This Lemongrass Ginger Tea comes with everything you love about ginger tea plus a pleasant fragrance from lemongrass. Learn how to prepare the tea as well as how to enjoy it.
Ginger tea is often used as a home remedy for mild cold, nausea and stomachache in Viet families. In the South and Central of Vietnam, you will find a version of ginger tea with lemongrass. The pleasant fragrance from lemongrass adds a relaxing effect to the tea. We call it “trà gừng sả” in Vietnamese.
Although this drink is very easy to make, the brewing time should be right, or there’s a chance it will turn out with a soapy taste. You can enjoy it all year round since it is great either hot or cold. Watch how to make it in the video below.
Recipe Video
Ingredients
This herbal tea requires just 3 ingredients: fresh lemongrass, ginger, and water. I sometimes add a squeeze of lime juice and some honey to make the tea even tastier.
The ginger creates a gentle warmth slowly spreading throughout your body when you drink this tea hot. Some other drinks with ginger I like are ginger coffee and orange ginger tea.
You probably have known how extensively lemongrass is used in Southeast Asian cooking including Vietnamese cuisine. Because of its relaxing citrus fragrance, we also use it to make drinks in Vietnam. Throughout the country, many resorts and spas offer a lemongrass drink as a welcome drink to guests.
How to Make Lemongrass Ginger Tea
Again, this lemongrass tea is very quick and straightforward to make. You will need to bruise/smack both ginger and lemongrass before brewing to help release their aroma.
Another thing you need to be careful is simmering lemongrass too long will make the tea taste somewhat soapy. So to avoid this, we will simmer ginger first to extract its flavors and fragrance.
After that, we will add lemongrass and simmer for just a few more minutes. You will find detailed brewing time in the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Serve this Herbal Tea
After brewing, you can drink it hot right away. To enjoy it cold, let it cool slightly, then chill in the refrigerator and drink it once it’s chilled.
Related: another Vietnamese herbal tea you may like is this winter melon tea.
This lemongrass ginger tea can be stored in the fridge up to 2 days. Even after refrigerating it, you can still drink it warm by microwaving it briefly. I find that it doesn’t lose its fragrance or warmth at all. Just make sure it is stored in an airtight bottle or container.
Here’s a variation that also tastes fantastic: lemongrass ginger tea with honey. To make it, you just need to add a squeeze of lime juice and stir in honey. This version is also great either hot or cold. Don’t go overboard with the lime juice or you will turn it into a limeade. A few drops per serving glass will be enough.
Please find detailed instructions in the recipe card below. We hope you will like it as much as we do. We like to drink a small glass of it in the morning or in the evening.
More Drink Recipes
I’d love to hear what you think about the drink, so please feel free to leave a comment and a rating if you have tried it. New recipes are added every week so let’s connect on Facebook, Youtube, Pinterest and Instagram for the latest updates. You can find my collection of Vietnamese recipes here.
Lemongrass Ginger Tea
Ingredients
- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled (about 0.6-0.7 oz or 18-20g)
- 5 lemongrass stalks (about 2 oz or 60g)
- 4 cups water
Instructions
- Slice ginger into 4 slices and use a pestle or something heavy to slightly bruise them. Peel and discard the outer layer of lemongrass. Cut each stalk in half crosswise and use a pestle or something heavy to bruise them.
- Add water to a small pot and bring to a boil. Add ginger slices and lower the heat to a simmer. Cover the pot and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, add lemongrass stalks. Cover the pot and continue to simmer gently for another 5-7 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and remove the pot from the stove. Let the tea steep for another 5-10 minutes in the pot with the lid still on. You can even steep it longer if you prefer a stronger tea. The tea will also look darker when you steep it longer.
- To serve hot: pour the tea into serving glasses. You can decorate each glass with a slice of ginger and a lemongrass stalk that you have just simmered.
- To serve cold: let the tea cool down in the pot and then chill it in the refrigerator before drinking.
- You can keep the tea in an airtight bottle or container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. It can be reheated easily in the microwave.
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