Ginger Lemon Tea

I started drinking this tea a couple of months ago and now I have it first thing most mornings. I love the spicy heat of the ginger, and the nice tartness of the lemon. It's invigorating, and also warming - which I suppose is nice for these ongoing snowy days! Originally I started making the tea for one individual cup, but that quickly gave way to the easier method of making one large batch that lasts several days. I think the larger batch utilizes the ginger best - it gets extra firey. (You can dilute as needed!) I do only add the lemon fresh though - I just squeeze about 1/3 to 1/2 a lemon each morning and add it to my mug.

Makes 4 cups/1 quart:
4 1/2 cups water
3" piece of ginger, peeled and micro-planed
2 lemons

Add water and micro-planed ginger to a pot on medium heat. (I encourage micro-planing because it seems to pull the most from the ginger. You can also make this by chopping or grating the ginger finely.) Bring to a boil, than cover and turn to low for 20-25 minutes.

Pour the tea through a strainer to remove all the ginger bits, and store in a quart jar in the fridge. For a cup of hot tea, heat up a mug's worth of the ginger-infused water (diluted with more water if you prefer). Once it is hot, add the fresh juice of 1/2 lemon (or a bit less if that is too tart) and drink!