Did you know — and I admit I didn’t — that there is Thai iced-tea pie, and even a small artisanal company in Brooklyn that sells Macha and Earl Grey teas ice cream?
Here we take a brief tour of teas. Look no farther than our state for retail and cafe locations for sampling numerous types, some familiar and some perhaps not. Plus there is the nonprofit U.S. League of Tea Growers, at www.usteagrowers.com, where potential growers can ask questions, research tea growing, and connect with regional organizations. There is also American Yaupon (www.americanyaupon.org), based in Florida, which promotes a number of local shops.
It’s a new day for tea. It is soothing, warming, and refreshing with excellent varieties easily obtainable. The steady trend toward natural foods and herbal teas is well known, though you may not have spent much time thinking about the varied types until the pandemic descended upon us. Tea is an enjoyable beverage whatever the time of day or season. There are, of course, basic teas.
One gardening expert of 30 years, Erica Jo Shaffer, confirms, for example, that herbal infusions are relaxing to the nerves and nourishing. She advises, “Tea is only ‘tea’ when it contains camellia sinensis, the plant that gives us white, green, black, and oolong tea.”
Sampling of organic herbal teas: You could try citrus mint with an infusion of peppermint and citrus; blueberry merlot with a taste of blueberries and a wisp of sage; chamomile citron with a blend of flower blossoms and a zest of citrus; and ginger lemongrass blended with citrusy herbs and a tingle of ginger. (There’s also a cocktail like the Sunday Tea, which some may know from having peach, moonshine, bourbon, sweet tea, and lemon, which might lull you into a generic dream of the South.)
And then there’s yaupon!
Yaupon tea: Pronounced “yoh-pon,” this is the only caffeinated plant native to North America — an antioxidant-laden drink that’s been consumed for thousands of years and known as yaupon holly. It’s a specific Southern tea type that can be found in loose-leaf form at premium shops around the country, and sometimes in shrub form at select nurseries to add as a border or hedge to your own landscaping to harvest, keep in a container on the patio, or plant in a community patch!
Grown in the Southeast and traded by Native Americans for ceremonies and recreation, according to the Yaupon Brothers Tea Co. (formed in Florida in 2012), it does not need fertilizer or pesticides as it is native and requires very little water, and has less environmental impact on surrounding areas. During the Civil War, Southerners often drank yaupon in place of coffee and black tea, note historians. One fellow of the day noted, “Substitute for Tea — [yaupon] is excellent but let me say that the wild thorned leaf holly is the best that I have ever used. It would take the best of judges to tell it from the best of black tea. Fall is the time to gather the leaves. Make as black tea.”
Caffeine content: Unprocessed, the leaves of this evergreen holly with small green leaves on stiff branches contain between 65% and 85% caffeine compared to tea leaves with about 3.5% caffeine. (Black-tea caffeine content is labeled by one popular seller as “robust,” herbal infusions as “none,” green tea as “moderate,” and white tea as between “very low” and “low.”)
There is plenty of information on Yaupon and Dwarf Yaupon shrub propagating, pruning, light requirements, soil, and so on, at several informative websites; one is a University of Florida blog site, at blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/lakeco/2021/01/21/grow-your-own-yaupon-tea.
For example, the “evergreen” Dwarf Yaupon Holly tolerates wind and the hot, humid Southern summers. New growth emerges with a light purple color and darkens to green. This small mounding shrub can get 3 to 5 feet tall and wide, and it can take full sun or partial shade.
Ryan Hinson, the “tea guy” at well-known Tin Roof Teas (www.tinroofteas.com), a high-quality loose teas and accessories business, knows his teas — and their shelf life. He told me, “Yaupon is best consumed in 8 to 10 months, but good up to 2 years. Would consider an herb, so you have 8 months for maximum potency — up to 8 months for flowers and leaves, and up to 2 years for seeds, roots, and barks.”
Fragrant premium tea shops abound if you prefer to visit rather than to order in supply (see two Florida brothers’ enterprise at www.yauponbrothersamericantea.com). Many shops are now open with COVID protocols in place.
And from the Louisiana State University Ag Center is an informative May 2019 article by horticulturist Heather Kirk-Ballard, who notes that the wiry shrub’s blooms appear in early to mid-spring (eaten by many bird species), with the red berries, also enjoyed by the birds, showing in late fall and winter. She writes much more about the yaupon, including its widespread use as home decor during the holidays. Check out the article too for excellent tips for your seasonal decorating.
So whether you grow your tea fresh from the garden (or patio container) or have it shipped to your door, get out those teapots and teacups (or mugs), and have a tea party. Pinkies up!
Joan Wenner, J.D., is a widely published, longtime freelance writer who writes historical, maritime, and general interest stories. She resides in eastern coastal North Carolina, although she lived many years in Florida where she hopes to soon return. Comments are welcomed at joan_writer@yahoo.com.
