This is for all You 'Tea'totalers

Months can go by without a single comment from readers. Then I open the email and it's filled. This past week I got a note of introduction from a wine importer and this little missive:

Dear Tim: You drink a lot of wine. Do you drink the whole bottle in one sitting? Is there anytime you don't drink? If not, how can I get a job like yours?

Well, gentle reader I don't drink when I write, so that eats up about 20 hours per week. I work three nights a week and I don't drink then so that's 45 hours, plus my morning job 12 hours a week and no drinking before 4 p.m., so that leaves about 28 hours a week for wine tasting. I usually have two to four glasses unless the only thing on TV is some reality show like The Amish Invade Spring Break and then I polish off the whole bottle.
And there are other things besides wine and cocktails that I like to quaff, one being iced tea.
My mother was Southern so she made it the same way every time. Four teabags in two cups of boiling water, steeped until cool. Stir in a cup of sugar, and pour into a half-gallon pitcher filled with cold water. Perfectly sweet and tasty with or without lemon.
Today, I'm more non-traditional. I combine Earl Grey with the regular tea. The oil of bergamot imparts a slightly bitter orange rind flavor that's really thirst quenching. A bergamot is a small Mediterranean orange that's grown in the Calabria, Italy. A Chinese tea merchant gave some to Charles Grey, the second Earl of Grey, who made it fashionable in British society.
Lapsang Souchong is a smoky tea with an earthy flavor. It's great hot on a cold morning but on ice it takes on the flavor of a fine single malt scotch with velvety peat and smokiness, without the wallop. I add a couple of cloves to the brew, which imparts a non-sugary sweetness when I serve it on ice.
Matcha is a Japanese green tea used in the Chaji or Tea Ceremony. The ceremony is one of spirituality, hospitality, and companionship. The tea drinking is done from a communal bowl. The tea drinking is only part of the ceremony, which begins with a symbolic purification ritual of hand washing before entering the teahouse. Matcha is a very fine, bitter powder. In the ceremony, it's whipped until frothy with a whisk called a chasen. The best matcha iced tea recipe comes from Japonica, in New York.

Matcha Iced Tea

Boil 2 cups of water. Let stand for 5 minutes or until it's cooled to about 180 degrees.

Add 2 teaspoons of powdered green matcha

Steep for 3 minutes.

Put in a blender and blend until foamy.

Pour into ice filled glass.

It's a thick, bitter drink, like espresso, but the texture of the foam and the flavor are unforgettable. It's permissible to add a few sprigs of fresh mint to counterbalance the bitterness and add a touch of flavor more familiar to western palates.

Lassi comes from India. The iced tea version is: tea, cinnamon, orange juice, honey, and yogurt blended into a drink called Lassi. It's the summer equivalent of chai.
Chai and Russian spiced teas are similar, only the Russians rarely add milk. Chai is usually black and green teas, cardamom, anise, cinnamon, honey, and milk or cream. It's served warm in the Himalayan countries, but just as good over ice. The two rules of homemade chai are: use good tea and don't over-sweeten it.
Russian spiced teas are slow-boiled in a samovar and strong. The tea is in contact with the hot water for up to an hour. Clove, cinnamon, and orange rind are added for flavor. If sugar is desired, it's added to the tea cup. Try this spiced tea over ice (something the Russians would never do)--it's great. Something the Russians would do is add a little flavored vodka to the tea. Iced Russian spiced tea with black currant vodka is a simple but elegant cocktail. Use half a shot of vodka per glass.
Now that we've broached the subject of alcohol, one of the most popular iced teas actually contains no tea. Long Island Ice Tea is a potent mix that tastes of tea and other vague flavors. I assumed this was a modern drink akin to the Alabama Slammer, but the Cocktail Bible states this was first served in the speakeasies of New York in real tea cups, in a feeble attempt to fool the authorities that everyone was drinking tea--at midnight, listening to jazz. Maybe they just made it up to polish off the open bottles.

Long Island Ice Tea

-2 parts vodka
-1 part gin
-1 part white tequila
-1 part white rum 1/2 part white cr�me de menthe (Yikes!)
-2 teaspoons lemon juice
-1 teaspoon simple syrup (half sugar, half water, dissolved)

Shake vigorously, pour into a Collins glass--but only half way. Top off with Coca Cola and stir.
Serves two.