Archeological records indicate that Native Americans began drinking Yaupon tea over 8,000 years ago in a place we now call Florida. They had developed an extensive tea trade over 500 years before Europeans even arrived to North America. There are indications that the trade route extended as far as Mexico, where scientist discovered that the Mayans were combining cacao with yaupon to create a sacred ceremonial drink. Indigenous people in the southeast region of the United States drank Yaupon tea to cleanse and purify; not only their body, but their minds as well. This tea was known to provide clarity and energy to whomever consumed it.
As time proceeded, European immigrations spread, and so did the love of Yaupon tea. During the American Revolution, yaupon holly was being grown for tea on colonial farms and there was a booming yaupon tea trade in Europe. Yaupon’s tea rising popularity served as a threat to the British East India company, who was becoming increasingly alarmed by the threat of their continued control of the world’s tea market. Therefore, Britain began actively limiting the amount of American tea sold in Europe. As a result, yaupon’s popularity began to decline overseas. Unfortunately, by the 1800’s, U.S. government policies and immigration were tearing apart Native American communities, and the indigenous people were relocated to lands that were far away from the lands in which yaupon grew. This travesty caused the fundamental knowledge of roasting and brewing yaupon holly to be lost, forgotten, and faded into obscurity for almost a hundred and fifty years. Luckily for us, sooner or later, everything old becomes new again.
