Announcer #1: "Modern Pioneering" is funded in part by Wild Blueberry Farmers of Maine.

Wild blueberries are full of flavor and nutrients.

A pop full of blueberry taste for your favorite smoothie, breakfast, or dessert.

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Announcer #2: At Muir Glen, we believe that organic farming benefits consumers, farmers, and ecosystems.

Announcer #1: And made possible by Paul Matteucci, Ben and Heather Grizzle, Susan Wiskow, and many other generous donors.

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Falla: I'm a fourth-generation Texan, and we've always known Yaupon.

Yaupon is native.

She takes over fence lines and trails And, ironically, my punishment when I was younger was I would have to go clear some Yaupon off of a fence line.

It wasn't until the drought of 2011 -- here in Texas, it was the driest year in recorded history.

They say, statewide, we lost something like 300 million trees.

We started to look at Yaupon a little differently.

We realized Yaupon is our only source of caffeine in North America.

And the first recorded observation of Yaupon was with Cabeza de Vaca here in Texas in the 1540s.

At that time, nobody was commercially selling it.

Started to play with preparation methods, landed on a few that were pretty good, and started taking it to farmers markets.

It was when we first started to have interest from some of these chefs who were looking for something that was local and not on a ship from China to serve as their iced tea, that I realized there may be something here.

When we first got started, I thought everyone in the world would know about Yaupon in three to five years, and 13 years later, we are still sharing the story.

♪♪ ♪♪ Pellegrini: Some people see value where the rest of the world sees weeds.

They are present enough to notice what's around them and curious enough to ask why.

For generations in Texas, landowners fought back a plant they considered a nuisance.

Until one day, Abianne Falla paused and saw something else.

From that curiosity and resilience came a new opportunity and the return of an ancient plant to our collective consciousness.

Falla: It grows across the Gulf Coast.

But what's unique about Texas is there's only one genetic strain that's wild here.

Whereas in Florida and elsewhere, there's hundreds of different varieties.

There's a terroir to Yaupon like there is to everything, right?

And with that sandy loam is a crispness and a cleanness that translates to the palate.

Pellegrini: Caldwell, Texas, sits within the Post Oak Savannah, a landscape with a design between prairie and forest.

Once it was open, grasses stretching wide, oaks spaced enough for light to reach the ground.

Fire moved through it, and grasses held it in balance.

Over time, fire was suppressed, cattle overgrazed the grass, and Yaupon, native, but no longer contained, began to spread.

What was once open started to close.

Falla: Virtually every other caffeine that we're consuming in the U.S.

is on a boat.

When we first got started, I thought, "This is going to be so easy.

We'll tell everyone about Yaupon, and everyone will know."

But building a product category has taken time.

With both COVID and tariffs, people are aware of things that we are importing in a way that we haven't been for decades.

People are looking for local.

People are interested in finding things closer to home.

Pellegrini: At the heart of starting a new drink category was finding landowners willing to see Yaupon differently, the way she did.

There were many eager to have Abianne help them clear Yaupon from their land.

Man: ♪ Nervous excitement ♪ ♪ Butterflies flying ♪ Pellegrini: But there were also landowners willing to be curious with her, who saw the potential for Yaupon to be a true cash crop.

Abianne found that kind of partnership in Terry Arledge.

Falla: Landowners are really excited to hear that there's another lens to view Yaupon.

They've been bulldozing or burning or fighting Yaupon for years.

Arledge: I figured God put the Yaupon here for some reason other than a nuisance that everybody says it is.

We started researching it and found out the natives drank it for years.

It's got research on it that it's good for you, and just thought instead of doing away with it, was to be the harvest and see if we could find a market.

Falla: That's been really exciting to be able to come in and reframe their relationship with a plant that has been a thorn in their side, For them to be able to see, not only does it have value, but we can be able to use this to improve not only the value of their land, but also to help restore a steady state ecological system.

Arledge: Taking care of our property is just a temporary part of history, I guess you could say.

We won't own the land forever.

No more than the people before us owned the land.

Once we have it in our possession, we try to take as much care of the property as we can and try to get the most benefits out of the property.

Falla: We have about 3,000 acres of Yaupon that we currently manage of wild growth with eight landowners.

This is a platform to catalyze our entire region.

Something that we're working on is how do we create a more effective, scalable way to work with landowners that as we harvest, we're able to do more land restoration.

And through that, Terry is one of the landowners that first came to us.

Arledge: I really didn't know what tea tasted like.

Camellia sinensis tea is all we had as a kid, and Mama put so much sugar in it we called it syrup.

Syrup tea, you know.

So I went to the World Tea Expo to really see what tea tasted like versus Yaupon, and come back and decided there's some more benefits to Yaupon and that it's actually a blessing to have it.

So I just ran, got on an airplane, said, "I'm going to the World Tea Expo and I'm going to meet the Queen of Yaupon."

[Laughs] You know.

Falla: It's been neat to see his decades of experience in different industries and how that has been able to really elevate the scale that we've been able to harvest at.

We've been able to move to heavier machinery, which has been able to really improve the scale of our harvesting.

And he listens.

And so when we're able to say, "Hey, let's change this for quality, this is what we've learned over the course of our 15 years of harvesting."

It's been a really collaborative relationship.

Pellegrini: Abianne's relationship with landowners is symbiotic.

They need help restoring their land, harvesting Yaupon, and reseeding native grasses.

But in Terry, Abianne has an inventor who's willing to roll up his sleeves and innovate in an entirely new industry.

Since there wasn't a blueprint for harvesting Yaupon, Terry traveled to hemp fields, vineyards, and grain operations, adapting what existed to make harvesting Yaupon possible at scale.

Arledge: One of the biggest hurdles that we had that nobody had addressed and the reason that Yaupon never took off is because it was too expensive, because it was all hand labor, hand-picked.

The machinery aspect on the harvesting end of it was the real lifesaver for Yaupon.

Man: ♪ But my song is for you ♪ ♪ Though not pretty or poetic ♪ ♪ I hope you know it's true ♪ Pellegrini: How many steps in the process are there?

Arledge: A lot.

A lot.

Pellegrini: [Laughs] A lot.

Arledge: The co-packing end of this company is real important.

They were all co-packing in places 1,200 to 1,500 miles away from here.

So just in this little company that we have, our co-packing has become real big.

Pellegrini: So what's happening here?

It's dropping down onto the conveyor?

Arledge: Okay, the leaves come from out there after they're dry and then they go into here.

They either go to pasteurization or roasting or black tea.

Pellegrini: Okay.

Arledge: And then they drop on these belts right here and they're headed to the other part.

Pellegrini: So they're all just getting tumbled.

What is the tumbling doing?

Arledge: Yeah.

The tumbling -- These are heaters.

So if they weren't tumbling, they'd scorch.

They'd burn.

Pellegrini: So they're roasting right now.

Arledge: Yeah.

Yeah.

Pellegrini: Okay.

Arledge: We're at Texas prices instead of Eastern prices.

So the price difference in structure is a game changer for everybody that's in the Yaupon.

We're just one little family with one little family farm, but there's Yaupon from here to North Carolina.

What we're hoping to happen is there will be a big enough demand to where there'll be a lot of little guys like my family that have land, have a cash crop with a USA tea.

This is a sifter.

It's sifting different grains, different sizes.

And then they come over here, and it separates the sticks.

When it falls right here, all the sticks come out.

Is the -- no good, sticks.

Pellegrini: Yep.

Man: ♪ I know this ain't easy ♪ Pellegrini: So this is a big bag of the finished product.

Arledge: That'll be 500 pounds when we get -- Well, this product, it'll be about 350.

Pellegrini: And that's what will go into your... Arledge: Go into that.

Pellegrini: ...boxes, your bags.

Arledge: Yeah.

It'll go into that room.

Pellegrini: The copack.

Arledge: Yeah.

Falla: One of the things that makes Yaupon so exciting to share is the fact that it is delicious.

There's no tannins in Yaupon, which means that it is smooth and almost sweet.

It also means you can't over-steep it.

And so -- Which, for me as somebody who will forget a green tea and walk away, it won't ever turn to that astringency or bitterness.

Folks will tell us, you know, caffeine and coffee gives you that quick spike and a crash.

And one of the things that they love about the way Yaupon makes them feel is because it's this complex caffeine, it's a more gentle stimulant, a more focused energy, a joyful energy, and you just feel better.

You know, I feel strongly you can be best in the world at one thing.

And we're going to be great at making Yaupon.

And we'll partner with people who are great formulators and blenders and can put it into different products for consumers to experience.

So selling to kombucha companies that are fermenting Yaupon, even cosmetic companies who are interested in the antioxidants the chlorogenic acid.

Yaupon is an amazing natural anti-inflammatory.

It's a natural cleanser.

It has all of these incredible health benefits.

And so partnering with different products that make sense to tell part of her story has been great.

And, also, we're seeing these brands pop up across the U.S., but we're also seeing individuals ordering them really across the world.

Woman: ♪ Rain fills up our shoes ♪ ♪ My head is full of you ♪ Pellegrini: Yaupon is regenerative and sustainable by nature.

It grows wild through these woods, sends up new shoots from the roots, and comes back even after it's cut.

When it's harvested thoughtfully, it is additive to the environment.

It rebalances the ecosystem by opening space for air, light, and new growth and leaving more water for other life around it.

When Yaupon returns, the land returns with it.

Falla: This was six months ago.

Pellegrini: Uh-huh.

Falla: Depending on rain, Yaupon can be chest-high again in a year to two years.

Pellegrini: Really?

Falla: Yeah.

Arledge: Yeah, and we're in a drought right now, too.

So we've been dry for three months, four months.

Falla: Yaupon's a rhizome, right?

So all of these are likely one species.

Arledge: With this right here, you can always tell a Yaupon.

See the -- see the barbs right there?

Pellegrini: Yeah.

Arledge: If it doesn't have that, it's not a Yaupon.

This particular tree here will probably have 10 times the caffeine level as those trees you see out here.

Pellegrini: Why is that?

Arledge: Because this is new growth.

Falla: So every time it gets cut back and then regrows -- Arledge: Two years' growth has 10 times more caffeine than an old crop of Yaupon.

Pellegrini: Uh-huh.

Falla: Caffeine is a natural deterrent.

It's a natural pest deterrent.

And so when the leaves are most vulnerable is when they're small and fresh.

But when we're saying regrowth, the root systems are still 30, 50 years old.

So as we let the regrowth come back, the caffeine and phytochemicals and alkaloids that are what make Yaupon special are in a higher dosage.

Pellegrini: So something that's this thick, how soon would you try to cut it back again?

Arledge: Probably two to three years.

Pellegrini: Okay.

Arledge: If you want that higher caffeine level.

You know, you take a tree like this, we wouldn't even harvest this tree.

You can put moss in your tea.

That's fine.

Pellegrini: Sure.

Arledge: But it makes our product look bad.

So what we do with a tree like this, we just cut it down and dispose of it.

Pellegrini: Uh-huh.

And so you're grinding it up and you're putting that mulch throughout this ground here.

Arledge: Goes right back on the ground.

What happens, though, even after you take this out, there's grasses.

Native grasses come back.

Pellegrini: Just naturally.

Arledge: Naturally.

Falla: They're just dormant in there.

And I think the things to remember is, you know, you see how thick these old Yaupon growth is.

And so whether we're doing the grassland restoration or we're letting it come back for the regrowth, it's going to come back much thinner.

And that means there's going to be a whole lot less water that's going to be stored in the plants.

Pellegrini: So it's better for the environment.

Falla: Yes.

You see how tall this shrub is.

Pellegrini: Yeah.

Falla: So it negatively impacts the amount of water that reaches the ground for the recharge.

By coming through and thinning it out and clearing it, we're reversing that.

-You're doing such a good thing for the ecosystem here just by harvesting something that's also delicious.

Arledge: Yeah.

Pellegrini: How often do we get to say that about something that we're harvesting?

We're actually helping the environment.

Falla: Right.

♪♪ While Yaupon is native, she grows unchecked because we've eradicated these native grasses, and those native grasses, with their robust 30-, 50-foot root systems, are what used to keep Yaupon in check.

And it wasn't until we started to learn more about her and realized that she has all these amazing benefits that the Cherokees called her their beloved tree.

And Yaupon is a catalyst for restoration in our land, in our communities, and in our industry, as a byproduct of our clearing, which is really exciting.

Some preliminary studies are showing that our grassland restoration efforts improve carbon storage in the soil by 7%, species biodiversity by 70%.

And so we sit in this incredibly unique position that the more we harvest, the more we get to restore.

Alongside that harvesting, we are then following up with grassland restoration, where we are reseeding the grasses to accelerate that regrowth so that the Yaupon stays in check and in balance as these Post Oak Savannahs and Blackland Prairies are restored.

Arledge: It doesn't require fertilizer, doesn't require pesticides, doesn't require irrigation, doesn't require anything other than sunshine and rain from God.

That's it.

Pellegrini: Although Yaupon is new to many of us, it carries an ancient legacy among people who once held it sacred.

Falla: There were studies coming out that were substantiating caffeine and antioxidants and these other incredible health benefits.

And at the same time, realizing that there was this legacy of consumption, virtually every tribe along the Gulf Coast, from Texas over to Florida and then up the Outer Banks, had a tradition with Yaupon.

Pellegrini: A native plant, a source of caffeine, a history stretching back millennia, and still, we've lost knowledge of this plant.

How does something like that disappear?

To understand that loss, you have to look to the people who knew it first.

The people who have a profound connection to the land and its plants.

Falla: Yaupon is this restoration of tradition.

I'm a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation.

We had a tradition with Yaupon back in Mississippi.

And if you look, the growing region of Yaupon is, you know, Texas Gulf Coast over to Florida and up into North Carolina, which is the area that was mostly impacted by the Trail of Tears.

While our tradition was lost, it's sadly not alone.

There's an element of how do we honor this traditional ecological knowledge and restore these lost traditions?

And that's something that we work with other tribes in addition to the Chickasaws, through different organizations and wanting to restore and to share this incredible native plant.

♪♪ Harris-Schaffer: Yaupon was a significant part of Southeastern culture with indigenous people.

The word comes from Catawba language.

My grandfather's generation were the last speakers.

The records we have that the explorers recorded said that they held this plant above all other plants.

I'm part of the Catawba Indian Nation.

However, we refer to ourselves and our name for ourselves is Iswä.

And that's the river.

So Ye Iswä, people of the river.

We have existed in the area of the United States now that we call the Carolinas.

We have artifacts that date back about 6,000 years.

This great nation that existed there at one point was down to about 300 people because of a couple smallpox epidemics.

And my great-great-grandparents happened to be part of those few.

You know, my ancestors, that was their home.

That was their land.

They've been there for thousands of years and they weren't going to leave it.

And... I think that's why Yaupon in one way is so special to me, is it's kind of a reflection of our people and their resilience and their adaptability, because that's what we do.

We adapt.

There's a picture of my grandfather at the Smithsonian, which to me is the epitome of that.

He's this beautiful dark man with short hair and a wool suit.

That's that adaptability.

Like, it was adapt or die.

But in doing that, a lot of our culture was lost.

Ceremony and traditions were made illegal, and Yaupon was an important part of those traditions and ceremony.

It was not just a drink, it was part of something spiritual to them.

To me, Yaupon is just so connected to our story and our people.

Pellegrini: Bobbie Schaffer is working to restore this sacred plant to its place in native communities, supporting healing, cultural connection, and a return to indigenous foods.

Through her company, Catawba Yaupon, she shares tea and what details she can glean from ancestral knowledge and historical records, with the hope that younger generations will carry the knowledge forward.

♪♪ Man: ♪ I've imagined this moment ♪ ♪ About a million times ♪ Harris-Schaffer: We typically would go harvest the Yaupon and then we strip the leaves.

Just the new growth.

Like, we're not bothering the rest of the plant.

And then it grows back.

Pellegrini: These delicate, tender leaves.

Harris-Schaffer: Yeah.

It tastes better.

In Native American culture, something I think that is so unique is our connection to the land, to plants, to animals, and understanding that we all come from the same earth.

And so Yaupon and other plants are viewed like a relative.

And that is really how Native American culture views plants and animals.

And there's a respect for that.

It gives to us.

We give to them.

We live, you know, in a real symbiotic relationship.

So I do view Yaupon as like a relative, you know, somebody that's lived with us, lived with my family, lived with my people for thousands of years, and tribes often used it as a peace offering or a way of welcoming and, you know, to show we're friendly.

Traditionally, it was made very strong and black.

So that's why it was often known as Black Drink.

The Black Drink is what they used in their purification ceremonies.

Pellegrini: So that was from how much they roasted it.

Harris-Schaffer: Yes.

And then we're going to add water, and it'll infuse.

Pellegrini: Mm-hmm.

Harris-Schaffer: That's good.

It smells so good.

Cooking over the fire, it's my favorite part.

When you're talking about something that's sacred, I think you have to be very careful and respectful.

We only know how it's prepared to drink, but not how it's prepared to its spiritual significance of that preparation.

Pellegrini: Oh, I can smell it now.

Harris-Schaffer: Can you smell it?

Pellegrini: Yeah.

It smells very nutty and earthy.

Man: ♪ If this is a dream, then don't wake me up ♪ ♪ From this beautiful, wonderful thing they call love ♪ Harris-Schaffer: That means we're friends.

Pellegrini: Cheersing?

Harris-Schaffer: Yeah.

To know that I'm drinking this, I'm doing something my ancestors did for thousands of years.

And I carry within me their DNA.

That connected me to my ancestors, doing something that they did, enjoying something they enjoyed, tasting something they tasted.

Every time I drink Yaupon, that comes to my mind.

It's real connection to where I'm from and who I am.

Pellegrini: That's lovely.

Harris-Schaffer: Yeah.

Falla: I think there's something pretty grounding, too, to be drinking something that's literally from a yard behind you.

Harris-Schaffer: Absolutely.

Arledge: Give me a cup of that.

Matheny: It is good.

Arledge: I got to go to a rodeo.

[ Laughter ] Matheny: You're riding tonight?

Arledge: Yeah.

Our family history is within 20 miles of this farm right here.

My dad and my grandfather all were farmers and ranchers.

I'm 71 years old.

When I was 68 years old, I'd never heard of Yaupon drink.

Never.

Never even thought about it.

I lost 69 years of not knowing a product that's right in my backyard.

I'm an old, wore-out man now, so it's not near as much energy as I had when I was a young man.

I could probably do a lot more in the Yaupon than I'm doing now.

But thank goodness I got girls like Abianne, young people, you know, that can get out and still roll.

I never looked at land as it was mine.

It's not mine.

I have it in a fraction of time that goes by.

Whatever I did with the land, I wanted to take care of it and get the most benefits I could out of it, with the least harm to the land, and fully understand that it's mine today and it'll be somebody else's tomorrow.

My grandkids need to know that I'm going to pass.

They're going to pass.

It's going to keep going down to different owners, different landowners, different people through the years.

And you always hope that they have the same ideas that we had of good stewardship for that land and try to get as much benefit from it, from what God gave us.

He gave us Yaupon.

Harris-Schaffer: We're related to this plant.

We're native with this plant.

We can't ever get back our land.

But to find something so simple that we can get back, this, you know, beloved plant, that's something I can do.

And doing that has brought healing to me.

This is the sweet taste of Mother Earth.

Falla: When someone brews CatSpring Yaupon, my hope is that they experience the joyful energy, but they also feel the deep-rootedness.

Yaupon has been here for millennia.

She's not going anywhere and she is steady.

She is deep rooted and she's sustainable.

Pellegrini: Can we do a toast?

To all of you sharing this with me today.

When the relationship returns, the meaning returns with it.

And the plant is no longer just a plant, but part of a story, finding its way back into the open.

Yaupon carries more than flavor.

It carries memory, a bridge between people, place, and what still endures.

It adapts across coastlines, forests, and plains.

And in that way, it mirrors the people who lived with it.

Rooted.

Resilient.

Still here.

♪♪ Announcer #1: To learn more about the topics featured on this episode, log onto GeorgiaPellegrini.com or follow along on Georgia's Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube channel for weekly pioneering adventures, tips, and recipes.

"Modern Pioneering" is funded in part by Wild Blueberry Farmers of Maine.

Wild blueberries are full of flavor and nutrients, a pop full of blueberry taste for your favorite smoothie, breakfast, or dessert.

Learn more at wildblueberries.com.

Announcer #2: At Muir Glen, we believe that organic farming benefits consumers, farmers, and ecosystems.

Announcer #1: And made possible by Paul Matteucci, Ben and Heather Grizzle, Susan Wiskow, and many other generous donors.

A complete list is available at GeorgiaPellegrini.com.

♪♪