Ginger lemon tea with a Goroka honey infusion

I’ve been making ginger lemon tea with honey infusions for 10 years now.

It started as an experiment when we lived in Madang because the ingredients were plentiful and we got regular supplies of honey from the Eastern Highlands.

Only after I started making the delicious concoctions that I began reading about the  health benefits of all four ingredients combined.

So first,  get a mortar and pestle from a good store. It is an essential tool.  Granite or marble mortar and pestles are good. You want something that sits firm on the table while you crush and grind.

Depending on how strongly flavored you want your tea, you can add more ginger if you wish.  I like the sting of ginger so a good sized ginger is about the size of two fingers put together.

Crush that  into a pulp with your mortar and pestle.

Add the juice of two lemons into your mug.  Add the ginger. The chemical reaction will turn the liquid into a beautiful cloudy pink.

Add hot water. Allow the water to cool down a bit before adding  two tablespoons of honey.  I keep telling people that the honey is NOT for sweetening. It is for flavor.

There is a distinct difference of flavor when you add a dash of honey to the drink.

Important: Do not add honey to hot water.  Ancient and modern wisdom says adding hot water to honey makes it toxic.  Add to warm water.

Ok… to the health benefits (only because some people have asked)

1. Lemon is a cleanser. It flushes out toxins from your body.  If you’ve eaten a lot of meat, taken coffee or alcohol.  Drink lemon with warm water in the morning. It cleans out your kidneys, liver and bladder.

• Ginger increases the rate of digestion and reduces joint and muscle pain. I’ve tried it myself. It works like a dream.  Eating a large piece of ginger with your food at dinner time, is better than taking pain killers.
• Honey has antibacterial properties and it’s delicious.

You can get your honey supplies from Tella Loiye in Goroka. He is a former government agriculture officer and one of the best honey experts and suppliers in Papua New Guinea. https://www.facebook.com/honeyman.tella