Brightly caffeinated and sustainably grown, this native plant has deep ties to Indigenous America.
When we mean about where our Camellia sinensis comes from , our mind might swan internationally — Taiwanese newlyweds conducting tea observance , for instance , Indian street marketer pouringmasala chai , or a pair of Brits enjoying a spot of afternoon afternoon tea .
But there happens to be a native tea variety growing in our very own backyard — that is , the U.S. South . If you have n’t yet hear of yaupon ( pronounce “ yo - instrument ” ) , it ’s potential because the plant , which was brew by Indigenous Americans over a thousand years ago , had been mostly abandoned for one C . Thanks to the effort of a few up - and - come yaupon harvesters , however , the lesser - known tea is on its way to becoming our next sustainable superfood .
In October , theWhole Foods Market Trends Council predictedthat yaupon will be a trending ingredient in 2023 , as it ’s been making its way into kombucha , cocktails , and matcha powder . The plant , which is actually a holly bush , is the only knowncaffeinated plant native to North America .
Photo courtesy of CatSpring Yaupon
“ citizenry are surprise by how familiar it tastes , ” say Abianne Falla , beginner ofCatSpring Yaupon , one of the first commercial suppliers of the crop , based in Cat Spring , Texas . “ But they detect that it ’s a lot smoother and less astringent . That ’s because yaupon does n’t have tannin , which are what people are ordinarily trying to cut with bread or milk . ”
Falla allege the steel ’s Green variety mimicker a Japanese green , the Medium Roast an oolong , and the Dark Roast a standard black Camellia sinensis . And because there are no tannins , you never have to concern about steeping for too long , which can sprain other teas bitter . “ We have a restaurant here in Austin , Dai Due , that does a four 60 minutes live steep with the Black , and they ’ll get almost four gallons of iced teatime from one oz. of free foliage , ” Falla state .
The effects on the body are less intense than your intermediate cup of coffee , with about 25 to 30 milligrams of caffeine per serving . Some theorize that the interaction of the caffeine and other amino acids in yaupon create a delayed liberation into your turgid intestine , rather than your stomach . “ So you do n’t get the spike heel and then the clangor , ” Falla enunciate . “ The anecdotal feedback we get most often is that it ’s a focussed , more genial rise than anything else . ”
And then there are the wellness benefit . The nutritious brew has an antioxidant level similar to blueberry bush , and the same form of polyphenols asgreen tea leaf . Plus , it ’s high in rutin , a natural anti - inflammatory , as well as saponins , which dissemble as natural cleansers .
Falla started to experiment with yaupon on her family cattle farm in 2011 , as a historical drought swept through Texas . “ In Cat Spring , we were losing hundred - class - old oak tree trees , ” she explains . “ Everything was dry and scorched ground , except for yaupon , and we were just a little intrigued . ”
Falla had her question , of course of study , as the Buddy Holly had always been maligned as a pesky weed . But , after doing some research , she learned of its health benefit , ran some taste tests , and became more intimate with its Indigenous legacy of consumption . “ Virtually every kinship group along the Gulf Coast — and even up the East Coast , in spots along the Outer Banks — had a tradition with yaupon , and it was sell all over what is now North America . ”
Photo courtesy of CatSpring Yaupon
So why had this elixir of wellness been neglected for so long ? reference thestudies of Christine Folch , Falla explains how the early historical record of yaupon drink came from Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca , who overstep through what ’s now called Texas in 1542 . He recounted how , during purification ritual , aboriginal community wipe out yaupon as a “ fateful drink , ” which hasten puking . late studies , however , have disproven yaupon ’s emetic properties .
With theeradication and forced move of these communities , yaupon commence to drop off ground . “ I ’m a citizen of the Chickasaw nation , and we had a custom with it in Mississippi , but after the Trail of Tears and the relocation to Oklahoma , it does n’t really grow on our reservation there , ” Falla say . “ So , it ’s largely been forgotten . ”
The Spanish , though , loved the drink , and add it back to Europe . Its European footprint spread . In 1789 , Scottish botanist William Aiton gave yaupon its unfortunate scientific name : Ilex vomitoria . University of Florida applied ecologist Francis Putz believe such language stemmed from awe of competition , as Aiton was on the Q.T. use by Ceylon tea merchant . TheTea Act of 1773made clear how the British worked to keep the power of the tea trade intact . In the age to descend , “ yauponer ” became a derogative term , meaning you were too pitiful to afford imported teas or deep brown .
During the antebellum earned run average , there was a resurgence of use among enslaved people who , unable to obtain caffeine from tea or coffee tree , maturate the yaupon shrub themselves . Yaupon “ had always been the drinking of the marginalized , ” Falla says .
Perhaps one reason why this drink find out its place on Whole Foods ’ inclination , decades later , is because it ’s conducive to sustainable harvesting . Cat Spring rely on wild ontogenesis , so the shrubs are watered by rain alone . Coffee , in comparison , can take up to 30 gallons of water in its cultivation . “ And then there ’s also the fact that it does n’t have to get on a ship to get to North America , ” Falla adds .
She sees a rising yaupon - drinking acculturation in and around Austin and hop that it will garner national appeal . Beyond the benefits and storied story , the aboriginal ingredient is also quite various . AtHotel Emmain San Antonio , for representative , yaupon makes its agency into various pastries and crème brûlée . “ We ’ve had the chance to host a coupleOutstanding in the Fields , and those chef have done a yaupon - smoke hog , as well as yaupon - smoke chickpeas , ” Falla says . In the cocktail region , bartenders praise yaupon for its foamy tendencies , which are made possible by the high spirit level of saponins .
Like most solid food and drinks that make such buzzy listing , yaupon is nothing newfangled . But now ’s our luck , centuries later , to give it a fair gibe .
