This ginger turmeric tea recipe is my go to daily tonic for cold season! It's so much thriftier than expensive ginger shots from a juicery and filled with immune boosting ingredients.
This recipe makes 8 cups of a ginger turmeric concentrate.
Store it in your fridge.
When you're ready for tea... just mix some of the concentrate with lemon juice & hot water!
Ready in 25 minutes
So easy
Super thrifty
Lasts for days
Warming, sinus clearing, and comforting
Why Make A Concentrate
I love that this ginger turmeric tea recipe makes a big batch of concentrated tonic. You can store it in your fridge and draw from it for days! When I'm feeling under the weather, it's so nice to reach into the fridge and have this tea at the ready.
I like to combine ¼ to ½ cup of this concentrate with half a fresh lemon (or 1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice). Then I top up my mug with boiling water.
I love that this tea recipe offers the freshness of ginger turmeric tea from scratch without having to make a fresh mug every day. When the concentrate is made, there's no steeping time and you don't have to reach for tea bag after tea bag.
I really do find this ginger turmeric tea recipe to be so much more potent and powerful than a bagged tea option. AND... it's so much thriftier then expensive tonics from a juicery.
The Ingredients
You can make this powerful ginger turmeric concentrate using:
- Fresh Ginger Root
- Turmeric
- Cinnamon
- Black Pepper
- Cayenne Pepper
This tea is full of antioxidant power and has a nice kick of heat from the cayenne pepper. It's sure to clear your sinuses!
Among its many health benefits, ginger is thought to aid in the relief of nausea and support our immune systems in the fight against viruses. This healthline article can help give you an overview of the many benefits of having ginger in your diet.
Turmeric has powerful anti-inflammatory properties and I try to sneak it into my day wherever I can! It adds a handy bit of yellow colour to this 10 Minute Tofu Breakfast Scramble, my go-to Extra Speedy Queso "cheesy" sauce, and it makes a delicious Golden Milk Latte!
Cinnamon is loaded with antioxidants and can help in the fight against bacterial infections. The article, 10 Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Cinnamon can give you an overview of why you can feel free to sprinkle cinnamon on everything you can!
You may be wondering what black pepper is doing in this tea recipe but this article can help explain Why Turmeric and Black Pepper Is a Powerful Combination. Adding a pinch of black pepper whenever you cook with turmeric can help your body better absorb the benefits of the turmeric.
And cayenne pepper is packed with vitamins, may aid in pain relief, and may reduce inflammation. I love that the cayenne pepper adds a kick of heat to this tea which is guaranteed to warm you up and clear those sinuses!
Recipe Cost
8 cups of the concentrate for this ginger turmeric tea recipe costs us less than CAD $1 to make!
When we make a mug of tea using ¼ - ½ cup of this concentrate and lemon juice; half a fresh lemon costs us 50 cents and lemon juice from concentrate costs only an additional 10 cents.
Let me know in the comments below if this ginger turmeric tea recipe becomes your go to daily tonic.
If you're in the mood for some comforting soup, try my Sweet Carrot Ginger Soup. And if you feel like switching things up, try this powerful Blueberry Pear Smoothie - a great midday brain boost with antioxidant power!
Print
Ginger Turmeric Tea - Your Powerful Daily Tonic
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 8 cups (1.9 L) 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Make this ginger turmeric tea recipe in 25 minutes! Store the concentrate in your fridge and have immune boosting tea at the ready for days!
Ingredients
The Concentrate
- 8 cups water
- 6-7 inches ginger, peeled & sliced (or about 2 tsp ground)
- 1 ½ tsp ground turmeric (or about 1 ½ inch fresh)
- 3 cinnamon sticks (or 1 ½ tsp ground)
- ⅛ tsp ground black pepper (for better absorption of turmeric’s benefits)
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper (decrease or omit if desired for a milder tea)
The Tea
- ¼ - ½ cup ginger turmeric concentrate
- ½ fresh lemon (or 1 ½ tbsp lemon juice from concentrate)
- 8oz water, boiled
*All the ingredients for this recipe are from our pantry and freezer tips!
Instructions
*Keep in mind that turmeric can stain so you may find staining in the pot you use to make the concentrate. I like to store the concentrate in a glass bottle and use older mugs for making the tea.
- To make the concentrated ginger turmeric tonic, combine the water and thinly sliced ginger (you can leave the ginger unpeeled if you scrub it clean). Bring the water to a low boil, reduce to a simmer, and simmer for 10 minutes with the lid partially covering the pot.
- Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for an additional 10 minutes with the lid partially on.
- Allow the mixture to cool then strain and store in a large glass bottle. The concentrate stores well for at least 2 weeks in the fridge.
- When ready to make a mug of tea, boil water in your kettle. Combine ¼ - ½ cup of the concentrate with 1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice or half a fresh lemon and fill your mug with as much water as you would like. You can stir in a bit of liquid sweetener of your choice.
- Alternatively, mix the concentrate and lemon juice with ice water for an iced tea. You can even make a golden milk of sorts by skipping the lemon and water and mixing ½ cup or more of the concentrate with your favourite plant milk. Warm the mixture, froth it up, sprinkle on some cinnamon and nutmeg and you have a ginger turmeric latte!
Notes
Approximate Cost: 8 cups of the concentrate costs us less than CAD $1. Using concentrated lemon juice to make the tea costs less than 10 cents and 50 cents if we use half a fresh lemon. A ginger shot or other cold busting tonic from a juicery would cost us between $4 - $6.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Hot Drinks
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Canadian
Arthur Low
I made this recipe : 1tsp ground tumeric
4in thinly sliced ginger
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 -5” cinnamon stick
10oz boiling water
1med squirt of local honey
I suffer from pinched nerves in
My neck that causes muscle spasms
So i combined these ingredients
it works !
Kathryn Alexandre
I'm so glad to hear this helps. Thank you so much for letting me know and for the lovely star rating.
Gloria
Can I freeze the concentrate in cubes to last longer
Kathryn Alexandre
Absolutely! That's a great idea!
Kat
Can this be drank cold?
Kathryn Alexandre
Yes, of course!
Tina
Do you have to boil the ginger and tumeric or can you just finely grate it and add it to the lemon juice with pepper and cinnamon?
Kathryn Alexandre
You can certainly do that. It sounds like you would be making individual mugs of tea instead of a large batch of concentrate that you can draw from but adding smaller quantities of all those ingredients to an individual mug and steeping it will certainly achieve the same kind of idea!
Anonymous adviser
To be even thriftier, take a chunck (or multiple chuncks for more plants) of that ginger and plant it. After a while of patience and regular watering, it will start to grow with remarkable ease so you can do the same thing all over again for free! The shoots and flowers of the ginger plant are also edible. But be careful not to place it in direct sunlight!
Kathryn Alexandre
This is great to know! I've never tried planting any of my ginger but I love every excuse to make things I've purchased regrow. I currently have some scallions (or green onions) in water for a second life and am looking forward to planting more veggies and herbs in the spring. Thank you for the tip!
Gloria
Can I freeze the concentrate in cubes to last longer
Bryan Kowalsky
You certainly can! That's a great idea!
B
Do you grow outside or in? I live in Manitoba Canada we can get very cold in the winter not sure if the plant would survive that cold
Kathryn Alexandre
Your question just reminded me of this! I haven't tried it but I definitely will soon. It seems like ginger will grow well inside and "Anonymous Adviser" does say it's best to not have it in direct sunlight so you will probably be best growing it inside!
Tara Pierce
Hi, we made this recipe and put it in really nice bottles and put it in the refrigerator. Can you please tell me how long this will last refrigerated?
Kathryn Alexandre
Oh great! If you can use it within two weeks that's probably best but I've definitely had it last well in my fridge for 3 weeks. You could probably freeze it if you don't get through it in time and you're worried about it turning. You could freeze it in an ice cube tray and then just defrost the ice cubes in a pot or pour boiling water right over them for a lukewarm tea. I hope this helps!
Kimberlee
How many cups a day can you drink ? Will it cause issues if u drink ur daily water consumption in replacement of this drink ? It’s for anti inflammatory purposes…
Kathryn Alexandre
I would suggest checking with a doctor or perhaps a nutritionist if you can but I personally would not recommend replacing your daily water consumption with this tea. I think it would be most effective perhaps twice a day (maybe morning or afternoon and again in the evening). Too much of these ingredients (ginger, turmeric, lemon, and the cayenne if you add it) can be irritating to your stomach in large quantities. They are quite acidic so I think they are wonderful and soothing in small doses but can cause irritation if consumed too often. I hope that drinking plain water throughout the day alongside a mug or two of this tea will get you feeling better!
Trish
This tonic is always in our fridge and we have it all winter long! Going to try having it iced in the summer!
Kathryn Alexandre
Ooo yes we really like it iced in the summer too. If you have any pineapple you might love my Pineapple Skin Ginger Turmeric Tea! It's really similar but you can boil pineapple skin with the spices and it infuses a great sweetness to the tonic that is perfect in the summer. Thank you for letting me know this is a constant in your fridge!
Trish
Ooooooo thank you for suggesting that! Will definitely try it the next time I have pineapples in the house!
Kathryn Alexandre
Fantastic! Keep me posted!
Gloria
That sounds delicious, I love pineapple. Definitely going to try that.just had a cup of the tea,I added a little honey, it was delicious. This recipe is a keeper . It will be a staple in my refrigerator. Thank you for sharing.
Kathryn Alexandre
I'm so glad you love it Gloria and it will be a staple for you! I hope you like the pineapple version too when you're able to give it a try. Thank you so much for the lovely star rating!
Anonymous
Asha
I make this recipe often, it's great! We also have the Turmeric Ginger tea from Ahista Tea. Both are household staples for us!
Kathryn Alexandre
I'm so glad to hear this one is a staple for you! Thank you so much for letting us know and for taking the time to leave a lovely star rating!
Anon
What do you recommend doing with the left over boiled ginger? Is there anything else that can be done with them instead of just throwing away?
Kathryn Alexandre
Oh ya you could definitely just eat them if you'd like! You could steep them in another tea or chop them up and add them to a stir fry or curry. They won't be as flavourful as they were but you can definitely still eat them and should still get some flavour out of them. Even cinnamon sicks, I often rinse them off, allow them to dry, and use them again!
Sherri B.
I have a little twist for your recipe. I have mixed all of the dry ingredients together in bulk so that I can make smaller batches quite easily.
3/4 cup Tumeric
1 cup Ginger
3/4 cup Cinnamon
3 T Black Pepper
3 T Cayenne
Shaken to mix and stored in a quart mason jar.
1 tablespoon added to a quart of boiling water is just right for several days.
I also went for vinegar with the mother instead of lemon and I also add honey. These are added to the hot mixture on a daily basis. 1 oz of each for a 12 oz serving.
Enjoy!
Kathryn Alexandre
This is so helpful for anyone wishing to do the same kind of preparation for this recipe. Thank you for detailing it here for us!
Megs
What would be the recommended amount of ginger powder if replacing ginger root with powder?
Kathryn Alexandre
I would use about 2 tsp of ginger powder. You can always give you tea a little taste after it has been boiling for awhile and if you feel that it needs more you can add a bit more in. I hope you enjoy it!
pat chapman
Hi, I am thinking of adding ground cloves to this as well. Not quite sure how much but if anyone has a suggestion feel free
Kathryn Alexandre
That's a nice addition! I use whole cloves in my "wassail" and "mulled wine" recipes. For those I use 10-16 whole cloves so I would probably start with 1/2 tsp ground cloves in this tea. You could taste the tea before you take it off the heat and add another 1/4 tsp if you want more of the clove flavour. Let me know if you try it and if you find there's a sweet spot for you!
Chas
Would it be ok to drink the concentrate?
Kathryn Alexandre
It would be. It’s just very strong so I wouldn’t consume too much. You could probably drink a shot or two of it but otherwise it might be too strong on your stomach to not have it diluted.
Denise
Making the concentrate and used the 8 cups water as indicated. Will it evaporate some of the 8cups to make a concentrate? I guess I’m asking what does the concentrate look like…amount and color?
Kathryn Alexandre
The "concentrate" won't evaporate much at all as it only boils for about 20 minutes. The photos in the blog post show a large bottle of a darker liquid and that is the "concentrate". To make a small mug of tea, 1/4 cup of that concentrate is added to a mug with lemon juice and boiling water. There is also a video linked in the recipe card that can make the process really clear for you!
Denise Osbourne
Thanks Kathryn. May be me but I do not see a video link in the recipe card.
Denise Osbourne
Nevermind, I did find the video link. Duh! Thanks for your help.
Kathryn Alexandre
I'm glad you found it! It's a little deceiving because a play button doesn't show up on the image so it could just look like a photo at the bottom of the recipe card. Sorry for the confusion but I hope the video helps to clarify the process Denise!
Aricia Phillips
Does this help with diabetes type two?
Kathryn Alexandre
hmm I can't say for certain because I'm not a doctor or nutritionist. I believe that turmeric, ginger, and cinnamon could all be beneficial and lemon has a low glycemic index. Especially if you are not adding any sweeteners to this tea then I would think it could be helpful to consume in moderation. You could always double check with a doctor if you want to make this part of a daily routine.