alternatehistory.com

Ilex vomitoria, or yaupon, is a species of holly with leaves that can be brewed to make a tea. It's a relative of South American yerba mate and guayusa, and like those drinks, was extensively used by the Indians of the region where it is native. It was falsely believed to cause vomiting by European observers (in the form of "black drink" consumed ritually by American Indians), but that was probably because of other ingredients of the black drink. Many European colonists drank yaupon anyway in colonial times, but if Wikipedia is to be believed, it developed an association with rural poverty so basically became extinct by the 20th century.

So with a POD of 1607, how could yaupon tea develop a reputation and place in American society comparable to the place of yerba mate in the Southern Cone? What would be the effects on Southern culture (which it would definitely become associated with)? Is it suitable for cultivation by slaves? Could it become the "national drink" of a surviving Confederate States?

One thing I thought of, I recall reading a book on the Boston Tea Party where some people in the Colonies switched to drinking yaupon to replace their tea consumption in protest of Britain. I've seen suggestions that the Boston Tea Party is when Americans began to consume coffee more than tea, so perhaps combined with the American Revolution this could lead to yaupon tea gaining a real place in American culture as an "American" beverage?
Top