Yaupon Intro

Lining the edges of the Carolina sound, the maritime forest harbors an ecosystem teaming with wildlife. Looming over the edges are large repeating evergreen shrubs. Though fairly indistinguishable and plain looking, the shrubs hold a chemical compound that drives the nation. This chemical, C8H10N4O2, is familiar to all. We know it as 'caffeine,' the most widely used psychoactive in the world. The plant is Yaupon Holly, and when the leaves are dried and steeped into a tea, it delivers a delicious, healthy and clean energy buzzed experience.

Yaupon Holly is the ONLY native plant to North America containing a high concentration of caffeine. It can go without saying, Native Americans, who had a broad understanding of herbalism, used Yaupon Holly to brew stimulating beverages for millennia. There is wide historical evidence of its use among both Natives and early colonialists. (pardon the lack of citation, you’re going to have to look it up)

Mainstream history, although this is changing rapidly, refers to it as 'Black Drink' and mentions its use in combination with emetics for Native American purging rituals, hence the formal scientific name Ilex(meaning holly) and vomitoria (meaning vomit inducing). Sadly and unjustly, historical accounts of Native practices are frequently impregnated with a colonial perspective of superiority and racial discrimination.  Information about the history of Yaupon Tea on the internet today is riddled with misinformation. It is the best interest of those who seek to truly understand Yaupon’s history, to view all reports with some criticism and an acceptance of ambiguity. 

Yaupon tea alone is not an emetic at all (unless you fast for a VERY long period, in which case, a cup of regular green tea may initiate a session over the toilette). Therefore, Ilex vomitoria is a gross misnaming, and a successful defamation thanks to William Aiton, former director of Kew Gardens. He is the royal botanist who named it circa 1770. Propose the hypothesis that Aiton did this under instructions from either the East India Trading Company, or King George III, in-order to crush Yaupon's competitive potential with the UK's profitable monopoly on traditional tea trade (Camellia sinensis) from the far east.

History aside, Yaupon is an incredible beverage not only to be enjoyed but to boost our health. It contains Antioxidants, Theobromine, Polyphenols, Vitamin C and Flavinoids. (If you want to know how those are helpful to your body, you’ll have to look them up as well, you will like what you find)

Yaupon contains about 40-80mg of caffeine in a cup, depending on the quality and how it’s brewed. Consider what a healthy caffeine intake is for you. The market for Yaupon is only now making its come back from the 1700s. It was not present on the market at all until around 2013. Most Native descendants aren’t very noisy about it despite some enjoying it often and casually.

Yaupon contains society’s coveted caffeine and a natural cocktail of healthy organic compounds. This shrub that lines the Carolina sound holds more than a place in the forest. Give it a try! Check out my other post here on harvesting or order ready to go bags from yauponbrothers.com. Experience the pleasure of Yaupon Holly and learn how to unlock this amazing treasure of North America!