Spiced Ginger Tea
A warm cup of ginger tea feels good any time of year. It has a long history of use as a folk remedy for various types of ailments. Plus, it is the perfect antidote to cold-weather blues. This spiced ginger tea is aromatic, spicy, and warm.
Spices and herbs can be used to flavor a variety of dishes in the kitchen. But have you ever made a wonderful spiced tea with these? I make a few different variations of tea, from simple everyday green tea and chai spice tea to aromatic herbs and fruit teas.
Knowing which to combine can be tricky. Try this combination, which is wonderful to drink but also great for colds and sore throats.
Why make spice tea
- I’ve been having this tea as a kid for almost all my life during winter. My mom used to make it, though our winters weren’t so severe.
- Of course, after my mom passed away, I never made it for years until I had my own kids and needed to find something comforting for them. Nothing is worse than having your kids tell you that their throat is hurting and you can’t give them anything more. This really helps my kids.
- As an Indian kid, I grew up around a mom who knew her way with spices. You’d never get her to buy store-bought spice mix; it has to be her own version. I always wondered why my mom picked these particular 5 spices for this tea over all the others.
- I started reading, and the more I read, I am convinced that this is good for my family and me. Now I make it every winter and every week. This week I suggested it to one of my neighbors when it dawned on me that I should share it with you here on my blog.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Ginger – Ginger is actually a very good antioxidant for the body. As an Indian, I’ve been eating ginger in my food all my life. I believe ginger helps you sweat out the toxins in your body, which is helpful when you have a cold or the flu.
- Cinnamon – The Indian and Chinese medicines have been using Cinnamon for coughs and colds.
- Clove – Clove is a natural painkiller, which is why we often use it for toothache relief. Ayurveda suggests using clove tea to lessen or prevent a cold or the flu.
- Cardamom – Helps with breathing when you have a cold, it has great antiseptic and decongestant properties that alleviate discomfort.
- Pepper – Ayurveda has been adding black pepper to tonics to heal common colds and coughs for years.
- Honey – I think we all know that honey helps soothe a sore naturally and relieves irritation. It boosts the immune system, reducing the severity of colds and helping prevent future colds and other viral infections.
Step-by-step: How to make spiced ginger tea
- Combine – In the sieve of a kettle, add the spices and sliced ginger. Then fill the kettle with water.
- Simmer – Place the kettle on the stove over medium heat and bring it to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a low simmer and leave it to simmer for 7 to 10 minutes
Pro tip – The longer you simmer, the stronger the tea will become.
- Serve– You can serve the tea in individual cups with a teaspoon of honey.
Pro tip – If the tea is too strong, dilute it with more hot water. - Tea – you can also add a teabag to the kettle to add some caffeine.
Pro tip – The spices in the tea can be reduced at least twice more, replacing the fresh ginger.
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Frequently asked questions
– Everybody’s body reacts to spices differently – for a start, I suggest you drink no more than two cups a day. I personally can drink quite a few cups in a day.
– If you are not comfortable with any of the spices in this recipe, you can omit or reduce the quantity.
– Drink only as much as you can handle. For the kids, I add 1/4 cup spice tea and top it with 1 cup hot water, but you could make it weaker or stronger, too!
Yes, not everyone can consume ginger successfully. It may cause bloating and heartburn in some individuals. It is advisable not to drink more than 3 to 4 cups of ginger tea a day.
– In winter, the cold air that comes into our home from outside has lower humidity, which carries very little moisture
– And then we heat the house inside, which adds warmth but doesn’t increase the amount of moisture in the air.
– So, because the humidity is so low, the little moisture that is around gets sucked up into the air, including moisture from our body, leaving us with parched skin, nose, and throat.
– That is why a humidifier is often recommended, but I just leave a bowl of water on the table. I am told it helps, too.
– Also in winter, the air is drier, so germs travel faster. That is why it’s easier to get infected by someone with a cold in winter than in summer.
Spices have a long history of helping with digestion, shooing away insects, and just generally improving food’s taste. Some also come with some surprising health benefits.
Drinking tea has been a constant in the lives of humans for thousands of years. The many health benefits of tea are giving it newfound popularity. From losing weight to reducing cancer risk. Drinking tea can improve bone health and boost blood pressure. It may also lower cholesterol and protect against colorectal cancer.
Spiced Ginger Tea
There is nothing more comforting on a cold winters day than a warm cup of spiced ginger tea for the cold and sore throat. Spices like cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves warm the body giving comfort from within while the ginger and honey soothe a sore throat from outside
Video
Ingredients
- 5 Cardamoms
- 10 whole Cloves
- 5 – 8 pieces Peppercorns
- 2 3-inch Cinnamon sticks large
- 3 inch (2 cm) Fresh ginger sliced
- 4 cups (1 l) Water
- 1 tbsp Honey
- 1 Teabag (optional)
Method
- Combine – In the sieve of a kettle add the spices ad sliced ginger. Then fill the kettle with water.5 Cardamoms, 10 whole Cloves, 5 – 8 pieces Peppercorns, 2 3-inch Cinnamon sticks, 3 inch Fresh ginger , 4 cups Water
- Simmer – Place it on the stove over medium heat and bring it to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, reduce to heat to a low simmer and leave it to simmer for 7 to 10 minutes Pro tip – the longer you simmer the stronger the tea will become.
- Serve– You can serve the tea in individual cups with a teaspoon of honey. Pro tip – if the tea is too strong dilute it with more hot water.1 tbsp Honey
- Tea – you can also add a teabag to the kettle to add some caffeine. Pro tip – the spices in the tea can be reduced at least twice more replacing the fresh ginger.1 Teabag
Notes
- Everybody’s body reacts to spices differently – for a start I suggest you drink no more than two cups a day. I personally can drink quite a few cups in a day.
– If you are not comfortable with any of the spices in this recipe you can omit or reduce the quantity.
– Drink only as much as you can handle. For the kids, I add 1/4 cup spice tea and top it with 1 cup hot water but you could make it weaker or stronger too!
Equipment you will need
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
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This was delicious. Thank you
Thank you so very much, Veena, for sharing your wonderful recipe! I love fresh ginger tea. (I keep ginger root in the freezer and grate it with a microplane grater so it’s always available and easy to prepare.) When I brew up future batches of your recipe, I plan to add fresh grated ginger when I brew individual cups of tea, (instead of to the concentrate) right after I add the boiling water (brewed into tea with some Darjeeling tea leaves). This will help accentuate the impact of the ginger in the tea. (I don’t mind little bits of ginger floating around in my tea.)
I plan to share this wonderful tea with visiting friends, and not just reserve it for when someone has a cold or sore throat. Thanks again for taking the time and making the effort to post this recipe. It is clearly explained and easy to follow.
Thank you, Karen. Happy you enjoyed this recipe.
Amazing it’s strong but it worked.
Thanks
Ginger tea are really good. It is so soothing to the throat and mind.
That is true. Thanks, Marky.
This is a brilliant idea. I always have ginger and use honey whenever I have colds and sore throat. I could try this one for a change.
Thank you, Jhoei
I hate it when I have a sore throat. At the same time, I can’t figure out what to drink whenever I am not feeling well. Thanks to your recipes I have a whole lot of options to choose from.
Thanks, Bianca.
Nice article! There is such an effective list of ginger tea for sore throat. These are really effective remedies with great instructions. I like this article so much and found very helpful for me and everyone who suffers from the sore throat. Thanks a lot for sharing your recipes.
Thank you, Harvey
Spiced ginger tea… PERFECT! It’s already gotten SO cold in NH!
Thanks, Catherine. Yes, its getting cold here too.
What a great tea to keep in our recipe books for the upcoming cold and flu season, I am a huge tea drinker so to be honest I would probably make this yummy drink any time of the year! I love the ginger for upset stomach too, definitely a multi-purpose drink!
Thanks, Melissa. yes, some of us can have it any time of the year.
What a great recipe. I am always looking for a good soothing tea.
Thanks Holli.