[Avodah] Can I make Kiddush or Havdalah on a cup of coffee or tea?

[Akiva Miller]

.
R' Micha Berger wrote:

> The AhS considers tea with sugar to be chamar medinah -- but
> only with sugar. Gives you a sense of the price of sugar in
> Litta.

It's true that the AhS 296:13 does mention "teh matok - sweet tea", but you
might be reading too much into that. He doesn't specifically exclude
unsweetened tea. It might simply be that this was the common way of
drinking it.

In fact, he contrasts this with several other drinks (seltzer, lemonade, or
water with honey mixed in) which are merely "mayim metukanim - enhanced
water", and he specifically says that what makes "teh matok" different is
that (a) it was cooked, and (b) it is not *called* "water". My conclusion
is that the AhS doesn't seem to care whether the tea is sweet or not.

Akiva Miller
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