Something tea-adjacent I’ve been drinking lately, a caffeinated holly and the only caffeinated plant native to North America. It’s related to the Mate and Guayusa hollies from South America.
Something tea-adjacent I’ve been drinking lately, a caffeinated holly and the only caffeinated plant native to North America. It’s related to the Mate and Guayusa hollies from South America.
How does it taste?
Mild herbal, generally. Some versions are a little smokey. It goes well in a mate with a bombilla. And also blends well with yerba mate. Tho’ I’ll readily admit I like to put all sorts of things in with yerba mate. It has the The genus is the same, Ilex. The species name is from a jesuit priest, with a deep misunderstanding of the herb and it’s use in indigenous culture.
Cool! Where do you source yours?
Mine is from Cat Spring Yaupon, their medium roast.
Thanks for sharing, I’ll add it to the cart!
Most recently a friend gave me a jar, but I don’t know where it came from. It doesn’t grow in my area.
https://lostpinesyaupontea.com/ - which still exists.
But Yaupon Asi Tea, LLC out of Edgewater, FL appears inaactive.
When I was last in FL, I was walking by the coast near St. Marks with a friend, some trail he knew, and asked him about yaupon, which the local people call asi, and he pointed at this common “weed” growing all along the trail, quite distinctive, and easy to identify. Later that day we were at Wakulla Springs State Park, and I realized there were two large bushes of Asi that I had been walking past for years, without knowing what it was.
Wait, I thought mate was supposed to be a low-temp steep. How does that square with the holly, which I am assuming needs a hot, hard steep like most herbs?
This is a roasted one, it’s a bit woody and smoky. I’ll admit the taste took some getting used to but I enjoy it now. The boost I get from the caffeine content feels nice and not jittery or anxious.