So today, I'll be drinking Pedernales green yaupon loose leaf "tea".
Again this is not actually tea. It's yaupon, a caffeinated beverage that's different from tea. The only plant native to North America that naturally produces caffeine.
Today’s tea is Texas Natice Yaupon Tea.
The package is a misnomer because this is not tea. It’s yaupon. And I’m excited as hell about yaupon.
You see, yaupon is the only plant native to North America that naturally produces caffeine.
It’s been consumed as a beverage by indigenous people for eons. Hell, this particular yaupon I’m holding was harvested and packaged by Native folk. There’s even a badge on the box that says “Made/Produced by American Indians”.
Yaupon should be huge. It’s a nice hardy plant that grows all over the southern USA. So why isn’t it in everyone’s pantry?
Because white people have suppressed it in favour of coffee and tea. Ridiculously, William Aiton—a British botanist acting in the interest of the royal botanical gardens—officially named the plant “Ilex vomitoria” just so everyone would think it’s disgusting when it’s clearly not.
Promoting a free, native, and abundant caffeinated alternative growing wild in the Americas? The British couldn’t have that happen. That’s a threat to their bottom line.
Now tea, something you import and must pay taxes on, that’s the mark of civilization. No way this will come back to haunt the British. Nope, not at all.
Nevertheless, the naming gambit worked. It hurt the commercial prospects for Yaupon.
The final blow came with the U.S. government’s forced removal of Cherokee, Creek, and other Southeastern tribes off their ancestral lands during the Trail of Tears. This severed many indigenous peoples’ connections with yaupon.
But you can’t keep a good caffeinated beverage down. 15 years ago, yaupon has been reclaimed by American farmers leading to a resurgence. And Native Americans are leading the way. You can’t keep now order it easily online.
This particular yaupon is USDA certified, regenerative organic certified, and kosher. And while as a Canadian, I’m not too fond of the USA right now, I will always support my indigenous brothers and sisters who are making something great.
One neat thing about yaupon is that, unlike tea, it has no tannins. Which means it’s incredibly forgiving to brew and doesn’t get bitter. You simply cannot over-steep it.
So today, I’m putting in 1tsp of yaupon into a pot, adding boiling water, and steeping it for 5 minutes. I may try gongfu some day, but again, this is not tea. I’m therefore going to see what a solid infusion gets me.
