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Here’s how to make ginger tea! This soothing and invigorating ginger drink has big flavor and potential health benefits, too.
Have you tried ginger tea? It’s a fantastic way to use fresh ginger root that we just discovered. Alex and I are beverage fanatics: cocktails, mocktails, coffee, tea…in the evenings we’re often curled up some sort of drink. This ginger tea is cozy and warming: full of spicy ginger flavor, with a hint of tangy lemon and sweet honey. It’s a good substitute for coffee, if you’re trying to avoid caffeine. And it’s got some potential health benefits like aiding digestion, reducing inflammation, and more! Here’s how to make this easy DIY ginger drink.
How to make ginger tea
Ginger tea is easy to make, and the perfect way to use up extra fresh ginger. Alex and I discovered it, in fact, when we accidentally ended up with way more ginger than we needed. Who knew that you could simply grate it and steep with water for an easy DIY herbal tea? The method we use is for a single serving of ginger tea. Here’s the best way we found to make it:
- Boil: Boil a pot of water. We use an electric tea kettle (we also use it for our morning coffee).
- Peel and grate the ginger, and place in a tea strainer: Finely grate your ginger. See below for a tip on peeling it!
- Steep: Fill up a mug with the boiling water. Allow to stand for 5 minutes.
- Stir in honey: Adding honey is a must: it brings out all the great ginger flavor. If you’d like, spritz in a little lemon juice too.
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.
This ginger tea recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.
Easy Ginger Tea
Here’s how to make ginger tea! This soothing and invigorating ginger drink has big flavor and potential health benefits, too.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 drink 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: Boiled
- Cuisine: Vegan
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 ¼ cups (10 ounces) boiling water
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 lemon wedge
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil.
- Meanwhile, peel the ginger with a spoon and finely grate it with a grater or microplane.
- Place the ginger in a tea strainer or tea ball, then place it in a mug. Pour over the boiling water. Allow the ginger to steep for 5 minutes.
- Remove the tea strainer. Stir in honey and a spritz of lemon juice from the wedge.
More healthy drinks
Easy tea recipes aren’t the only restorative drinks! Here are a few more healthy drinks to try:
- Carrot Juice It’s easier to absorb all the nutrients and antioxidants from carrots in juice form. It’s simple to whip up this delicious, nutrient filled drink at home.
- Kombucha Making healthy homemade kombucha is a little bit weird, a lot of fun, and cheaper than store bought!
- Easy Mint Water Add a zing to your water with fresh herbs! Here’s the way to make it irresistible to drink more water.
This seems like a faster version of the way I do it, but with the peeling & grating maybe not! I slice unpeeled ginger into coins, throw with slices of lemon into a pot of water and simmer for five to 20 minutes (how strong do you want it?!). You can also throw in a few cardamom pods, anise stars, cinnamon bark, lemongrass or whatever sounds good to you. Add honey when you pour into a mug. This will raise you from the dead if you’re down with a cold or flu!