Spicy Garlic Ginger Tea Recipe (and Benefits)
Garlic ginger tea is a warming, spicy tea that has some wonderful health benefits.
To make the tea, simply prepare and boil the ingredients for 10 minutes on medium heat, before steeping, straining, sweetening and serving hot.
As an Amazon associate, I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Ingredients for garlic ginger tea
In this tea recipe, I used:
- garlic: fresh or frozen whole garlic cloves work well for this recipe. I’ve never actually tried making the tea with garlic powder, but a garlic clove roughly equates to 1/8 teaspoon of the powder. So, if you want, you can try that substitution for the tea.
- ginger: I used organic, freshly grated ginger here since it adds a spicier, stronger taste to the tea. If you don’t have the rhizome on hand, then use about 1/4 teaspoon of ginger powder in place of 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger.
- water
- sweetener: this is optional but highly recommended. A sweetener will balance the sharpness and spiciness of the tea and make it more pleasant to drink.
Equipment for this recipe
You don’t need any special equipment for making this recipe. I used a small grater for prepping the ginger, a small pot on the stove for brewing the tea and a strainer. That’s it.
What does garlic ginger tea taste like
Garlic ginger tea has a strong, sharp, earthy, ginger taste with a spicy, slightly-bitter, garlic aftertaste. Although ginger dominates the taste of the tea, garlic dominates the smell.
How to make this tea
Step 1: Wash, peel and finely grate the ginger. Wash and peel the garlic cloves. Gently press down on the cloves using the side of a large knife or the bottom of a teacup. This will crush the garlic cloves and allow beneficial compounds in garlic to develop (alliin will be converted to allicin).
Step 2: Place a small pot on the stove on medium heat. Add the water and bring to a boil.
Step 3: Add the crushed garlic and grated ginger to the boiling water. Leave to brew for 10 minutes.
Step 4: Turn the heat off and allow the garlic and ginger to steep for 5 minutes.
Step 5: Strain the tea to remove the garlic cloves and grated ginger bits.
Step 6: You can sweeten the tea here with honey, sugar or any of your favorite sweeteners. Serve hot.
Garlic ginger tea benefits
There aren’t many studies specifically looking at the benefits of garlic ginger tea. But, there is lots of research that explore the positive effects of garlic and ginger as spices.
I cover many ginger benefits in this post for my ginger tea recipe. To summarize that post though, ginger was found to have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial and positive cognitive and nausea reducing benefits. There were also studies like this one from 2020 linking ginger intake to lower blood glucose and total cholesterol levels.
As for garlic, a 2019 study linked it to a reduced risk for gastric cancer caused by the Helicobacter pylori bacteria (it’s responsible for stomach ulcers). These findings add to the research from this 2015 study that showed garlic had anti-cancer and immunity boosting benefits.
Caution
While ginger and garlic are wonderful, they should be used in moderation. Both have platelet reduction effects and so can interact with blood thinners like warfarin and aspirin. If you are on any of these medications, consult your doctor about having this tea.
Garlic also contains sulfur compounds which are linked to bad breath and bad body odor. So it’s best to enjoy this tea in moderation.
Garlic ginger tea recipe
Garlic ginger tea (with fresh ingredients)
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp ginger (15 grams)
- 3 cups water
- sweetener of choice
Instructions
- Wash, peel and grate ginger.
- Wash, peel and crush garlic cloves.
- Place a small pot on medium heat.
- Add water. Bring to a boil.
- Add garlic and ginger to the boiling water.
- Leave to brew for 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Leave to steep for 5 minutes.
- Strain.
- Sweeten (optional) and serve hot.
This tasted a lot better than I expected. Followed the recipe exactly.