Good Long History

For more than 1,000 years, indigenous people of the southeastern United States have valued yaupon tea for its energizing and health-giving properties. They brewed yaupon holly leaves over a fire, then boiled them in water to make a tea sometimes called "Black Drink."  They drank it as part of decision making rituals and tribal ceremonies as well as a daily routine. They also used yaupon as currency in trading and tribute gifts.  By no later than 1615, white settlers had discovered the drink and it became widely consumed into the early 1900s.