Ginger tea with cloves, a caffeine-free warming drink that soothes the stomach and aids digestion at suhoor.
Ginger tea with cloves is one of the old Levantine drinks, taken by people on winter nights and cold days.
Cloves are an Indonesian-origin spice that contains the pain-relieving eugenol. At suhoor it soothes the stomach and fights the cold.
Peel the fresh ginger and chop it finely or grate it. Fresh ginger releases its aroma immediately and gives the tea a refreshing bite that dried ginger cannot match.
In a small pot, pour the water and add the ginger, cloves, and cinnamon. Raise the heat and leave the mixture to boil for 5 minutes. The cloves release their aroma over the heat.
Lower the heat and leave the mixture to simmer for 5 more minutes. This extracts all the essential oils and gives a tea rich in warmth.
Take the pot off the heat and strain the tea through a fine strainer into two cups. Press the remaining ginger with the back of a spoon to extract the maximum amount of liquid.
Add the honey and lemon juice. The lemon balances the heat of the ginger and opens up the flavor. Serve immediately while warm.
The glycemic index (GI) measures how quickly a food raises blood sugar, while the glycemic load (GL) measures how much a full serving raises it. Together they give the complete picture.
A low value (≤55) means a gradual rise in blood sugar — the most suitable range for diabetes and insulin resistance.
Glycemic load reflects the impact of the full serving. To lower it: take half a serving, or pair the recipe with a source of protein and fiber.
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet per FDA food-label reference values — your daily needs may be higher or lower. Values are derived from the recipe's ingredients via the USDA database.
The most common problems when preparing Ginger Tea with Cloves, and how to fix them:
Dilute it with hot water or double the lemon. Too much ginger irritates the empty stomach.
Reduce the cloves to two pieces. Cloves are strong in flavor and should be added carefully.
Boil the ginger for 3 minutes, not 10. Overcooking releases bitterness from the fibers.
Double the ginger and add a pinch of black pepper. The pepper prevents the ginger flavor from breaking down.
Two days in a glass bottle. Reheat with a spoon of water over low heat.
Boil the mixture with half the water and keep it in the freezer for a week. Add hot water before drinking.
| Original Ingredient | Tested Substitute | Ratio | Flavor Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresh ginger | Ground dried ginger | 4 g fresh = 1 g dried | Loses the lively bite. |
| Cloves | Ground cardamom | 1 clove = 1/4 g cardamom | Different but complementary flavor. |
| White honey | Brown sugar | 1:1 | You lose the honey benefits but the flavor is acceptable. |
| Ingredient | 2 people | 4 people | 6 people |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water | 500 ml | 1000 ml | 1500 ml |
| Ginger | 20 g | 40 g | 60 g |
| Cloves | 4 pieces | 8 pieces | 12 pieces |
| Cinnamon | 2 g | 4 g | 6 g |
Choose a fresh, firm, heavy ginger root. Fresh ginger contains 3% active essential oils, while dried loses half of them within a month. Peel it only 1 mm thick to keep the flavor under the skin.
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