Normally Holly bushes do not make for good tea. But there is one in the family that the Native Americans made caffeinated tea out of. Its known as the Yaupon Holly. I started growing three trees about five years ago. And one of them was in need of some trimming. So I saved the branches, pulled off the leaves and made a tea out of it.
I started off by air drying the leaves for about two weeks. This is what makes them edible. Otherwise the leaves can make you sick. But I indeed hung these cut branches for long enough to make it safe for consumption.
I strained the leaves after the two week period and made sure no berries made it into my batch. The berries are not edible so something to keep in mind.
Next was to roast the leaves. This makes them more water soluble, giving me a better tea when steeping.
Roasting these leaves around 300F for 10 minutes gave the house a nice woody smell. Once they stopped smoking they were ready to grind up and jar.
I had alot of leaves but once grinded up they take up less space. Since roasted they break up in my hand very easily.
I grinded up the leaves by hand and afterwards it looked like a good leafy tea powder.
I could have ground them up even finer if I used a coffee bean blender or something like that.
Filled up a mason jar, I drink tea every morning so I wonder how long this will last. I think a month or two.
Using a tea ball I put the grinding inside and then boil some water. About five minutes later I have the water ready to make some tea out of my own tree.
Within a minute of steeping the water was starting to turn a golden color. The smell was quite woody.
By the five minute mark, the tea was quite dark and ready for taste. I was suprised how dark the tea is. It was smelling great and made me want to try it right away.
I waited for it to cool and then tasted it. Was very smooth, no bitterness, tasted alot like it smelled.. a woody flavour, also tasted a little peppery. I think I'm a fan of it.
Finished it off in a few minutes and left a little bit at the bottom where some flakes got through the tea ball.
The trees have been growing quite fast. I'll probably have more leaves to harvest in a year or two. It's already fifteen feet tall at five years old and I dont want it much taller. So i plan on trimming it again and making more tea.
The Yaupon Holly is a weeping shape, cool tree to have. It's pretty cold hardy and always seems happy with whatever I do with it. I've always wanted to grow a tea or coffee plant. Glad I was able to with this special Holly.
