Ginger Tea

Ginger tea is the warming herbal infusion best known as a nausea cup and an everyday comfort drink. Made from fresh or dried ginger root (Zingiber officinale), it produces a spicy, warming cup with a characteristic bite and broad everyday uses. Ginger has a long, well-earned reputation for settling the stomach and queasiness, and it is one of the few herbs the NHS notes as worth trying for pregnancy nausea.

This guide covers ginger tea from the practical everyday uses to the difference between fresh and dried ginger, how to brew each properly, the best known commercial ginger products, and how to put ginger to work in several different cups.

The ginger plant

Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a flowering plant native to Southeast Asia whose rhizome (the underground stem, often loosely called "root") is used as a spice and herbal medicine. Ginger has been cultivated for over 5,000 years; it appears in ancient Indian Ayurvedic medical texts, traditional Chinese medicine, and ancient Greek and Roman herbal traditions.

Modern commercial ginger production occurs primarily in India (the world's largest producer), China, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Nepal. The plant produces a knobbly tan coloured rhizome that's harvested when mature; depending on the intended use, the rhizome may be sold fresh, dried, ground into powder, or processed into ginger oil.

The key active compounds in ginger include:

• Gingerols: the dominant compounds in fresh ginger; responsible for much of the warming and digestive effects
• Shogaols: formed when ginger is dried or heated; more pungent than gingerols and often more potent
• Zingerone: formed from gingerols during cooking; less pungent and contributes to the sweet undertone
• Various essential oils: contributing to the aroma and flavour

Different preparations of ginger emphasise different active compounds. Fresh ginger has more gingerols; dried or aged ginger has more shogaols; cooked ginger has more zingerone. The clinical research on ginger has covered both fresh and dried preparations, and both forms have been studied.

The ginger flavour profile

Ginger tea has a distinctive, instantly recognisable flavour profile:

• Warming spicy bite: the dominant character; the gingerols produce a noticeable peppery warmth
• Slight sweetness: particularly with longer brewing or honey addition
• Citrus undertones: the volatile oils provide bright lemony notes
• Pale gold to amber cup colour
• Warming aroma: comforting and assertive without being overpowering

The intensity varies dramatically by preparation. Fresh ginger tea brewed from sliced root produces the strongest, most pronounced cup; dried ginger tea bags produce a milder cup; tea bag blends with other herbs (ginger + lemon, ginger + mint) produce the gentlest version.

Ginger and pregnancy nausea

Ginger is the herbal cup most associated with easing morning sickness, and it is one of the few that has earned a mention in NHS guidance for pregnancy nausea.

• A long, trusted reputation: ginger has been used to settle queasiness for centuries
• Gentle and caffeine-free: a mild, warming cup that many find comforting
• Cup strength, not capsules: a normal cup of ginger tea is the gentle version; concentrated supplements are a different matter

For mild morning sickness, ginger tea is a gentle, low risk option. Severe or persistent pregnancy sickness needs medical care, and any regular use in pregnancy is worth running past your midwife.

Ginger and travel queasiness

Ginger is also a long-standing traditional choice for queasiness on the move.

• A settling cup before you travel: many people sip ginger tea ahead of a trip
• Gentle and non-drowsy: unlike some travel tablets

For everyday travel queasiness it is a pleasant, gentle option. For severe motion sickness or a long trip, a pharmacist can advise on dedicated travel treatments.

Ginger for everyday digestion

Ginger is a genuinely useful everyday digestive cup, warming and settling:

• After a heavy meal: a traditional warming cup to feel settled
• General queasiness: a gentle, caffeine-free choice when your stomach is unsettled, including the morning after a heavy night
• Bloating and trapped wind: long used as a comforting drink
• When you have a cold: warming and comforting, and the backbone of the classic hot lemon, ginger and honey cup

These are comforting, everyday uses rather than treatments. Persistent digestive trouble or pain is worth a word with a GP or pharmacist.

Fresh ginger vs dried ginger preparations

Two main approaches to ginger tea preparation, with somewhat different characteristics:

Fresh ginger tea:

1. Slice 2 to 3cm of fresh ginger root thinly
2. Add to a mug or small saucepan
3. Cover with 250ml of just boiled water
4. Steep or simmer for 5 to 10 minutes (longer for stronger cup)
5. Optionally add lemon juice and honey
6. Strain and drink hot

Fresh ginger tea is the strongest, most pronounced version. The fresh root contains more gingerols and produces a more peppery, warming cup. For drinkers wanting maximum ginger character (or for nausea applications where strong effects are wanted), fresh ginger preparation is the way to go.

Dried ginger tea bags:

1. Place a ginger tea bag in a mug
2. Cover with 250ml of just boiled water
3. Steep for 5 to 7 minutes
4. Optionally add lemon juice and honey
5. Remove bag and drink

Dried ginger tea bags are more convenient and produce a milder, more accessible cup. For everyday daily ginger drinking, the bag format is practical. Pukka Three Ginger, Yogi Ginger, and various other brands provide convenient dried ginger preparations.

For drinkers who want both convenience and strong character, having both forms in the cupboard is sensible: fresh ginger for nausea management situations or hangover mornings, tea bags for everyday casual drinking.

How to brew ginger tea properly

The brewing approach varies by preparation:

For fresh ginger:

1. Slice the ginger thinly more surface area produces stronger cup
2. Use just boiled water (95 to 100°C)
3. Steep for 5 to 10 minutes: covered, longer for stronger cup
4. For very strong ginger tea: simmer the slices in water for 10 to 15 minutes rather than just steeping
5. Add honey and lemon at the end: after the ginger has infused

For dried ginger tea bags:

1. Use just boiled water
2. Steep for 5 to 7 minutes
3. Cover the cup during brewing to retain volatile oils
4. Add honey and lemon if desired

Each tea family's water temperature is covered in the water temperatures guide.

The canonical hot lemon, ginger, and honey

The most popular British home cold remedy:

1. Slice 2 to 3cm of fresh ginger root thinly: place in a mug
2. Add the juice of half a lemon
3. Top with 250ml of water just off the boil (90°C, slightly cooled to preserve more vitamin C)
4. Steep for 5 minutes
5. Stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons of honey
6. Drink hot: repeat 3 to 4 times daily during a cold

This is a warming, comforting cup: ginger and lemon for brightness, honey to coat a scratchy throat, and the hot drink itself for comfort. It is the closest thing British home tradition has to a universal cold-season cup.

Ginger blends

Ginger blends well with many other herbs and ingredients:

• Ginger + lemon: the classic warming combination, very popular
• Ginger + turmeric both bright, warming roots; a popular combined blend
• Ginger + lemongrass Asian style aromatic combination
• Ginger + cinnamon: warming combination, particularly good in winter
• Ginger + peppermint combined warming and cooling sensations; useful for nausea
• Ginger + galangal + turmeric (Pukka Three Ginger blend), a whole ginger family blend
• Ginger + chai spices: the foundation of most chai blends. See the chai overview
• Ginger + echinacea + elderberry a cold season blend

The versatility of ginger means it appears across many functional blend categories. Pukka Three Ginger is one of the most popular British supermarket ginger options.

Pregnancy and ginger

The NHS mentions ginger in its pregnancy sickness advice, and suggests speaking to a pharmacist first if you are thinking of ginger supplements (NHS: vomiting and morning sickness). It also says herbal tea should stay at or below 4 cups in pregnancy (NHS pregnancy guidance). We don't give a daily amount of ginger tea; ask your midwife or pharmacist what suits you.

• Avoid concentrated ginger supplement capsules without speaking to a midwife or pharmacist
• Discuss heavy daily consumption with your midwife: for individual health context

What we stock

Browse the ginger tea range and the wider herbal tea range. The most bought ginger products on teas.co.uk:

• Twinings Bioblends Lemon, Ginger and Turmeric, 18 Tea Bags 40g
• Dalgety Strong Lemon & Ginger Herbal, 18 Tea Bags 54g
• Dragonfly Organic Lively Lemon and Ginger, 20 Tea Bags 34g
• Tropical Sun Turmeric and Ginger, 20 Tea Bags 40g
• Dalgety Soursop and Ginger, 18 Tea Bags 40g
• Dilmah Ginger and Honey, 20 Tea Bags 30g

For comparisons across the wider herbal tea landscape, see also: Pukka, Twinings, Clipper, Yogi, Heath & Heather.

The verdict on ginger

Ginger tea is the most evidence supported herbal tea on the British shelf. A long, well-earned reputation for easing nausea and travel queasiness, gentle digestive comfort, and a warming cold-season cup, plus broad practical accessibility, makes it one of the most useful herbal teas any household can keep in the cupboard.

For drinkers building a herbal tea collection, ginger sits alongside chamomile and peppermint as the three essentials. Chamomile covers the evening cup; peppermint covers refreshing daily drinking; ginger covers nausea, travel queasiness, everyday comfort, and a warming cold season cup. Between these three, you have herbal solutions for most of the practical use cases that come up in daily life.

The fresh ginger from the root preparation is worth knowing how to make even if you usually drink tea bags; for nausea management or hangover mornings, the strong fresh ginger version delivers more pronounced effects than any commercial bag. The 10-minute investment in slicing ginger and steeping it produces a meaningfully better cup for those specific situations.

Don't underestimate the practical value of ginger tea just because it's familiar. Ginger has earned its place: a useful, gentle cup people reach for when their stomach is unsettled.

For the wider context see the herbal tea overview, the chamomile overview, the peppermint overview, the chai overview, and the Pukka deep dive.

Ginger tea, at a glance

For everyday teas relevant to this topic: English Breakfast, Earl Grey, green tea, loose leaf tea, Darjeeling, oolong, and herbal tea. For more, the full tea shop ships free across the UK over £35.

More related guides

• Border Dark Chocolate Ginger
• Teapigs Sweet Ginger: Pure Ginger Without the Burn
• Tropical Sun Instant Ginger: Maximum Ginger, Fast

More from the tea wiki

• Twinings Spiced Ginger
• Why fresh ginger curdles milk tea (and how to stop it)
• Pukka Three Ginger
• Tropical Sun Honey and Ginger: Sweet, Warming Comfort
• Tropical Sun Lemon and Ginger: The Classic Combo
• Tea and Nausea

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