Black Drink: A Native American Tea

This book is a complete in depth historical reference of the usage of Black Drink. a Brew Made from the leaves of the Yaupon Holly (Ilex Vomitoria). The book is broken into different sections. Botany of the yaupon holly, native american usage of the plant, prehistoric usage of the plant, usage among the Creek tribe (who commonly used the brew), and non-native usage of the brew and why it isn't used commercially today.I found the book interesting and filled with references of early writers who had first count experiences with the native Americans.The reason why I got the book was because I was wanting to try making tea from the Yaupon holly and wanted to learn more about the plant. The book tells more about how Native Americans used the plant and why they did the things they did with the plant.I am happy that I got the book, but it is a historical reference not a book geared toward people wanting to try Yaupon holly tea :-)

This is the definitive multi-disciplinary touchstone work on an extraordinary, largely-forgotten chapter of the human relationship to a plant that was recognized and revered as a food, a divine gift, a beverage coaxed and cultivated beyond its natural range and traded elsewhere. The special status of black drink, yaupon holly, yaupon, asi, cassina, among others is surveyed in disciplines of botany, anthropology, sociology and history. Yaupon is perhaps the most important underdeveloped economic plant of North America. It is the only North American plant with appreciable amounts of methylxanthine alkaloids familiar to all of us (often experienced daily) -- caffeine and theobromine. This book, over 35 years old (published in 1979), is the foundation for understanding the renewed interest in this important American ritual and daily beverage drink.

Very informative, I especially enjoyed the section on the Timucua.

This book is a series of essays on "the black drink" - a form of tea made from the yaupon holly by the Native American cultures of many parts of the Southeastern United States. The customs and ceremonies surrounding the black drink - called "casina" by the Timucuan Indians, "asi" by the Creeks, and known in various forms throughout the Southeast - were a major part of Native American cultures in this region. Since the yaupon holly is the only plant in North America which contains caffeine, it was used for different purposes by different cultures - some ceremonial, some purely social.While the book was written some years ago, it's a great, fascinating synopsis of what we know about the drink and its place in Native American cultures. Jerry Milanich's chapter covers what we know of the archaeological evidence for the use of the drink, chapters by Fairbanks, Hudson and Sturtevant cover the ethnography and history among colonial-era and American-era cultures, and other chapters explain in detail about the yaupon holly and its range and natural features. For either the specialist in archaeology or history, or the general reader interested in Native American culture, this book is a neat, concise synthesis of what we know about the black drink and its place in our past.A fun read, and highly recommended.

Filled with hard to find information.