Yaupon tea

I picked up this bag of yaupon tea on our Mothers Day weekend trip to Ocracoke and couldn't wait to brew a cup when we got home. Yaupon tea is native to the Outer Banks area, and has been a popular drink for thousands of years, used in Native American rituals and as a replacement for Asian tea and coffee during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. The people I talked to on Ocracoke said that some old timers still remember their parents and grandparents drinking it around the beginning of the last century.

Yaupon is supposed to be rich in antioxidants, and besides that, it is the only native North American plant to contain caffeine! Some people also swear that it is a bang-up cure for a hangover (but I am not so sure it would make a dent in any of the ones I've had, so take that with a grain of salt).

To brew a cup, I crumbled a spoonful of leaves into a tea strainer, and let it steep in very hot water for about 5 minutes. When it was fully steeped, the color was a very pale yellow green, like a mild green tea. The taste was also mild like a green tea, only without the floral notes. After a little experimenting, I think I like it best with a little honey and lemon.

I'm not sure it will replace my love of coffee in the mornings but it's definitely a nice afternoon pick-me-up and probably one of my favorite souvenirs I've picked up on our travels.

You can buy yaupon tea at the Village Craftsman in Ocracoke or online (affiliate link).