I recently attended the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas. It’s a great show for all things Tea- or should I say all things Camelia Sinensis? Yaupon and herbal teas are not are not from the Camelia Sinensis Tea Plant but are tea infusions nevertheless- I’m happy with Yaupon being called an Herbal Tea.
Anyway, at the show, I wandered by the main stage where a Matcha Tea Ceremony was being demonstrated. While a traditionally dressed women performed the ceremony, another women with a mike, spoke of the meaning and significance of each step. It was a beautiful ceremony.
I could not help but draw the similarity between the Matcha Ceremony and ceremonies Native American’s performed around Yaupon Tea, America’s forgotten medicinal plant. Both ceremonies promote peace, harmony and happiness. Both ceremonies are about being in the moment and building deeper relations.
Yaupon ceremonies were sometimes called The “White Drink” ceremony. When tribes would travel through another tribe’s territory , visiting tribes would be hosted by the locals. The White Drink (Yaupon) Ceremony was meant to “reveal your peaceful intentions” or your “White Heart”. Deeper Friendships and communications were meant to be fostered. Yaupon was used to foster deeper friendships in everyday tea drinking events too.
Yaupon was also used in a ceremony called the “Black Drink” Ceremony. We will do a deep dive into the Black Drink Ceremony in a future blog. It was a very sophisticated Ceremony where both mind and body were Purified and harmonized with the natural world.
We opened the Yaupon Tea House & Apothecary in Savannah , Ga to rediscover Yaupon, its magic and the ancient knowledge about its transformative properties.