. The more it steeps naturally, the better the tea will taste.
Outcome:
There tends to be LOTS of flavour this way, so easy does it, or it’ll be too strong.
The colour is a darker honey tone.
Grated method:
Slice off the outside of a fresh ginger root, then using a very fine grater, shred into a dish.
Place the grated ginger into a cup, then fill cup with boiling water, and allow to steep for 5 – 10 minutes.
Once steeped to desired strength, pour into another cup through a sifter.
You can also make more, using a teapot instead.
Outcome:
A lighter, fresher flavour, so make sure you steep it long enough.
The colour is a light, lemon tone.
The cup on the left is grated, and on the right, sliced.
I myself prefer the grated. Although it’s a little messier, it’s more fragrant, and the taste seems just fresher and lighter.
Sweeten it:
You can sweeten with honey or sugar, to taste. If using honey, I prefer a light colour so the flavour is lighter as well.
But my personal preference is a light touch of white sugar.
Flavour it:
If you search ginger tea online, you can find all kinds of things to flavour it with. My personal preference is a simple cinnamon stick, or plain. Lemon was ok, just not my fav.
Since ginger has such a distinct taste on its own, you don’t need much. I’d recommend flavouring with just one choice, if any. If you mix more, it becomes… confused. 🙂
So excuse me while I enjoy this amazing treat anytime I wish… because it won’t keep you awake at night, and won’t have you gaining weight either!
Magic, I tell ya.
Now I just wish it would clean up my monumental Christmas tree remnants in my ‘upscale photo studio’.
Any guesses why I stopped to make TEA instead?!
Have you ever tried fresh ginger tea? How do you make it?
- fresh ginger root
- sweetener - honey or sugar to taste
- flavour - cinnamon sticks or lemon optional
- Wash ginger root, then cut into thin slices.
- Place into a shallow pot of water.
- Bring water to a boil, then remove from heat, cover, and allow to steep for 10 minutes, or to taste.
- Pour ginger tea through a strainer, then serve.
- OR GRATED METHOD BELOW - my personal fav!
- Wash fresh ginger root, then slice off skin.
- With a very fine grater, shred ginger root onto a plate.
- Add the shredded ginger root into a large cup or teapot.
- Add boiling water, cover, and allow to steep for 5-10 minutes, or to taste.
- Pour through a strainer, then serve.
- Sweeten with honey or sugar.
- Optional: flavour with a cinnamon stick (my fav!), or a little lemon, or just leave plain.
- Fresh ginger tea is absolutely delicious! It's also very good for you. It's loaded with antioxidants, will not keep you awake at night, and is said to help reduce nausea symptoms if under the weather.
- Experiment with steeping times and water ratios, until you come up with the perfect brew for you!
I love Ginger Tea with local honey, absolutely the best! Thanks for sharing your recipe. I just wanted to chime in here to let you know that I actually planted some Ginger Root and it is growing! I was told you can get organic root, clean it good, set it in a bowl of water over night and then plant in some dirt. It grows green shoots like onions out of the soil and while it is doing that it is supposed to be growing the root underground. We shall see how much it grows, currently on week 3 and just the shoots are coming up. Also planted indoors for now as it is too cold to survive outside.
What?? That is cool, Phil! I hadn’t realized it was that easy to grow either! I’d love to know how it progresses!
You’ll have the best tea possible if you can get it to mature!
I used to make ginger tea. Thank you for the reminder and for sharing the easy recipes. The taste is light, fresh and clean.
Hi Donna!
Thus tea sounds so delish for all of the right reasons! To do the grated method how much ginger do you use?
Thanks and I love your blog!
Denise
Hi Denise! I purposely didn’t put amounts because so much is dependent on how much water is used and how long you steep. But my best guess is maybe grate about 1-2 tablespoons for one cup. I’d just experiment, you may like yours stronger than I like mine. You’ll love it!
My daughters love the taste of ginger and love ginger and lemon tea, but me…not so much. It’s rare for me to like anything which tastes gingery…except maybe gingerbread and, strangely, Gin Gins candies, which are just actually dried ginger…go figure. (actually, it may have been San Francisco and not the ginger which caused that one.) But hot, natural drinks are the best for feeling terrible. My grandmother used to just do hot lemon and honey (sometimes with a tiny thimble full of fragrant Czech rum), and I tend to drink Rooibos teas, mostly with Stevia, because I don’t do sugars, but sometimes that honey is so very soothing.
Making things from scratch is easier than people think, you’ve proven! Thanks!
Ginger will keep almost indefinitely in the freezer, and as an added bonus, is much easier to peel and grate when frozen!
Thanks for the recipe! I will make some “tea” this evening to enjoy while reading!
D’oh! I wish I had seen this a few days ago when I was in the worst of my battle with strep. I bet I could have swallowed this down! Question – I have the grated ginger that comes in a squeeze tube… it’s preservative free, but it is more paste like. Do you think this might work? Yeah, as I read this, I’m already thinking the answer is no. http://www.enchantinglyemily.com
Hey Emily, you could always try! I’ve never tried the prepared kind before, sounds interesting!
But totally stock the real deal next time you’re shopping. You won’t regret it. 🙂
Thanks for the ginger tea recipe. Ginger is a favorite spice of mine, especially in hot tea and it is calming on the stomach. I look forward to preparing it. I like recipes with few ingredients that are flavorful. Have a wonderful Tuesday!
I love fresh ginger and use it in my smoothies but I am definitely going to be making some of this tea asap!