Why the toad?
Have y'all seen this gorgeous Houston toad mural by Louis Masai in downtown Austin at 6th and San Jacinto? In the past, the Houston toad lived all over the central coastal area of Texas, but thanks to development and drought, they are now critically endangered.
Texas’ only caffeinated plant makes a buzzworthy tea - Texas Highways magazine.
From the article:
“When we started harvesting a few years ago,” says Seibold, who now does most of the yaupon-gathering, “the fire damage was extensive. Now, I look for baby loblolly pine trees as I harvest, and I clear the yaupon out around them. It’s so good to see the young pines growing taller each time I go back. But there’s a seemingly endless supply of yaupon: Forest managers cut a 100-yard-wide firebreak last year through one of the ranches, and it’s already filled in with yaupon.”
Fox 7's Good Day Show: Lost Pines Yaupon Tea demonstrates how to roast yaupon
We were featured on Fox 7's show Good Day! We showed how to roast yaupon to make yaupon tea. We also talked a bit about how harvesting yaupon in certain areas of the Lost Pines Forest benefits the endangered Houston Toad and the forest itself.
Brewing Strong Yaupon
Yaupon is great when made as hot or iced tea (1 tsp steeped for 5 minutes) but the traditional way of preparing yaupon was to make a decoction, that is to boil or simmer it for some time. This really brings out more flavor and the stimulating effects of the caffeine and theobromine (the feel good relative of caffeine found in cacao).
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