Two brothers are going native with their tea.
About two and half years ago, Bryon and Kyle White started Yaupon Asi Tea, a company in New Smyrna Beach that features the yaupon holly, a native Florida plant. Their products will soon be sold in Lucky’s Market.
In August, Kyle White, 21, moved to Gainesville for school, and Bryon White, 27, is currently handling production in their hometown of New Smyrna.
Kyle White, a Santa Fe College nutrition and food science sophomore, said it is likely that most Floridians have never tried yaupon’s unique flavor.
The Whites started Yaupon Asi Tea after experimenting with the tea leaf. When harvested, the yaupon holly, pronounced “you-pon,” can be consumed like tea. It is North America’s only native caffeinated plant, said Bryon.
Yaupon contains theobromine, which is also found in chocolate, so drinkers will get the stimulation without the jitters.
“We saw so much potential behind (Yaupon),” Kyle said. “If we didn’t do it, no one else was going to.”
The company of five is strict about not outsourcing. It produces everything from the harvesting to the packaging by hand in a renovated factory in Edgewater — one of few certified organic factories in the state.
“Yaupon is a sustainable crop … it does not require fertilizer, irrigation or pesticides,” Bryon said. “It’s happy to grow wherever it lands.”
Four years ago, Yaupon wasn’t marketable because it was treated as a weed, Kyle said.
But the brothers have found success.
Next week, Yaupon Asi Tea will be bringing its products to Lucky’s Market, Gainesville’s new organic grocery store. They have also sold to T.J. Maxx and United Natural Foods.
There are five lighter blends: lavender coconut, chamomile mint, cinnamon apricot, chocolate chai and their bestseller, traditional Timucua. Yaupon Asi Tea also produces a faux-honey made 100 percent from saw palmetto. Osceola, their fire-roasted tea, is for those who like their coffee strong.
Bryon said he hopes yaupon takes the place of coffee, as it is more environmentally friendly.
“Native Americans have been consuming yaupon since the beginning of history,” he said, “and we think it’s time to revive an ancient Florida tradition.”
[A version of this story ran on page 5 on 1/29/2015 under the headline “New tea makes its way to Lucky’s from two Florida brothers"]
