Ginger
Ginger tea is an infusion of the ginger rhizome (Zingiber officinale), caffeine-free, delivering a warming, pungent, spicy cup with a clean citrusy edge. It is one of the most widely used folk remedies in the world, traditionally taken to settle the stomach, ease nausea, and warm the body in cold weather. It can be brewed from fresh root, dried pieces, or powder, with fresh root giving the brightest, most aromatic result.
For fresh ginger, choose firm, heavy roots with smooth, taut skin and a strong, sharp aroma; wrinkled, soft, or light roots are old and will taste muted. For dried ginger tea, look for pieces or slices that are pale tan to golden and still pungent when you smell them, rather than dusty and faint. Heat and pungency are the quality markers, so a good ginger should genuinely bite. Young ginger is milder and less fibrous; mature ginger is hotter and more intense, and dried ginger is often sharper still. Ginger is commonly blended with lemon, honey, turmeric, or lemongrass, so read the label if you want it pure. Powdered ginger brews quickly but can be cloudy and gritty, so cut or sliced material is usually preferable for a clean cup.
Ginger is the underground rhizome of Zingiber officinale, a tropical flowering plant in the Zingiberaceae family, native to maritime Southeast Asia and now grown across the tropics, including India, China, Nigeria, and Peru. For tea it is used fresh (sliced or grated), dried, or powdered. The warming pungency comes mainly from gingerol, which converts to the spicier shogaol as the root is dried, so dried ginger often tastes hotter than fresh. Ginger contains no caffeine.
Because it is a root, ginger rewards a hot, longer extraction. Fresh: simmer several thin slices (about 1 to 2 cm of root per cup) in water at a low boil for 10 to 15 minutes for a properly spicy cup. Dried pieces: use about 1 teaspoon per cup, water at 95 to 100°C, and steep or simmer 5 to 10 minutes. The longer and hotter you brew, the more heat and pungency you extract, and fresh slices will often take a second simmer. It will not turn bitter, so brew to the intensity you want.
Inexpensive: roughly €3-10 (about $3-11) per 100 g for dried or cut ginger; fresh root is cheaper still and sold by weight at any grocer.
Prices reviewed June 2026
Turmeric
Turmeric is ginger's close rhizome cousin in the same plant family, earthier and more bitter with a golden color, and the two are constantly blended in warming wellness teas.
Lemongrass
Lemongrass is the bright, citrusy Southeast Asian partner often steeped alongside ginger, lifting ginger's heat with a clean lemon freshness.
Masala Chai
Masala chai is where ginger meets actual tea, blended with black tea and other spices into a milky, caffeinated brew, where ginger tea on its own is a caffeine-free single-note infusion.
Ginger and turmeric are close cousins in the Zingiberaceae family, which is why they look so similar as knobbly underground rhizomes. The spicy kick comes from gingerol, which converts into the even more pungent shogaol when the root is dried, so dried ginger tea often hits harder than a cup made from fresh root.