Hot ginger tea is great for warming up on a cold day or for when you’re feeling under the weather. See health benefits, side effects, and how to make this herbal tea quickly using fresh ginger.
Ginger Tea
Ginger tea is a drink made by steeping fresh or dried ginger in water. It’s an herbal beverage and doesn’t contain any caffeine.
Ginger used in tea is the root of a flowering plant and it can be eaten raw or cooked. It’s spicy so a little goes a long way.
Ginger tea made from scratch, using fresh ginger, may seem like a lot of work, but it’s actually quick and easy using a couple of shortcuts.
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5 Ginger Tea Health Benefits
1. Contains Antioxidants
Ginger is an excellent source of health-promoting antioxidant compounds. This mainly includes gingerols, parasols, and shogaols, according to an 2019 article.
Antioxidants protect your cells by minimizing free radicals and oxidative stress, a major cause of chronic disease.
2. Reduces Inflammation
The antioxidants in ginger also have anti-inflammatory effects on the body. They work by reducing certain proteins, called pro-inflammatory cytokines, which are involved in inflammation.
This may help manage inflammatory diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
3. Minimizes Nausea
The next time you’re feeling nauseous, reach for a hot cup of ginger tea. According to the 2019 article, ginger can ease nausea caused by surgery, medication, motion sickness, or pregnancy.
Ginger also helps control other digestive issues like gas, bloating, stomach cramping, which often appear with nausea.
4. Manages High Blood Pressure
One of the biggest risk factors for heart disease is high blood pressure, or hypertension.
Ginger can reduce the risk by increasing substances that widen blood vessels, ultimately improving blood flow and reducing pressure.
5. Protects Brain Function
The health benefits of ginger extend to your brain, too. According to a 2021 article, the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of gingerols and shogaols can protect your neurons, or nerve cells.
This may reduce the risk of neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, as well as other memory disorders.
Side Effects of Ginger Tea
1. Digestive Issues
Ginger and ginger tea might cause heartburn, diarrhea, and stomach discomfort, especially if you drink too much.
The strong, spicy flavor may also irritate your mouth. If this happens when you drink ginger tea, consider diluting the drink with more water.
2. Medication Interactions
Ginger might increase the risk of bleeding, according to Mount Sinai Hospital.
More research is needed, but if you’re taking blood-thinning medications, ask your doctor if it’s safe to drink ginger tea.
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Ingredient Notes
- Fresh ginger
Find ginger root in the produce section of your supermarket. Look for firm pieces that look plump and don’t get ones that are shriveled. - Lemon
Sliced lemons or lemon juice both work. - Honey
Use any kind of honey you have available. - Water
Tea is mostly made of water so use filtered water if possible.
Step-by-Step Brewing Instructions
For full ingredients and instructions, scroll down to see the recipe.
- Peel and grate ginger.
Grate ginger straight into the teapot. - Add lemon slices and hot water into the teapot.
- Cover and steep.
- Strain solids and pour hot tea into a teacup. Add honey to taste.
Expert Tips
Adjust ginger as needed.
Add as much or little ginger as you like since it can get too spicy. For a serving of 1 cup of water, I’m using an half inch of ginger root. If you want a milder taste, use less ginger.
Scrape the ginger peel using a spoon.
Instead of peeling the knobby ginger root, use a spoon to scrape off the peel.
Keep grated ginger in the freezer.
You can grate ginger ahead of time and freeze it. Store it in a resealable plastic bag, flattening it before freezing. When you need some grated ginger, snap off a piece.
Use lemon juice instead.
Instead of sliced lemons, you can also use the juice from half a lemon.
Make it iced!
For a refreshing summer drink, make it iced by cooling the drink down, then adding ice.
No need to buy the entire ginger root.
Avoid buying fresh ginger root that’s shriveled and dry. Look for one that’s plump and firm. Ginger is usually sold by weight don’t be afraid to break off a piece of the freshest ginger root in the pile if it’s too big.
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Questions You May Have
There’s no caffeine at all in ginger tea.
Yes! I strain out the ginger but you can definitely leave it in if you prefer.
There are claims that you destroy the good enzymes in honey if you add it to boiling hot water. If you’re worried about this, add the honey to your teacup after the tea has poured and cooled down a little.
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Ginger Tea from Scratch
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups water
- ½ lemon thinly sliced
- 1 inch fresh ginger root
- 1 tablespoon honey
INSTRUCTIONS
- Peel and grate ginger.Peel one inch piece of fresh ginger root and grate into a teapot.
- Add lemon slices and hot water into the teapot. Cover and steep for 5 minutes.Use filtered water for the best quality ginger tea. I like to set my electric kettle with a temperature setting to 208°F.
- Strain solids and pour hot tea into a teacup. Add honey to taste.
EQUIPMENT
NOTES
- Add as much or little ginger as you like since it can get too spicy. For a serving of 1 cup of water, I’m using an half inch of ginger root. If you want a milder taste, use less ginger.
- You can grate ginger ahead of time and freeze it. Store it in a resealable plastic bag, flattening it before freezing. When you need some grated ginger, snap off a piece.
- Instead of sliced lemons, you can also use the juice from half a lemon.
- For a refreshing summer drink, make it iced by cooling the drink down, then adding ice.
- Avoid buying fresh ginger root that’s shriveled and dry. Look for one that’s plump and firm. Ginger is usually sold by weight don’t be afraid to break off a piece of the freshest ginger root in the pile if it’s too big.
I didn’t actually follow the recipe. I used it strictly for guidance about relative quantities of water and ginger root. I went my own way beyond that, in part because I was using frozen ginger root and in part because I wanted a strong infusion for therapeutic purposes.
I figured others might be interested in my variation, which is why I’m posting it here.
I took out a 1″ section of ginger from a container I keep in my freezer, and peeled it with a carrot peeler. It’s easier to do this if you don’t let it thaw too much, but it wasn’t too hard to peel even after I let it thaw more than I’d intended.
I then sliced the section of peeled ginger root into the thinnest slices I could muster without being too fussy about it. Hint: ginger is much easier to slice with the grain rather than across it, meaning lengthwise rather than crosswise, because you’re not cutting across the fibers in this very fibrous root but parallel to them.
I dropped the ginger slices into a large mug, and
when the water for my morning tea was at 200° F., I added some of that slightly less than boiling water to the mug containing the ginger slices. I then covered the mug with a small plate and left the ginger infusion to do what it would until I was ready to drink it many hours later.
At that point, I poured the ginger infusion into a small saucepan and covered the pan with a lid, bringing the temperature back up to slightly below boiling. Meanwhile, I dropped what was perhaps a scant tablespoon of locally produced creamed lemon honey in the mug, and then poured the reheated ginger infusion back into the mug using a handheld strainer
to remove the slices of ginger.
In retrospect, I’m not sure that last step was really necessary because the slices of ginger were large enough and I guess so waterlogged that they weren’t floating in my tea. I might have just left them in there like one might do with herbal teas in teabags, in order to continue adding to the strength of the infusion —although, granted, I may already have extracted everything the ginger slices could provide.
This was not as complicated as it sounds; I put in more detail than was probably necessary for those of you who’ve never worked with frozen ginger. It’s a brilliant way of storing fresh ginger root if you bought too much of it or don’t feel like running to the store every time you want a hunk of ginger for something you’re cooking. You can expect a loss of texture and some discoloration as a result of freezing and thawing it, but given how finely we tend to chop or grate ginger for use in food recipes, neither of those changes makes much difference if any.
Hi!!
I generally heat my water to temp in an electric kettle. Then I put the things that I am going to steep into my infuser & that into large Yeti like cup (covered to steep) and drink right from there. (adding honey after i take out the infuser). Would it be fine to add the grated ginger to my loose leaf tea, in the infuser??
Thank you!
Hi Andrea, yup!
I love everything ginger. A word of caution though…while ginger doesn’t have any caffeine, it is a stimulant. I realized this after making a mocktail with it during Dry January. It kept me up all night! But I think this recipe is a great replacement for morning coffee or to cozy in on snowy days. Like today! 🙂
Can you leave a link for the teapot and glass drinking cup?
Hi Teddy, the teapot from here (https://amzn.to/2Rq9J6Y) and the glasses are from cb2 (https://www.cb2.com/cantina-glass-mug/s190268).
Lovely! This is probably a silly question but I’d I wanted more of a ginger latte, would it be similar? Perhaps hold the lemon & less water before adding frothed (plant) milk?
Thanks so much!
Hi Sherala, yup, that should work!
I noticed that actually there is no tea used in this recipe?
Hi Yeyen, yup, no real tea. It’s tea in the sense that it’s an herbal infusion.
Hi what if I put to much Ginger a little more than a inch maybe around 4 inches would 2 more cups of with no Ginger just lemon juice take away anything
Hi Steph, yes, you can dilute the ginger by adding more water, lemon, and honey.
Tried this recipe today. It was delicious! I used my french press. It was so simple to make. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Hi Cala, wonderful to hear!
I grinded 1/2 ginger root to a fine consistency and 2 whole lemon slices, soak them in honey in a mason jar in the fridge. Hope that works too?
Hi Mag, I think so! When you brew it, you should be able to taste the ginger.
Can this recipe be frozen into ice cube trays and used as iced tea.
Hi Debra, I don’t see why not!
I was going to ask if a French Press would work in the same way as the tea pot with strainer. But someone mentioned using the french press for a smaller batch of the tea. I am going to try it for sure!
Hi Leslie, yes, a French press would work the same way! You can definitely use one to make this drink.
I would think very thin slices should be the same, if I don’t have a grater? As long as there’s more exposed surface area of the ginger exposed to the hot water to steep?
Hi Cat, yes, very thin slices should work well too!
I accidentally left my ginger water out overnight after leaving it too cool- is it still good?
Hi Leah, I wouldn’t drink it. I don’t like to eat or drink anything that’s been left out for more than 2 hours.