a beverage consisting of a teabag steeping in cold vodka. The teabag is left in the vodka when it is served and can be sucked for a last bit of merriment once the rest of the booze has been finished. Ice cubes are often added to the drink, and these gradually thaw and dilute the mixture. I invented vodkatea as a cheap, easily-prepared beverage, probably in the Winter of '95-'96. Originally I used rum as the alcoholic base, though gin is another possible base. Vodkatea is not especially popular with my friends, who prefer more traditional concoctions, though Deya likes it well enough.
Here's a brief review (from May 31st, 1998) of the vodkateas you get from steeping various kinds of tea bags in vodka:
- mint teas - very good, reasonably strong, dissolves well even in ice-cold vodka
- ginseng - very good with vodka
- citrus teas - these usually work very well, especially orange flavours
- Constant Comment - very good, and the caffeine adds something to the drunk
- echinacea teas - good, but tastes like medicine
- Red Zinger - good colour, but generally too strong and sour
- Cinnamon Stick - cinnamon is not a good combination with vodka
- Jasmine - the Jasmine flowers tend to overpower the black tea flavour; their spirit is evidently more soluable in alcohol than is that of tea
- Earl Grey - too weak and too bitter
- cheap black teas - far too weak