When a tea-pot is boiling on the stove and the steam is coming out at the nozzle, hold up to the nozzle a common drinking-glass filled with iced water, first taking care to wipe the outside of the glass perfectly dry.

Little drops of water will soon gather upon the side of the glass.

If you touch these to the tongue you will observe that they taste of the tea.

It is because a little of the tea has escaped with the steam and condensed upon the glass.

This is distillation.
~14.~ If the tea-pot had contained wine, or beer, or hard cider, the distilled water would have contained alcohol instead of tea.