Yaupon, a North American Tea gets Revived

steaming mug

There’s nothing quite like a good cup of tea. Thanks to the efforts of tea fans in North America we all may soon have another tea option available to us. The only known native caffeine producing plant, yaupon, is a holly bush indigenous to the south east of the USA. Yaupon tea was lost to history due to colonization in North America, which has made a challenge to relearn how to harvest and use the plant. People who are reviving the use of yaupon are studying history to understand how best to prepare the plant. And yes, in North American tradition, it is already for sale.

As I began to learn more about yaupon, I was floored,” said White, “I just couldn’t believe that nobody knew about it.”

Though White quickly became fascinated with the holly’s history, he also realised that trying to brew an actual drink from it would be difficult, as there was no-one left to learn from. Guided by instructions he found in colonial diaries compiled in Dr Hudson’s volume about yaupon, White began picking the leaves and experimenting with roasting techniques. In a similar fashion, Falla tried roasting her first batch of yaupon in the family kitchen, discovering that she had a natural talent for creating a delicious nutty and buttery flavour.

Guided by a curiosity for botany and an interest in history, Falla and White unexpectedly found themselves on parallel journeys to revive the ancient beverage, with Falla starting Catspring Yaupon outside Austin, Texas, in 2013, and White founding Yaupon Brothers in Edgewater, Florida, in 2015. Today, yaupon continues to grow in popularity as additional startups have begun selling and promoting the historical beverage.

Read more.

The Benefits of Coffee and Tea

The CBC has an article on the benefits of drinking coffee and tea, the benefits range from preventing cancer to a lower risk of cardiovascular disease in women.

3 cups a day curbs memory loss?

Women aged 65 and older who drink at least three cups of coffee or tea a day are less likely to suffer memory loss, according to a French study published in the August 2007 issue of the journal Neurology.

Lead researcher Karen Ritchie, of the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research, said it was premature to suggest caffeine conclusively cut cognitive decline but she noted the psychostimulant appeared to have a positive effect on the brain.

The study also found the positive effects of coffee appeared to heighten with age. Women over 80 who drank three or more cups of coffee daily were found to be 70 per cent less likely to experience memory loss over those who didn’t drink coffee.

Ritchie and her team observed the caffeine intake and cognitive skills of 7,000 participants over the course of four years.

Keep reading at the CBC.

Tea Drinking Women Lower Chances of Ovarian Cancer

Another study has come showing the benefits of tea. A recent study looks at the how tea lowers the risk of ovarian cancer.

It showed those who drank two or more cups of tea daily had a 46 per cent lower risk of the disease compared with those who never or seldom drank tea.

Alex Ford, chief executive of The Eve Appeal, which supports patients with gynaecological cancers, said women should be aware of the signs of ovarian cancer, especially those over 50.

She said: ‘Traditionally, early diagnosis was difficult as experts didn’t agree on the symptoms and they are easily mistaken for other, much more common and less serious conditions.

Green Tea is Great for Your Health

Green tea may be one way to fight breast cancer based on a new study on female mice. The scientists examined an ingredient in green tea called ECCG which is an antioxidant. The results in the ice are promising so people should start drinking more delicious green tea.

Epidemiological studies suggest that green tea and its major constituent, EGCG, can provide some protection against cancer. Because these studies were very limited, the anti-cancer mechanism of green tea and EGCG was not clear. As a result, the researchers examined whether drinking EGCG (just the antioxidant infused in water) inhibited the following: expression of VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor, which is found in a variety of breast cancer types); tumor angiogenesis (thought to help tumors expand by supplying them with nutrients); and the growth of breast cancer in female mice.

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