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Yaupon: The rebirth of America's forgotten tea

What if you were surrounded by tea and didn’t know it? In an age where tea is the most consumed drink on the planet after water and is expected to become an $81.6bn global industry by 2026, the possibility of living among an endless supply of ready-to-be-picked, wild tea might seem like a far-fetched dream. But across large swaths of the southern United States, such a reality exists.

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I hold the tea mug up to my face, and inhale its fragrant, naturally sweet aroma. In addition to caffeine (about the same amount as in a cup of green tea) it’s rich in theobromine, an alkaloid compound and antioxidant found in dark chocolate and known to boost mood and happiness.

Tea Time for Yaupon

Wachter and friends Jason Ellis and John Seibold launched Lost Pines in 2015; each of them convinced that eco-aware consumers couldn’t resist a sustainable tea plucked from Austin’s backyard. But this isn’t just a drink to feel smug about. Yaupon tea doesn’t turn bitter like regular tea (“People ask us if we’ve added sugar,” says Ellis), and though it may not have as much caffeine as tea, its high levels of theobromine (think: dark chocolate) bestow a more focused, long-lasting buzz without causing the jitters.

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Thankfully, the yaupon holly makes a tasty tea that Lost Pines Yaupon Tea offers in two roasts, a light and dark. When you drink it, you might find yourself feeling pretty good afterward, as the effects of a phytochemical within the tea takes hold. Yaupon, Ellis said, doesn’t have as much caffeine as other teas; instead, it has a lot of theobromine, which is also found in high quantities in dark chocolate. And it’ll leave you feeling ready to tackle your day.

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A further benefit of this particular business model is that clearing yaupon in the Lost Pines forest helps restore the breeding ground of the endangered Houston toad, represented on the company's logo. "Sustainable" doesn't begin to describe the budding yaupon tea industry's positive impact. "We feel like we're actually doing something good," beams Ellis.

Tea Time

In 2015, Ellis and Wachter co-founded Lost Pines Yaupon Tea along with a friend, John Seibold. Today, they wild-harvest yaupon leaves on four privately owned properties in Bastrop, dry and roast them in a facility nearby, and package and sell loose-leaf and bagged teas in stores throughout Austin. By thinning the yaupon, they also make way for native grasses, which are an essential habitat for the endangered Houston toad. Property owners can receive a wildlife exemption for restoring toad habitat, and thinning yaupon is one way to restore that habitat. “There’s an inexhaustible supply of yaupon,” Ellis says. “But instead of destroying the forest, you’re restoring it.”