Greetings, everyone. First time poster but a tea fan for several years now.

First item: Dealing w/green tea and health - my sister went to give blood and
they found her iron count to be lower than normal. The first thing they asked
her was if she drank green tea on a regular basis. They said that it apparently
interferes with iron uptake. Anyone else heard about this?

Second item: Matcha is essentially ground up green tea, right? I can't seem to
find it in my area (USA - Virginia). Would grinding up normal loose green tea
and then passing it through a fine strainer to get out the veins, stems, and
misc. junk create a suitable analogue? Also, about green tea, one of the best I
ever had was called Mt. Wen Baojong. It was bulk, and sold by the (now
defunct?) Water and Leaves company. Is there a similar tea to this and can I
get it in my neck of the woods?

Third item: Alcohol and tea - if the tea is hot enough, wouldn't most of the
alcohol vaporize? It's much more volatile than water. Also, just a
recommendation - Irish Cream is wonderful in a cuppa. Also, Barenjager is
pretty nice, too. For those of you who haven't heard of it, it's a liqueur made
mainly from honey and imported from Germany. It's got a bit of a bite though so
I use very little when I add it.