Yaupon tea benefits

What is Yaupon tea?

Yaupon tea is a herbal tea with medicinal properties from the leaves of the yaupon plant. It boasts a unique flavor and rich nutrients, with plenty of antioxidants and beneficial compounds in each serving. It is a better substitute for coffee. 

Yaupon consumption also produces a delicious and refreshing iced or hot tea. The absence of tannins means that the tea does not turn bitter. It does not give you a dry mouth feel. Yaupon can be re-steeped several times without losing its flavor.

Dried, yaupon tea looks like broken and crumbled dried leaves. Once steeped, the color variation depends on how the leaves are treated. Lighter roasting gives you a paler green. Once brewed, the liquid is more green-gold.

Longer roasting makes the tea a deeper brown when steeped. If not careful, you can mistake it for green tea. Yaupon tea can also be darkly roasted, giving the leaves a deeper brown color and making the tea more like ground coffee in texture. The yaupon tea will look more like black tea in hot water. 

Chemical properties of Yaupon tea

Most forms of Yaupon are made into black tea. Some variations create green teas, but black tea is the strongest (yauponbrothers.com). Yaupon Holly’s leaves in dry and unprocessed form contain between .65 to .85 percent caffeine based upon weight. 

The caffeine content is a bit lower than many teas and coffees. The leaves are better at absorbing the caffeine and then seeping it into your tea. Natural Yaupon Holly tea leaves are better for brewing purposes.

To maximize the caffeine content of the leaves, alter how you brew the leaves. The water needs to boil, and the leaves need to seep for a few minutes. Serve the tea hot instead of cold.

Nutritional Facts on Yaupon tea

Yaupon tea is a natural source of caffeine. It has about 76 mg of caffeine per teaspoon. The caffeine content differs depending on various factors. Most types of yaupon tea contain a lower amount. It also contains theobromine, a compound that improves focus and brain function. Theobromine improves your circulatory, respiratory, and excretory systems (selfcode.com).

Yaupon tea is rich in several polyphenols and is a natural compound that acts as antioxidants to reduce inflammation and prevent oxidative damage to your cells. Amongst the compounds is Chlorogenic acid for metabolism and helps protect against heart disease, fatty liver disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.

Rutin reduces inflammation and supports brain health (ncbi.nih). Neochlorogenic acid reduces inflammation, and Crypto Chlorogenic acid protects insulin-producing cells in the pancreas to potentially help treat diabetes(ncbi.nlm) .

Benefits of Yaupon tea

It promotes brain function, decreases inflammation, and supports healthy energy levels. It has become a popular ingredient in some skincare products and many moisturizers, cleansers, and serums. Since Yaupon tea contains caffeine, it becomes a stimulant that boosts energy levels. Caffeine is also sometimes used to improve mood and increase alertness. 

Consuming 50 mg of caffeine increases alertness and task accuracy after 60 and 90 minutes. 100mg of theobromine improves performance and minimizes susceptibility to distractions.

Potential downsides

Too much of the tea may cause a laxative effect and make one hyper with caffeine. It might make you vomit. Yaupon tea can be delicious tea worth adding to your healthy diet, but you should limit its intake. Yaupon tea contains caffeine, which can cause side effects in some people when consumed in large amounts.

Caffeine can cause digestive problems, anxiety, irritability, changes in heart rate, increased urination, and insomnia. If it comes to the worst, it can also cause confusion, heart problems, seizures, and psychosis (webmd.com).

In short, limit your caffeine intake to 400 mg daily, about 5-7 cups of yaupon tea, depending on its caffeine content. Pregnant or breastfeeding women should limit their caffeine intake to around 200 mg.

People with severe anxiety, peptic ulcers, heart disease, or impaired liver or kidney function should be careful when consuming caffeine.

How to make Yaupon tea

Dry the leaves first. They should be roasted beforehand using the sun or the oven at 350 degrees until the leaves turn the desired shade of brown. The more cooked, the darker the tea and the deeper the flavor. The tea is also made from fresh leaves, but the flavor will not be as strong.  Brew yaupon tea like any other herbal tea.

Steps

1. Boil water.
2. Pour over leaves or a tea bag, and let steep for five minutes. Do not expect to get tannic from brewing too long. It can even be re-steeped as soaking tea gets weaker. Yaupon is drunk hot but can also be served cold and over ice.
3. Add one teaspoon of toasted japan leaves to 1 cup (237 ml) of boiling water.
4. Steep the leaves for 5-10 minutes, depending on your tea’s strength. Steeping tea for longer periods gives you a stronger, more concentrated flavor, while brewing for shorter periods results in a milder flavor.
5. Strain the japan leaves from the tea and enjoy. Do not limit yourself to boiling Yaupon tea only. You can make yaupon tea using tools such as a coffee maker, French press, tea ball, or percolator.

How many cups of Yaupon tea can you drink?

You can have 5 to 7 cups of yaupon tea per day, depending on its caffeine content.

Additional FAQs

What does yaupon tea taste like?

Yaupon tea has an earthy,  grassy, and herbal taste. The taste depends on how much the leaves were roasted.

How much caffeine does yaupon tea have?

It has almost 60mg.

Yaupon contains around 60mg of caffeine, about 1/3 less than coffee.

How do you drink yaupon tea?

Yaupon can be steeped like tea and brewed like coffee. Drink with milk and your favorite sweetener. It tastes great with lemon, mint, cinnamon, or other herbs and spices.

How to store Yaupon tea

Keep yaupon tea like any other in a sealed container in a dry, dark place. Once wet, the properties of the leaves become activated, and do not stay fresh for later use. Moisture causes the leaves to mold.