Loose-leaf ginger tea

Six ginger teas, four styles

• Ginger on its own: Ginger Root is the most direct choice, with the clean, spicy taste of the root itself.
• Ginger blends: Morning Glow and Ginger Cool each combine ginger with other ingredients for a rounder or fresher cup. The ingredients are listed on each product page.
• Ginger with black tea: Fresh Ginger is a black tea with ginger. It takes a splash of milk well and makes a spicy alternative to your usual breakfast tea.
• Ginger with green tea or rooibos: Lemon & Ginger comes in two versions. The green tea version is lighter and fresher; the rooibos version is naturally caffeine-free, so it is one for the evening.

Caffeine or not?

Ginger itself contains no caffeine. Whether your cup does depends on what it is blended with: black and green tea contain caffeine, rooibos does not. Check the ingredients of Morning Glow and Ginger Cool on the product page if caffeine matters to you.

With milk or without?

Ginger with black tea takes milk well, just like a breakfast tea. Pure ginger and the green tea and rooibos blends taste best without milk; a slice of lemon suits them better and brings out the freshness of the ginger.

How to make ginger tea with loose leaves

1. Measure: use about one heaped teaspoon per large cup, or a little more if you like it spicy.
2. Heat the water: freshly boiled for ginger, rooibos and black tea blends; let it cool to around 80 °C for the green tea version.
3. Steep: three to four minutes for the black and green blends, five to ten minutes for ginger and rooibos. The longer ginger steeps, the hotter the taste.
4. Strain: use a tea infuser, a tea filter or a teapot with a strainer. You will find these under tea equipment.
5. Finish: a slice of lemon or a teaspoon of honey both go well with ginger.

Ginger tea over ice

Brew the tea at double strength, let it cool and pour it over a glass full of ice. Lemon & Ginger and Ginger Cool work well this way. More ideas are on our iced tea page.

Root ginger tea: fresh root or a loose blend?

You can make ginger tea from fresh root: wash it, cut it into thin slices, pour boiling water over it and let it steep for five to ten minutes. The thinner the slices, the stronger the taste. A dried loose blend saves you the chopping, tastes the same every time and keeps for months in a closed tin, so you always have some in the cupboard.

More spiced tea

Ginger is also one of the classic spices in chai, together with cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. If you like the warmth of ginger, have a look at our chai tea, or browse all loose-leaf tea and herbal tea.