Freshly Squeezed Ginger Juice Tea or Fresh Ginger Infusion

Fresh ginger juice is a potent antiviral and is often one of the first herbs we turn to when a viral infection seems imminent. The chopped or grated rhizome can also be used if juicing isn’t possible.

Adapted from Stephen Buhner’s Herbal Antivirals (2013).

Ingredients

1 large ginger (Zingiber officinale) rhizome

1½ cups water

1-3 tsp raw honey

⅛ tsp cayenne (Capsicum annuum) pepper

Squeeze of lime (optional)

Directions

• Select four thumb-sized pieces of ginger rhizome.

  
  

• Using a juicer, process the ginger and capture the juice — the goal is to get ¼ cup of juice.

  
  

• Save the fibrous ginger material.

  
  

• Bring water to a boil.

  
  

• To make the ginger tea, combine ¼ ginger juice with just-off-the boil water, then add the honey, lime, and cayenne. Stir thoroughly.

  
  

• Drink 4-6 cups per day during acute infection. Store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before making a fresh batch.

  
  

• If you don’t have a juicer, you can chop or grate the ginger finely and infuse in just-off-the-boil water for 2-4 hours, covered, and then proceed to add the rest of the ingredients. You can also use this method to prepare the fibrous ginger material left over from juicing.