Ginger Tea

Ginger Tea

We finally got some heat, so I decided to make lots of ginger tea, have some hot during the cool of the evening, and save the rest for the heat of the next day.  After crawling around on my hands and knees weeding and thinning all day, I was ready for a nice cool drink. 

2 inches fresh ginger
regular sized saucepan full of cold water
fresh lemon
sugar, honey, or jaggery to taste
1 teabag

Instead of chopping the ginger, use a potato peeler to reduce the ginger to thin strips.  The idea is to maximize the surface area, so that as much flavour as possible can steep into the water.  Add the ginger strips to the water, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for at least fifteen minutes. 

Turn off the heat, and when the water stops boiling, add the teabag.  Because I was using a regular sized pan, I used just 1 teabag.  Let it steep for at least five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Just before serving, squeeze some lemon into the cup, then add the hot tea.  Cover the saucepan and set aside.  I sweetened mine with jaggery powder, but any sugar will do. ( This was the hot ginger tea I drank in the late cool evening.) 

The next afternoon, while it was hot, I poured the room tempterature leftover tea over icecubes. This time around I used some mint for extra flavour, but that was only because my last lemon had turned a scary colour.  I would have much preferred lemon, and strongly advise you to use lemon too!  Sweeten to taste and enjoy.