Great for waking you up, soothing and full flavour, ginger tea is one of the easier teas to knock together yourself, at home, but can you make it even easier to make?
Can You Freeze Ginger Tea?
Yes, you can freeze ginger tea for up to 3 months. To do this, you can simply prepare the ginger root as you would typically before placing it into a small jar or container and transferring it to the edge of your freezer.
Do Does Ginger Tea freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze Ginger Tea? Yes
How to Freeze Ginger Tea
Freezing ginger tea is a lot simpler than you might think since you only really need to freeze the ginger root itself. Follow our steps to learn this simple process:
- Peel and Chop the Ginger: Peeling and chopping the ginger is the first step to throwing together a simple ginger tea, so, naturally, itās the first step in preparing ginger tea to be frozen. Try removing the skin with a teaspoon – it typically comes away very quickly, and with little waste.
- Portion Into Containers: After youāve peeled and roughly chopped the ginger, portion it out according to how much you use for each cup. Generally, this is around a tablespoon. An ice cube tray would work great here.
- Add Spices: Some people prefer to add spices and herbs to their ginger tea, such as cinnamon or turmeric. If youād like to add spices, add the powder to the small container youāre keeping the ginger in and thoroughly mix the two together to aid in rapid flavour release when you finally brew the tea.
- Seal or Wrap: If you’re using a container then seal the lid to the top or if you’re using an ice cube tray, wrap the tray in a sheet of cling film.
- Freeze: Place the tea in the small containers at the edge of the freezer. Ginger root is very fibrous, so it shouldnāt be damaged by the frost front or any level of freezer burn.
3 Tips for Freezing Ginger Tea
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing ginger tea to have the best results:
Seal Them Tight
The beneficial and flavour-containing compounds in ginger are volatile. This means that they can evaporate or dissolve over time in the presence of air, leading to a tea thatās less flavourful. Avoid these compounds vanishing from your tea by ensuring the container is sealed.Ā
Freeze Submerged in Water
Freezing the ginger in a small layer of water can be a great way to protect the ginger from losing those compounds. The water will form a barrier between the ginger and the air in the freezer, allowing the ginger to more easily hold on to any volatile compounds within it.Ā
Don’t Freeze the Sweetener
When people make ginger tea, they tend to mix it with a liquid form of sweetener, such as honey or maple syrup. We wouldnāt freeze these sweeteners, as they can lose a lot of texture and flavour in the freezer, especially honey.
How Long Can You Freeze Ginger Tea?
You can freeze ginger tea for around 3 months before freezer burn starts to set in. Since youāre only really freezing ginger root, it freezes very well – itās a fibrous plant that will not lose much texture or flavour over time.
In fact, the texture doesn’t really matter when it’s being used for tea.
After 3 months, the tea will still be safe, but it may have lost its total intensity of flavour. Youāll certainly still taste it, but you may need to brew it for longer to ensure you get a pleasant flavour.Ā
How Long Does Ginger Tea Last?
Generally, ginger tea is just grated ginger and boiling water. Making it and storing it isn’t an option but you can store the grated ginger in an airtight container for a few weeks so it’s ready to use for tea.
How Do You Defrost Ginger Tea?
Since youāll typically be pouring boiling water directly over your ginger tea, you donāt actually need to defrost it – it can be used straight from the freezer.
Pop it into a mug, boil the kettle and pour it into your mug to melt the ginger and allow it to infuse.
If youād like to defrost it before use, then simply leave it on the counter for around an hour – that should be plenty of time for the ginger to thaw.
Can You Refreeze Ginger Tea?
Yes, you can!
You may notice a decrease in flavour intensity over time with your ginger tea since the flavour compounds will begin to evaporate over time. However, the tea should still hold together well while brewing.
Does Ginger Tea Freeze Well?
Ginger tea does freeze well. The main reason for this is that the tea has an intense flavour and strong structure before you place it into the freezer.
While these elements will get less intense over time, since they already started out strong, it can take a while for them to degrade noticeably.
Related FAQs
If youāve still got questions about freezing ginger tea or tea in general, then these may help:
Does Ginger Lose Its Potency When Frozen?
Yes, ginger will lose some of its kick once frozen. This is especially true for grated ginger. It can be better to freeze chunks of ginger root, which can then grate direct from the freezer, as this will retain more flavour.
Can You Freeze Brewed Ginger Tea?
Although it would be possible to freeze ginger tea that has been made, you’ll find the flavour decreases rapidly and it takes up an unnecessary amount of space. Instead, freeze ginger that’s ready to be used for tea.
Sources
We have verified the information on this page using the following resources: