Yaupon tea (also known as "Beloved drink", "Cassina", "Big Medicine", or "White drink" by Natives; and "Black drink", "Carolina Tea", "South Seas Tea", or "Indian tea" by Europeans) refers to several kinds ofcaffeinated beverages originally brewed byNative Americans in theSoutheastern United States and later adopted byEuropeans andAmericans.[1][2][3][4] It is generally brewed from yauponholly (Ilex vomitoria), which is native to theAtlantic andGulf Coasts,[2] and is related toyerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) andguayusa. The Native drink may also have included the related dahoon holly (Ilex cassine) and other herbs.
A highly concentrated yaupon beverage was used in variousrituals, includingpurification ceremonies,[5] byYuchi,[6]Caddo,[7]Chickasaw,[8]Cherokee,Choctaw,Muscogee,Timucua,Chitimacha and otherIndigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands.[2][3] Furthermore, other Native groups who did not live within the natural range of yaupon traded for it or cultivated it.[2] Its use in the ancientMississippian metropolis ofCahokia has also been confirmed.[3] Native peoples used yaupon tea as a social drink in council meetings and it was offered to guests as a hospitable drink. They also used it as a medicinal tea.[5] It was also drunk as a daily energizing drink, and a strong version of it was drunk by men before battle.[1][3] It was known by various names, including "white drink" (due to its associations with purity), "beloved drink" (the plant being known as the "beloved tree") as well as "black drink" (mostly by Europeans, due to the color of the strong brew).[9][1]
The preparation and protocols vary between tribes and ceremonial grounds; a prominent ingredient is the roasted leaves and stems ofIlex vomitoria. In some contexts, the yaupon drink was made in a highly concentrated form that may have contained other herbs which may have hademetic properties.Fasting before ceremonies, along with excessive consumption of large quantities of the drink may have also caused the vomiting which was observed by Europeans.[5] These observations led to the association of the drink with vomiting, and also to its modern scientific name, even though the yaupon leaf has no inherent emetic properties.[10][1] According to theUSDA, "modern chemical analysis of yaupon has found no emetic or toxic compounds, and caffeine concentrations are similar to many commercially marketed teas."[5]
Yaupon tea was adopted by European colonists (initially the Spanish inFlorida) as early as the 17th century, who drank it as a normal caffeinated beverage.[5] It continued to be used byWhite Americans living in theAmerican South, especially in theCarolinas. Its use mostly died out in the early 20th century, but a revival of the drink by a few small American companies is currently underway. Yaupon tea also continued to be used by various Native American tribes, like theSeminoles, who make a black drink for their annualGreen Corn Ceremony (however, the drink does not always contain yaupon, since it is a blend of various plants).[5]
Ilex vomitoria leaves contain active ingredients such ascaffeine,theobromine,ursolic acid, andtheophylline, just like the relatedyerba mate andguayusa hollies.[11][12][13]Ilex vomitoria has a ratio of caffeine to theobromine of about 5:1.[12] In comparison,T. cacao may contain a ratio from 1:4 to 1:7.[12]
The leaves contain 0.0038 to 0.2288 percent caffeine by weight according to experiments performed by Adam Edwards in 2002.[14] In comparison, Owen gives the caffeine content ofcoffee as between 1.01 and 1.42 percent.[15] The combination of a lower caffeine content withtheobromine, andtheophylline can provide alertness withoutjitteriness and thecaffeine crash.[16]
Furthermore, theIlex vomitoria has been found to be high in the followingantioxidant andanti-inflammatorypolyphenols:chlorogenic acid,rutin,neochlorogenic acid and cryptochlorogenic acid.[17]It also containstheacrine,quercetin andsaponins.[17] A study by theUniversity of Florida of the yauponcultivar "Nana" found that the plant contained as much antioxidant potential asblueberries.[18]
The leaves of the yaupon holly also contain little to notannins, which means that the tea has neither bitterness norastringency. As such, over-steeping the leaves will not make a bitter brew.[16][18]
According to the ethnohistorical record, the yaupon leaves and branches used for the "beloved drink" were traditionally picked as close to the time of its planned consumption as possible. After picking, historically they were lightly parched in a ceramic container over fire. Theroasting increases the solubility in water of thecaffeine, which is the same reasoncoffee beans are roasted.[19]
Afterwards, the leaves were boiled in large containers of water until the liquid reached a dark brown or black color (hence the name "black drink"). The liquid was then strained into containers to cool, until it was cool enough to not scald the skin, and drunk while still hot. Because caffeine is 30 times more soluble in boiling water than room temperature water, this heightened its effect. It was then consumed in a ritual manner. Its physiological effects are believed to be mainly those of massive doses of caffeine. Three to six cups of strong coffee is equal to 0.5 to 1.0 grams of caffeine; the black drink could have delivered at least this much and possibly up to 3.0 to 6.0 grams of caffeine.[20][clarification needed]
The general method of production is known, but not all details of the preparation and ceremonial usage of the black drink are. The source of the emetic effect of black drink is not known and has been speculated upon by historians, archaeologists, and botanists. Some professionals believe it to be caused by the addition of the poisonousEryngium yuccifolium.[21]
European colonists adopted the production of the yaupon leaves from the Native peoples and made an infusion which they called by various names including yaupon tea, Indian tea, Carolina tea, South Seas tea or Appalachia tea.
Contemporary preparation and usage of the yaupon drink by Native Americans is less well documented. Online recipes for the brew have been criticized by some Native Americans as potentially dangerous and potentially poisonous due to those recipes leaving out key steps. The berries of the yaupon holly are poisonous.[22] They can lead to kidney failure and should not be consumed. Adam Edwards and Bradley Bennett tested stems, roots, and leaves of the yaupon. They found that the only possible toxic substance wastheobromine, analkaloid, but the amounts of the chemical were so low that a single gram of cocoa contained over 2,255 times more theobromine than yaupon.[23]
Archaeologists have demonstrated the use of various kinds of "beloved drink" among Native American groups stretching back far into antiquity, possibly dating toLate Archaic times (8000 to 1000BCE). During theHopewell period (100 BCE to 500CE), the shell cups known from later black drink rituals become common in high-status burials along with mortuary pottery and engraved stone and copper tablets. The significance of the shell cups may indicate the beginning of black drink ceremonialism. The fact that both the shells and the yaupon holly come from the same geographical location may indicate they were traded together in theHopewell Interaction Sphere.[24] The appearance of shell cups can be used as a virtual marker for the advent of Hopewell culture in many instances.[25] During theMississippian culture period (800–1600 CE), the presence of items associated with the black drink ceremony had spread over most of the south, with many examples from the cities ofCahokia,Etowah,Spiro, andMoundville.[26]
Archaeologists working atCahokia, the largest Mississippian culture settlement located near the modern city ofSt. Louis, found distinctive and relatively rare pottery beakers dating from 1050 to 1250 CE. The beakers are small round pots with a handle on one side and a tiny lip on the opposing side. The surfaces of the unfired vessels was incised with motifs representing water and the underworld and resemble the whelk shells known to have been used for the consumption of the beverage during historic times. The inside of the vessels were found to be coated with a plant residue, which when tested was found to containtheobromine, caffeine andursolic acid in the right proportions to have come from theIlex vomitoria.[27]
The presence of the black drink in the Greater Cahokia area at this early date pushes back the definitive use of the black drink by several centuries. The presence of the black drink hundreds of miles outside of its natural range on the East and Gulf coasts is evidence of a substantial trade network with the southeast, a trade that also involved sharks teeth and whelk shells.[28][29][30] This is confirmed by historical accounts. John Brickell'sNatural History of North Carolina (1737), states that the indigenous peoples of the North Carolina coast "frequently carry it [yaupon] to the Westward Indians, who give Deer Skins, and other Necessaries they want for."[13]
In historic accounts from the 16th and 17th century, the black drink is usually imbibed in rituals using a cup made ofmarine shell. Three main species of marine shells have been identified as being used as cups for the black drink,lightning whelk,emperor helmet, and thehorse conch. The most common was the lightning whelk, which has a left-handed or sinistral spiral. The left-handed spiral may have held religious significance because of its association with dance and ritual. The center columnella, which runs longitudinally down the shell, would be removed, and the rough edges sanded down to make a dipper-like cup. The columnella would then be used as a pendant, a motif that shows up frequently inSoutheastern Ceremonial Complex designs. In the archaeological record columnella pendants are usually found in conjunction with bi-lobed arrows, stone maces,earspools, and necklace beads (all of which are motifs identified with thefalcon dancer/warrior/chunkey player mythological figure).[31]
Artifacts made from these marine shells have been found as far north asWisconsin and as far west asOklahoma. Several examples of cups fromMoundville andSpiro have been found to have rings of black residue in the bottoms, suggesting they were used for black drink rituals. Many examples of shell cups found in Mississippian culture mounds are engraved withS.E.C.C. imagery. A few examples portray what is theorized to be black drink rituals, including what some anthropologists have interpreted as vomit issuing from the mouths of mythological beings.[24]
Pottery samples recovered from sites in modernSouthwestern United States andNorthwestern Mexico associated withAncestral Puebloan,Mogollon andHohokam cultures have tested positive for the ratio ofmethylxanthines associated with those produced byIlex vomitoria.[32] The same study also identified methylxanthines ratios associated withTheobroma cacao.[32] Neither plants are native to the areas from which the pottery samples were recovered, which suggests trading between areas where those plants are native. The samples were recovered from 18 sites inArizona,Chihuahua,Colorado, and New Mexico, includingPueblo Bonito inChaco CanyonNew Mexico andGrasshopper Pueblo in Arizona.[32] The study "reveals widespread use of two different caffeinated plants, cacao and holly, as the basis for drinks used in communal, ritual gatherings" by "at least A.D. 1000".[32]
The chemical analysis also suggests a possible increase in drinks prepared from cacao after the year 1200, and a decrease in the use of drinks prepared fromIlex vomitoria. Freshwater shells from Texas and Arkansas have been recovered fromPueblo Bonito, which have been used as possible evidence for the trade ofIlex vomitoria from the east. There are also some stands ofIlex vomitoria inMesoamerica, so the exact origins of theIlex vomitoria used to prepare the drinks is currently unknown.[32]
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Several tribes across the Southeastern United States use a form of the beloved drink in their ceremonies.Muscogee Creeks,Cherokees,Choctaws,Ais,Guale,Chickasaws,Chitimacha,Timucua, and others are documented users of a type of black drink in various rituals and ceremonies, including rites specifically focused on the drinking of the infusion, often accompanied by singing. It was also commonly drunk in the variousGreen Corn Ceremonies held by numerous Native groups as well as used before Native American ball games.[13]
Although rituals vary amongst the different tribes, there are some common traits among them. Black drink was most commonly drunk by men, who also prepare it, but there are some accounts of its preparation and use by women among some groups.[13] Some of these rituals included ritual vomiting, associated with purification.[13] The removal of tribes to areas outside the natural range ofIlex vomitoria has been partially responsible for a decline in the preparation of the black drink among present Native Americans.[citation needed]
The various Native groups also used yaupon drinks outside of ritual ceremonial contexts. They drank it daily as a social drink, especially among men in council meetings. They also drank it as an energizing brew before combat or work.[5][1][3] They also used it as medicine to heal wounds, calm nerves, suppress appetite, and regulate menstrual cycles.[33] They even used it to induce dreams.[33]
In 1696,Jonathan Dickinson witnessed the use of a beverage brewed from theYaupon Holly among the Ais ofFlorida. Dickinson later learned that theSpanish called the plantcasseena. The Ais parched the leaves in a pot, and then boiled them. The resulting liquid was then transferred to a large bowl using agourd that had a long neck with a small hole at the top, and a 2-inch-wide (51 mm) hole in the side. On the occasion Dickinson witnessed, he estimated that there were nearly three gallons of the beverage in the bowl. After the liquid had cooled, the chief was presented with a conch-shell of the beverage. The chief threw part of it on the ground as a blessing and drank the rest. The chief's associates were then served in turn. Lower status men, women, and children were not allowed to touch or taste the beverage. The chief and his associates sat drinking this brew, smoking and talking for most of the day. In the evening, the bowl that had held the beverage was covered with a skin to make a drum. The Ais, accompanied by the drum and some rattles, sang and danced until the middle of the night.[34]
TheAlabama people also used the yaupon drink in their assemblies. They also used it as a peace offering, offering it to their enemies when calling for peace.[2]
TheApalache tribe drank yaupon tea in preparation for theirballgame. Preparations included magic, fasting, dancing as well as pouring a yaupon tea libation on the ground and ritually drinking the yaupon drink.[2]
TheCherokee yaupon drink was taken for purification purposes at several traditional ceremonies and in preparation for any event in which ritual purification was needed.[2] According to William L. Merrill, "he Cherokees employed emetic decoctions in a number of contexts, perhaps the most notable of these being theirgreen corn ceremonies, rituals preceding and following raiding expeditions, during ceremonies, and ceremonies performed prior to playing a ballgame."[2]
Ilex vomitoria was not native to the traditional area controlled by the Cherokee before removal, but it was brought in to the area through trade and then transplanted.[citation needed]
Among theMuscogee the black drink is calledássi. In the ceremonies of some cultures that use the drink, after its preparation it is passed out to the highest-status person first, then the next highest status, and so forth. During each person's turn to drink, ritual songs may be sung. Its use was traditionally limited to only adult men.[35] The ritual nameAsi Yahola orBlack Drink Singer is corrupted intoEnglish asOsceola).[36]
Among the tribes of the MuscogeeCreek confederacy, yaupon was consumed in ceremonial purification rites as well as in highly formal meetings.[2] Furthermore, several writers on the topic state that men in Creek towns gathered daily in the town center or council houses to discuss key matters and partake of the yaupon drink.[2] The Creeks also offered yaupon beverages to friendly visitors to indicate their hospitable intentions.[2]
TheSeminoles also drank yaupon beverages. The famous Seminole warrior Osceola was named after the drink. His Seminole name is actually "Asi Yahola,", "Black Drink Singer" indicating that he was involved in a yaupon drink ceremony that involved singing.[13] Yaupon drink ceremonialism continued among the Seminoles even after their removal into reservations.[37] It is still practiced by some Seminoles, though these ceremonies are closed to the public.[13]
Among theTimucua, a type of black drink was calledcacina by the Spanish and spelledcasino inPareja'sTimucua writings. The preparation and consumption of the drink were strictly limited to the community council house. Women (other than an occasional female chief) were normally excluded from the council house except for activities such as dances, but did prepare thecacina. In 1678 a bedriddencacica (a female chief) was given permission to brew and consumecacina in her house, on the condition that no one else could be present while she did so.[38] The first sip of the black drink was called in Timucuacasinomucu "eye of cacina".[39] The Timucua use of yaupon tea was also discussed by French explorers to Florida, who explained how it was used in purification ceremonies as an emetic by the men, with the tribal chief drinking first, and then the warriors.[2]
AfterEuropean contact with tribes in what is today theSoutheastern United States, colonists began using the roasted leaves of the yaupon holly to make a tea similar to the Native beverage for daily drinking (not for ritual use). It was first discussed by the 16th century Spanish explorerÁlvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in hisLa relación who writes of its use inritual purification ceremonies:[13]
They [Natives] drink there another thing that they make from the leaves of trees like that of the holly oak.... And that which they have drunk, they throw up, which they do very easily and without any shame.[13]
Its use by Spanish colonists in settlements ofSpanish Florida (such asSaint Augustine) is documented as far back as 1615, when a Spanish priest wrote "there is no Spaniard or Indian who does not drink it every day in the morning or evening".[40][3] An account from that year by botanist Francisco Ximenez describes Spaniards as experiencing symptoms that would now be described ascaffeine dependence due to daily consumption of what they calledcacina orté del indio.
The use ofIlex vomitoria by colonists for tea making and for medicinal uses in theCarolinas is documented by the early eighteenth century. In the English-speaking colonies, it was known variously as cassina, yaupon tea, Indian tea, Carolina tea, and Appalachian tea. It was commonly believed to be and used as adiuretic. By the late 1700s, yaupon tea was described as being more commonly used in North Carolina at breakfast than tea made withCamellia sinensis. In addition to using it on their own, European colonists often consumed yaupon tea when engaging in discussions and treaties with Natives. Its preparation by European colonists was nearly identical to the method of preparation used by their Native neighbors. Its consumption by colonists inFrench Louisiana is speculated to have occurred, but lacks documentation other than one source describing its medicinal uses from 1716.[41]
Charles Hudson writes that by theAmerican Revolutionary War (1775–1783), yaupon was being grown on colonial farms, and was consumed widely in towns across the Southern American colonies.[3] During theAmerican revolutionary era there was apatriotic backlash against British tea, in part caused by theTea act (1773). The anti-tea campaign boycotted British tea and promoted localherbal teas, like Yaupon andLabrador tea, which they called liberty teas.[42][43] Yaupon was also drunk by the Spanish, as a French writer states "The Spaniards make great use of it over all Florida: it is even their ordinary drink."[13] According to Southern American sources, prior to the U.S. Civil War "nearly every plantation and farm ha[d] what is termed a yopon nursery".[13]
Yaupon tea was not just popular in the North American South, it was also traded and drunk in Europe, including inParis andLondon.[13] In Europe, the tea was known as Carolina tea or South Seas Tea in London and as Apalachine in Paris.[3] It was also promoted as a medicinal tea.[13] In the 18th century, the German botanistJohann David Schöpf wrote in his diaries that the alternative American tea had become so popular that theBritish East India Company saw it as a threat to its tea trade. This led England to limit yaupon imports. It was at this time that the Scottish botanistWilliam Aiton gave yaupon its controversial scientific name,Ilex vomitoria.[3] While this name may have reflected its ritual consumption among Native Americans, some (like Florida applied ecologist Francis Putz) believe that this name was also a way to smear yaupon and lessen its impact on the English tea trade.[3][13] Thescientific name of the plant continued to be debated well into the 20th century and the European confusion about its falsely attributed emetic properties continued well into the 19th century.[13]
During theCivil War (1861–1865), yaupon tea was used as a substitute for coffee and tea throughout the South, since their supply had been cut off by theUnion blockade.[13] Yaupon continued to be used in North Carolina for medicinal purposes and as a common drink until the late 1890s. TheCarolinas had a thriving yaupon tea industry in the 19th century.[13] At the turn of the century, its use was stigmatized because of its associations as a habit of rural people who were too poor to afford coffee and tea. According to Charles M. Hudson "Cassina [yaupon] was so abundant on the coast that it could be drunk by the poor; hence it became déclassé."[41] Furthermore, the tea became associated with poor American southern blacks, who also adopted it from indigenous people, drank the tea widely and used it as a folk medicine. As such, whites began to avoid yaupon due to its class and racial associations.[13]
By 1928 it was described as only being in common use onKnotts Island, North Carolina. During theInterwar period (1918–1939) theUnited States Department of Agriculture investigated the use of cassina tea as an economical substitute for coffee and tea and they even tested yaupon drinks at the Charleston County Fair.[13] There were also a few attempts at the commercialization of cassina tea during that same period. By 1973 it was believed that cassina tea was only being served at the Pony Island Restaurant onOcracoke Island, North Carolina.[41]
In the early 2000s, yaupon tea began witnessing a resurgence in its popularity with small new startup firms inFlorida,Georgia, andTexas harvesting and processing yaupon tea.[13]
Various American brands of Yaupon tea (such as Yaupon Brothers, Lost Pines Yaupon, Asi Tea and Catspring Yaupon) can now be purchased in several local marketplaces, online and at several historical sites related to Native Americans.[13][44][45] These small firms market yaupon tea as an organic,locally sourced, ethically harvested andenvironmentally conscious caffeinated drink. Demand for the drink has increased recently and in 2018 the American Yaupon Association was formed to promote yaupon.[13][45] According to Folch "much of the yaupon sold by U.S.-based companies is organic—it is a popular hedge partly because it is endemic and requires nofertilizers,herbicides, orpesticides and little to no watering—and is foraged or grown in small plots (even in Central Florida’s backyards)."[13]
Yaupon tea is now carried byWhole Foods, who has promoted it as one of the top new food trends of 2023.[46] It is also now sold as a fermentedkombucha like beverage and in a powdered (matcha style) form.[46]
According to BBC reporter Matt Stirn, yaupon tea brews as "a yellow to dark-orange elixir with a fruity and earthy aroma and a smooth flavour with malty tones" and its "ratio of stimulating xanthines such as caffeine, theobromine and theophylline release slowly into the body, providing a jitter-free mental clarity and an ease to the stomach."[3]
There are various commercialcultivars of yaupon available from nurseries and commercial growers, including: 'Folsom Weeping', Grey's Little Leaf, 'Jewel', 'Nana', 'Pendula' 'Poole’s Best', 'Pride of Houston', 'Shadow’s Female', 'Shillings/Stokes Dwarf', 'Straughn's', 'Yawkey', and 'Yellow Berry'.[5]
Due to the current environmental damage associated with other caffeine crops like coffee, a recent study by American botanists has promoted the use of local caffeine crops, like yaupon, as a more sustainable and environmentally friendly caffeine crop.[40]
Yaupon tea also continues to be used by some Native American tribes, like theSeminoles and theCherokee.[5][3]
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