Summer Iced Tea

How’s this for summertime trivia?  The first iced tea was more like a cocktail and often included wine.  For example, the cookbook The Kentucky Housewife, written in 1839 by Lettice Bryan, has a recipe for iced tea that includes tea, sugar, sweet cream and, “a bottle of claret or Champagne.”  Why these teas fell out of favor is anyone’s guess, since they undoubtedly made for more interesting sipping than cold Nestle.