How to roast and brew tea at home from scratch - from leaves harvested from a historic tea plant (yaupon holly). The brewed tea is nutritious and very tasty. A loose leaf tea, the roasting takes only minutes.
The flavor lies somewhere between that of gunpowder green tea and oolong tea. With no tannins, there is no bitter aftertaste. The longer the leaves are roasted, the "smokier" the resulting taste. The strength of the brewed tea depends on the concentration of tea leaves while brewing (and length of brew). We have found it varies according to the size of the teapot. For example, in a small pot holding only a couple of cups, at least two TEAspoons satisfy us. However, in a four cup pot, three TEAspoons achieve the same per-cup strength. Likewise, the longer the pot is left to brew, the stronger the resulting tea. All these variables can be manipulated to match personal taste.
While there are no tannins, yaupon tea does contain caffeine.
