Ginger lemon tonic, a sharp morning drink in five minutes

This ginger lemon tonic is fresh ginger juice, lemon and honey, shaken hard over ice and topped with water. It is sharp, a little hot and slightly sweet, and it takes five minutes, less time than the kettle needs to boil.

Ginger drinks turn up in almost every food culture: Jamaican ginger beer, Korean saenggang-cha, the ginger tea of a Vietnamese grandmother. This one is the quickest of them and the only one usually served cold. It contains no caffeine, so it works as a first drink of the day or an afternoon pick-me-up.

How to make it

1. Grate the ginger finely, skin removed, and squeeze the pulp through a small sieve or a clean cloth to get about a teaspoon of juice.
2. Add the ginger juice, lemon juice and honey syrup to a shaker or a jar with a tight lid.
3. Fill with ice, close and shake hard for 10 seconds.
4. Strain into a short glass over fresh ice and top with cold water or soda water.

Tips for the best flavour

• Use firm, fresh ginger. Look for smooth, tight skin; wrinkled ginger is drier and gives less juice. A teaspoon edge scrapes the skin off faster than a peeler.
• Grate on the finest side. A microplane turns ginger into a wet pulp that gives up its juice easily.
• Squeeze the lemon just before. Bottled juice tastes flat next to fresh.
• Make the honey syrup first. Raw honey does not dissolve in iced liquid; stirred with the same amount of warm water it does.
• Taste and adjust. Lemons and ginger vary a lot. Add more honey syrup if it is too sharp, more ginger if you want more heat.

Variations

• More heat: leave the ginger pulp in and strain only once.
• Less sour: halve the lemon and add a splash of apple juice.
• Warm version: skip the ice and top with hot (not boiling) water instead.
• Sparkling: use soda water and serve in a tall glass, close to a light homemade ginger ale.
• Golden: add a pinch of ground turmeric and black pepper, the pairing we explain in our golden milk recipe.

Make ahead and storage

For a crowd, multiply the recipe with the buttons beside the ingredients. Mix the ginger juice, lemon juice and honey syrup in a closed jar and keep it in the fridge for up to two days. Add ice and water only when you serve, so it does not go flat or watery.

Questions people ask

Can I use ground ginger instead of fresh?

Not for this drink. Ground ginger does not dissolve and leaves a gritty, dusty taste. If fresh ginger is all you are missing, make a warm drink like golden milk instead.

Is ginger lemon tonic good for you?

It is a low-sugar, caffeine-free drink, and ginger has a long history as a home remedy for an unsettled stomach. Some studies suggest ginger may help with mild nausea, but a glass of tonic is a drink, not a treatment, and it will not "detox" your body.

Can I drink it every morning?

For most people one glass a day is fine as part of a normal diet. Lemon juice is acidic, so drink it with a straw or rinse with water afterwards, and wait a while before brushing your teeth.

Looking for a slower start to the day? This tonic is one of the warm-or-cold drink options in our simple morning routine.

Photograph: AI-generated image

Filed under ginger, lemon, honey, caffeine-free, morning.