Adventures in Homemade Ginger Tea

I'm cupping my hands around my first ever cup of homemade ginger tea. I know, I know. Why has it taken me so long to experiment with using fresh ginger root in the kitchen? I'm not sure.
Fresh ginger root. Photo Credit: Morguefile

In the past my experience with ginger has been pretty neutral. I like ginger ale soda, but it's masked with lots of sugar and bubbly carbonation. Candied ginger tastes too spicy. And, Asian foods seasoned with the spicy root have been tasty, but not exactly memorable. I guess I'm neutral about ginger.

Then a friend over on Google+ talked me into giving fresh, whole ginger a chance. He uses it to make gingered-spiced quinoa and homemade stock for future soup recipes. (Hi, Dana!)

So, as I push through today's work deadline and succumb to every possible distraction around me, I ventured into the kitchen to do something with that ugly little ginger root I just bought. It's just laying there all knotted and bland looking.

Since I'm not feeling the greatest today (darn nausea and joint pain from RA), I decided to venture into an easy creation: ginger tea. Since I know I like chamomile, I decided to add it to my impromptu recipe.

I filled my decorative little glass tea pot with cold water, 10 dried chamomile buds and approximately 10 disks of sliced ginger that resemble dimes. After simmering for 10 minutes, I put about 1 tablespoon of raw honey in my favorite mug and topped it off with the steamy golden tea.

The first sip was spicy and tickled my throat. I can't decide if I like it. But, I keep going back for more sips. The sweet and spicy combination is definitely an acquired taste, and growing on me quickly. I can see the bottom of my cup. I better go grab a refill!

How to you enjoy fresh ginger?

Until Next Time,
Choose Healthy!

Angela Tague
Whole Foods Living

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4 comments:

  1. Sounds delicious! I've eaten ginger in a lot of Asian food, but never cooked with it myself.

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  2. Sounds interesting, I think I should try to make some of that ginger tea.

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  3. Hi Angela,
    I grew up with ginger and I often make ginger tea (shredding raw ginger in boiling water) often for nausea and I recommend it for stomach upsets and any bouts of nausea or vomiting. Yes, it can be spicy and may cause slight heartburn to someone new to ginger, just make it less potent with honey, like you stated above. I drank lots of ginger water during pregnancy.
    Great Blog!

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    1. Thanks for commenting! I need to keep giving ginger a try! The taste really is growing on me. You're right; I simply need to use a bit less ginger next time and keep enjoying it with honey! Thanks! ~Angela

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