Author Topic: Anyone Growing Tea?  (Read 5256 times)

RS

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Re: Anyone Growing Tea?
« Reply #25 on: December 31, 2022, 09:02:27 AM »
Yaupon holly makes great tea and grows well here in central FL: https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/trees-and-shrubs/shrubs/yaupon-holly-tea.html 
The scientific name, ilex vomitoria, is unfortunate.

Yaupon teahouse sells several different blends if anyone wants to try first. I grow nana variety for this purpose. It's native, cold/drought tolerant and easy to grow.

FloridaManDan

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Re: Anyone Growing Tea?
« Reply #26 on: December 31, 2022, 09:51:03 AM »
Thats awesome, just read up on the Yaupon Holly as a tea plant. Used to see this on a rare occasion working for the Forest Service in AL, thought it made a beautiful ornamental.
Surprised that its on par with Guayusa and Yerba Mate in terms of tea quality, antioxidants, etc.

If anyone has a small plant or a handful of Yaupon cuttings, I'd be glad to trade.

Tortuga

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Re: Anyone Growing Tea?
« Reply #27 on: December 31, 2022, 10:15:54 AM »
I’ve been growing camellia sinensis in a pot for about 4 years starting from a cutting. It’s a small but stout bush now. It is true they grow slow but are pretty hardy. It’s a plant I can skip watering and fertilizing from time to time. I have used older leaves to make green tea and it was bitter so I’ll try the young shoots next time.

Tortuga

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Re: Anyone Growing Tea?
« Reply #28 on: December 31, 2022, 10:20:50 AM »
Thats awesome, just read up on the Yaupon Holly as a tea plant. Used to see this on a rare occasion working for the Forest Service in AL, thought it made a beautiful ornamental.
Surprised that its on par with Guayusa and Yerba Mate in terms of tea quality, antioxidants, etc.

If anyone has a small plant or a handful of Yaupon cuttings, I'd be glad to trade.

I have 6 large bushes in front of my house that I’ve trimmed into globes; one getting larger than the next so they look like stepping stones. They actually need trimming so I’d be up for a trade.

I’ve never processed my own yaupon holly because of its Latin name and minimal research. Someone show me the way

Plantinyum

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Re: Anyone Growing Tea?
« Reply #29 on: December 31, 2022, 12:23:38 PM »
Anyone using camelia sasanqua as a tea plant? I have one potted one, havent used it for a tea, well i used the flowers several times. The leaves smell very nice , especially the new growth .

CarolinaZone

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Re: Anyone Growing Tea?
« Reply #30 on: December 31, 2022, 01:53:17 PM »
Camelia sinensis here is zone 7 NC. I have three growing outside close to my house. I have never had a problem with them coming through the freezes we have here. They have been in ground about 8 years. They are small shrubs.

RS

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Re: Anyone Growing Tea?
« Reply #31 on: December 31, 2022, 03:11:58 PM »
I’ve never processed my own yaupon holly because of its Latin name and minimal research. Someone show me the way

So there's lots of variation in how it can be prepared, some people use just the leaves (it's pretty easy to strip off the leaves), some use the leaves plus small twigs.

Can be fresh/green, roasted, or blended. One roasted recipe is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEyrXzP-K6k

I've only made it from my yard once (still have a lot of tea from yaupon teahouse). Used a 1940 recipe for half green leaves and half lightly roasted, put in the oven at 250 for about 10 minutes. It can be fun to experiment!
« Last Edit: December 31, 2022, 03:17:03 PM by RS »

Stomata

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Re: Anyone Growing Tea?
« Reply #32 on: December 31, 2022, 04:14:37 PM »
Yaupon holly/ ilex vomitoria is one of my favorite drinks. in my opinion it far outshines any mate i have tried (though never had that fresh). Yaupon gets a bad rap due to the vomitoria epithet. This is in relation to its use in purging rituals. It was traded widely throughout north american by the native americans, it has been found as far as new mexico and st louis (cahokia). it was also a major drink in SE US used by european settlers and their descendents. Don't let the name turn you of!! Extremely easy to grow, no pest issues i have ever seen.
 Roasted yaupon holly makes a delicous, almost chocolately flavored beverage. The heating also makes the caffeine more bioavailable.

Galatians522

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Re: Anyone Growing Tea?
« Reply #33 on: December 31, 2022, 07:27:37 PM »
Good to know! Its my understanding, by the way, that most cafinated beverages would make you puke if you drank them at the concentration and in the quantities that were used at the green corn festival. Put another way, if you didn't puke after drinking half a gallon of espresso, you would wish that you had...Lol!