Homemade Ginger Tea Recipe with Fresh Ginger (Plus Benefits)

Spicy, warming and soothing, this ginger tea recipe is pretty easy to make with fresh ginger root and a little honey for sweetness. And, it certainly is good for you, especially for colds and overall wellbeing.

That’s not hearsay either. There are loads of scientific studies that show ginger can help with boosting immunity, reducing nausea and even improving blood glucose levels. I’ll get into the benefits later.

For now, let’s get into the recipe. Oh, and if you enjoy ginger tea and its variations, check out these lemon ginger and ginger turmeric tea recipes. They taste great and are pretty good for you too!

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Ingredients for ginger tea

Equipment

A strainer is helpful for this recipe. You can also use a grater for the ginger, but that’s about all you need.

How to make ginger tea

Prep

For this recipe, I washed the fresh ginger root, peeled the skin and grated the ginger. My preference is to peel the root so there is no dirt in there, but that’s entirely optional. Grating the ginger releases its important compounds faster, so the brew time of the tea can be lower.

Brew

I placed a small saucepan on the stove on medium heat and poured in the water. When it started to boil, I added the ginger and left it to brew for 15 minutes.

Once done, you can remove from the heat and leave to steep for about 10 minutes.

Next, I strained the tea to remove the fine ginger bits and sweetened with a small spoonful of honey. This tea is best served warm.

Ginger tea benefits

Ginger contains many phenolic compounds like gingerol and shogaol. These compounds have been found to be antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, neuroprotective and gastroprotective.

It improves oral health

A 2021 study looked at the effects of gargling with green tea, green tea with ginger, and chlorhexidine mouthwash. All three groups had less plaque and less gingivitis, meaning all three including ginger had antimicrobial benefits. These benefits will likely be the same if you sip some ginger tea.

It eases nausea

Ginger tea is a great remedy for calming nausea, whether it is caused by anxiety or morning sickness. It works!

It’s memory boosting

Ginger has neuroprotective benefits for your nerves and may even be able to reduce your risk of brain damage. One clinical study also proved ginger tea can help improve memory.

It’s anti-inflammatory

Ginger tea has those helpful compounds that can relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and even ease painful arthritic joints. But, it isn’t a cure all. If you have serious pain and arthritis, consult with a medical care professional for diagnosis and treatment.

Ginger may have anticancer benefits

There are lots of laboratory studies that look at the effects of ginger and gingerol on several cancers like leukemia, prostate, breast, and more. While few clinical studies have been done, the in vitro ones (like this one from 2019) prove the antileukemia and anticancer benefits of ginger.

It may help reduce blood clots

This 2015 lab study found some herbal medicines were able to reduce platelet aggregation, which causes blood clots. These medicines included feverfew, garlic, ginger, St John’s wort, willow bark, ginseng and turmeric. These blood thinning benefits of ginger may interact with the effects of aspirin, warfarin and other blood thinning drugs. So, be sure to consult with your doctor if you are on any of these medications.

It may help lower cholesterol and blood glucose

Gingerol and the other compounds in ginger have been linked to a reduction in bad cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglyceride, blood glucose, insulin and insulin resistance.

Studies like this one from 2020 showed type 2 diabetes patients were able to lower their blood glucose and total cholesterol values compared to the control group. This older study found significant reduction in triglyceride levels in patients but no major differences in total cholestorol, LDL and HDL. Further research is definitely needed.

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