Long before Earl Grey, Darjeeling and oolong reached our shores, there was yaupon. Tea brewed from the leaves of the yaupon holly has been part of the North American diet for more than 1,000 years , consumed by Indigenous tribes as a stimulant, a medicinal remedy and a ceremonial drink. Early European settlers and Black communities drank it as well, mainly in the southeastern United States, where yaupon – believed to be the continent's only native plant containing caffeine – grows wild as a bush or a small tree with oval, dark green leaves.
But the arrival of imported tea and coffee, among other factors, usurped the native tea – until recently. "Historians and botanists have always known about yaupon," said Dr. Christine Folch, who has studied and written about the plant.
She is the Bacca Foundation Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. "The consumption is very well documented in archival literature of North America," she said. "It kind of got lost in the 19th century.
And in the 20th century, it was just shrubbery. But now in the 21st century, there's been real interest." A few small companies process and market yaupon, mainly in specialty stores and online, while some people harvest their own.
It's still a mere drop in the U.S. tea market, which is estimated to top $16 billion this year , according to the market research firm Statista.
But that could change. "It's a very pleasant beverage to drink, and it hits all t.