DIY Ginger infused Iced Tea!

Hi fellow steemians! This is my first blog post. I hope you guys like ginger as much as I do. Personally, I really like to chill with a big glass of iced tea. It's fair to say that this is my favourite drink while sitting on a summer terras after an exciting day (although I have to admit that a beer does the trick too). However it can't be an alcoholic party every day, which is why I want to show you how to make ginger iced tea that will give you a spicy kick for sure! Perfect for when you're struggling with a hangover or when you're just really longing for a refreshing drink! Ok let's start with harvesting some ginger, shall we!

Harvesting ginger

It's actually very easy to grow your own ginger. It doesn't matter if you're living in a colder climate (like I do) because ginger grows very well in pots/containers. The ginger plant you see here was planted last summer and grew mainly indoors.

While the whole plant is edible we only use the underground part of the plant because it's rich in flavour. Most people think that the edible part is the root of the plant. This is wrong, we actually eat the rhizomes. A rhizome is a modified stem of the plant that is usually underground. The ginger rhizome sends out roots and shoots from its nodes as you can see in the picture below.

When harvesting your ginger it's smart to cut off the shoots with a chunck of rhizome + roots attached. You can replant the cuttings for your next batch! This time I used a bigger container because I'm a ginger addict.

If you enjoy ginger as much as I do you probably want to grow it now. Don't worry if you can't find fresh ginger. You can start with shop bought ginger. It even can be an old dried out piece as long as you can see one or more nodes/eyes (preferably green). Just place it in a container with a good soil mix approximately 2 cm deep. It can take a few months before it sprouts so don't panic if it takes that long. Just keep the soil moist.

Making ginger Iced Tea

Ingredients for 1.5 liter

• 30 grams ginger
• fresh mint
• 2 table spoons green tea
• 1 big lemon
• sweetner (I use stevia pouder and sugar, amount to your liking)
• 1.5l water

Boil the water and first add the cutted ginger and mint. Let it boil for 5 minutes and then add the green tea, sweets and lemon. Stir the mixture and let it cool down. Sift the tea and let it chill in the fridge. Add ice cubes and drink!

Thank you for reading and enjoy your iced tea!