That some one may yet make a fortune from a plant that flourished in a wild state here in Eastern North Carolina is the opinion of experts of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. We have here a shrub that yields tea without tannin and from which some one may yet produce a soda fountain beverage that will eclipse Coca Cola in popular flavor.
The shrub in question is the common yaupon which our grandfathers drank. To all North Carolinians it should be a matter of much interest that the leaves of this particular shrub, after thorough investigation by the Bureau of Chemistry of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, have been recommended as a source for a new tea to be called cassina tea. Or, prepared in the proper way with the addition of certain flavoring elements, it is suggested by the government men that there are genuine possibilities in the direction of cold drinks either for fountain use or for bottling.
In a recent bulletin by Dr. George F. Mitchell of the Bureau of Chemistry, Washington, it is stated that at a recent fair in the South 30 gallons of cassina tea were dispensed daily. From the general rapidly increasing interest in the new drink, the Washington men believe there are very promising commercial possibilities in this new beverage.
The shrub in question is known commonly as “yaupon,” “cassina” or “Christmas-berry” tree. In science it is called Ilex casscue, which makes it a relative of the well-known holly. When not exposed to excessive wind, the shrub assumes an oval or nearly spherical shape. It has rather ridged branches with sharp, stiff lateral shoots which are suggestive of thorns, but it is not a thorn-bearer in any real sense. The small, firm, oval leaves (three-fourth inch long) are somewhat shining in full sunlight, and being born thickly, make this evergreen shrub one of the most beautiful to be found in the State. In its general aspect it is suggestive of box, a shrub highly prized by horticulturalists everywhere.
The use of the leaves for making brews of various kinds and strength has long been practiced in certain folk in the regions where the plant was abundant, and it is well known that the Indians would make long pilgrimages to obtain the leaves. There had not been worked out in the past, however, any standard methods of curing the leaves or definite recipes dealing with the use of them in hot and cold drinks.
The essential beverage element in the leaves is caffeine, of which there is, according to Dr. Mitchell, about 1 per cent. In some samples it will run as high as 1.67 per cent. So that from a caffeine standpoint cassina may be rated as a mild drink.
The writer of this article is caffeine sensitive, yet a cup of cassina tea at night produced no noticeable insomnia. The drink, it might be said, may be readily placed in the “there is a reason” class of harmless foods.
The taste resembles tea without the undesirable tang of tannin which tea possesses. It has a distinctive flavor, which to the sensibilities of the writer, is very attractive. The writer’s sample came from the Washington laboratories, the leaves having been treated in accordance with recently worked-out methods.
It is of much interest to know that the famous South American drink, Yerbe Mate, or simply mate, is made from a near relative of our cassina. There is such a demand for this tea that in Argentina alone 190 million pounds per annum of the dried leaves are consumed. This is about 20 pounds per person.
It is needless to remark that if cassina tea comes into any such vogue in this country, it would mean that certain rather extensive areas of sterile sandy land in the coastal counties would quickly advance in value and North Carolina would enjoy a repetition of her famous Sand Hills story.
If one may judge by the distribution of the plant in nature, the cassina actually does better in the poor leached-out sand stretches of upland soil, such soil which hardly anywhere under cultivation at the present time. It should, however, always be remembered that plants of ?? occupy certain areas simply because they cannot compete with certain plants in other and better areas; they are simply taking what they can get. Perhaps the cassina, if protected in somewhat better soils, would grow much more luxuriantly than it does in nature and would produce a better quality of beverage.
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From the front page of the Elizabeth City Independent, Friday, Nov. 2, 1923
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