Ginger Tea

It remains uncontested that one of the most consumed beverages around the world is tea. Cultivated for thousands of years for its medicinal properties, the tea was a Chinese invention. For millennia, tea was served as a healing aid until around the 3rd century AD when it started to be consumed as a daily drink. In a similar fashion, the Ginger Tea, an equally ancient tonic, was preferred for its distinctly sanative role.

The Zingiber officinale, more popularly known as ginger, was one of the several ancient spices that belonged to the Austronesian region. It was exported to ancient Greece and Rome and later all-around Europe. Earlier, it was believed that the ginger possessed mystical energy and ingesting it would ward off evil spirits, boosting health. Even in Indian Ayurveda, ginger has had a prolific role to play. As a result, ginger became one of the most coveted spices, so much so that around the 14th or 15th century, the cost of one pound exceeded the price of a sheep. The exorbitant prices, however, did not stop innovations like the ginger ale, ginger bread or the Ginger Tea.

Like any other herbal analeptic, the preparation of Ginger Tea is quite hassle free. It is made by simply chopping up some ginger root, boiling it in water and topping it off with some honey or lemon to tone down the bitterness. It was a custom followed by the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD, China) where condiments like ginger, orange peel, cloves, peppermint and even onions were added to the authentic tea to palliate the pungent aftertaste.

The persisting benefits of this tonic did not go unnoticed and various countries in Asia were quick to incorporate Ginger Tea in their diet. Different names like the Japanese Shōgayu, Korean Saenggang-cha, Filipino Salabat and Indonesian Teh Jahe were given, all of which ultimately meant “ginger in boiling water”. The culture of adding spices to the Teh Jahe makes for the more popular Wedang Jahe. Various adaptations emerged like the Teh halia from Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore, and Adrak wali Chai from India, where ginger was added to strong brewed tea, coupled with milk or condensed milk and sweeteners.

Compounds like gingerols and shogaols are often consumed as alternate herbal remedies to allopathy. The proposed medicinal benefits of the Ginger Tea are yet to be scientifically proven but that has not deterred holistic practitioners from imbibing this ancient drink into their modern lifestyles. Irrespective of whether we get rational breakthroughs, the Ginger Tea can serve as the perfect earthy-spicy refreshment and mood-lifter.