Korean-style serving of Ginger tea

생강차 · Ginger tea

Ginger tea

생강차

What exactly is it?

Ginger gives this drink its sharp, warming flavor. It can be made by simmering slices or diluting a ginger preserve. Sweetening softens the taste but does not remove ginger’s characteristic pungency.

Main ingredients

Ginger and water; optional sugar, honey, jujube or cinnamon

Ordering and serving

Its heat is different from chili, but a strong infusion can still be intense. Ask for extra water to dilute it.

Origins and changes

Ginger infusions also combine with cinnamon. Brewing the ingredients separately and mixing them can create flavors similar to sujeonggwa, served as a hot tea as well as chilled.

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Ginger tea

생강차

Main ingredients
Ginger and water; optional sugar, honey, jujube or cinnamon
Flavor and character
Ginger gives this drink its sharp, warming flavor. It can be made by simmering slices or diluting a ginger preserve. Sweetening softens the taste but does not remove ginger’s characteristic pungency.
How to eat it
Its heat is different from chili, but a strong infusion can still be intense. Ask for extra water to dilute it.
Read about this dish →

Barley tea

보리차

Main ingredients
Roasted barley and water
Flavor and character
Roasted barley produces a toasted, unsweetened infusion served hot or cold. A restaurant’s brown drinking water may be barley tea, but corn and other grain infusions can look similar.
How to eat it
Think of it as toasted-grain drinking water. If you avoid barley, ask what is in the restaurant’s water and request plain water.
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