OK, Last Saturday, I convinced by lovely wife to accompany me to the Farmers Market where my farmer friend Jim was selling his hand grown veggies. We saw Jim and his lovely wife Ara doing a booming business in custom salad mixes and hand grown micro greens. My new favorite secret weapon of custom grown veggies is the “salad turnip”. More on that later,
What most totally tweeked my melon at the market was something that is almost a local legend around these parts.
You can’t grow up in Texas without learning, respecting and understanding the numerous Native American tribes that inhabited this great land before us. When I was a kid of single digit age I was an eager member of the YMCA Indian Guides. Our adopted tribe were the Kickapoo. My Indian Guide name was Little Dipper and my guide (father) was .. You guessed it, Big Dipper.
We had pow wows and camp outs and tried to copy some of the many rituals practiced by real Indians. But I always was fascinated by how the Indians learned to use the natural flora and fauna to nourish and heal themselves. I was, and still am, in awe of these true native Texans.
I’m not so ill informed that I don’t know the true stories of savagery and terror waged by the native tribes against the Texas settlers of European descent. But I also fully understand the settlers were no angels in their own right and the savagery was no more or less than what was practiced by the Romans, the early Church or our modern day terrorist-dejour. So lets not quibble about who was innocent in the lens of history. You and I weren’t there and we don’t know jack caca about what really happened day to day.
But Back to the Farmer’s Market… (Sorry… I so easily digress due to late onset ADHD).
As a kid I learned about a little known fact that there was one native plant in the entire United States that contained caffeine. Yes, caffeine, the secret ingredient of a multi-billion dollar industry (Thank you Starbucks!).
Postscript; I love Coffee! I love coffee so much that for over 30 years I have drank it every morning. But not like most folks. I drink my coffee black, without additions. Just like the cowboys of the 1800s, I like my coffee so thick and black, it will standup a spoon in the cup! In College, the night before tests and finals, I’d drink multiple pots in order to stay awake and cram for tests and finals! Yes, I’m a long time fan of caffeine!!!
I digress again, THE FARMERS MARKET! Yes at the market I finally saw someone who executed on the plan that has been in the back of my mind for decades. A true purveyor of the native pick me up drink of Texas known by the Indians as “The Black Drink”. I found a seller of Yaupon Tea!
To those not familiar with the gulf coast of the USA, Yaupon may seem like a foreign plant species. But to any young TX; LA; MS; AL; GA or FL boy or girl whoever spent a summer clearing land knows EXACTLY what Yaupon is. It is the devil’s shrub! Tougher than a bois-de-arc fence post, immortal, recurrent and omnipresent in all wooded coastal environments. BUT, it is also the secret caffeine beverage of the native American tribes who called the gulf coast home!!
SO, when the young man at the Farmers Market asked me if I’d like to try some I said hell yeah! I simply was not prepared for what happened next.
The young gentleman provided four separate samples. One hot and pure with no sweetener; one hot and sweetend with Honey, one cold, sweetened and served like iced tea, then one, sweetened, cold with creamer like something millenials would pay $9 for if it had a white cup, lid and well known logo on the front!
Disclosure Notice: I am not a big tea drinker. I’ll go with sweet tea and BBQ and maybe a chicken fried steak, but that’s about it. But this drink was so different. The best I can describe it is that it bridged the gap between Coffee and Tea. Its akin to a weaker coffee or a stronger tea. But OH MAN was it good. I instantly shelled out $18 for a 5oz bag of the Black Drink. It had an earthy taste to replace the typical tannin taste of tea. But it had the aroma of a gourmet coffee.
My 17 year old daughter is a Starbucks coffee snob so i wanted to get her honest feedback. I fixed her a cup of hot yaupon tea with local honey. She was stunned by the aroma and said it reminded her of a really strong chai tea. She absolutely loved it. Case closed! This is a sleeper of a caffeinated product in a world where caffeine demand outstrips supply year after year.
To set the record straight, Yaupon is neither Ilex or Vomitoria. The Ilex was the name given by the early settlers who thought the plant was an Oak (it is not an oak). The Vomitoria came from the native American ritual surrounding yaupon where the tea was cooked up and mixed with ipecac-like herbs then drank in large quantities until the last brave standing who didn’t vomit was the winner and named the “Osceola”. Reminds me of an old fraternity tradition…..
As the owner of scores of acres covered in Ilex Vomitoria, I’m tempted to jump into the market for this native American caffeine drink. What do you think? Is this the new American coffee replacement? Have you tried it? I’m really amazed at this native caffeinated resource.
I’m thinking about finding a joint venture business partner who is good with a machete. I can provide the raw material, marketing and the machete. Start clearing here and I will tell you where to stop!
MIKE CENTEX LIFE 