SC - Coffee, Tea, and OOP

[lilinah at earthlink.net]

Brandu wrote:
>I know that in (very late) period, that at least some Native American peoples
>had a "black drink" that was made from treebark, and from the description
>of effects, it was probably caffeinated.
>
>It is described several times in Elizabethan accounts of voyages to America.

It's been a long time since i studied Native American cultures, but 
as i recall, the Black Drink was used in the American 
South/Southeast, IIRC by Cherokee and Seminole, and was a purgative 
taken before spiritual journeys. It stimulated your... peristaltic 
reaction, it was ummm, cleansing, and much more strongly so than the 
diuresis of coffee.

Here's a webpage with a bit of information, including its herbal 
source, Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria):
http://pelotes.jea.com/blackdrnk.htm
E. Dale Joyner Nature Preserve at Pelotes Island, Florida

What i learned in class was that it was made of more than one herb, 
but perhaps its composition varied from place to place or... The 
author of the page has some remarks about this, too.

And it appears to be related to Yerba Maté, Ilex Paraguayensis, a 
popular (and not emetic) drink in Paraguay and other countries in 
southern South America.

But, wait! There's more!

The Schaffer Library on Drug Policy
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/cu/CU21.html
says:
Cassina -also known as yaupon, as the Christmas berry tree, and as 
the North American tea plant - was found in common use as the source 
of a caffeine beverage among Indians from Virginia to Florida and 
west along the Gulf coast to the Rio Grande. It was reported at the 
time that "none [of] the Indians but their great Men and Captains, 
who have been famous for their great Exploits of War and Noble 
Actions, are admitted to the use of this noble Bevaridge." White 
settlers in these regions prepared a tea known as the "Black Drink," 
"Black Draught," or dahoon, from the same plant; they also let the 
leaves ferment to produce a drink containing both alcohol and 
caffeine.

During the Civil War, when the South was under blockade so that 
supplies of coffee and tea were cut off, cassina again became a 
popular beverage in the Confederacy. During and after World War 1, 
when coffee prices soared, Congress and the United States Department 
of Agriculture launched projects to popularize cassina as a 
substitute source of caffeine; cassina-flavored ice cream and cassina 
soft drinks as well as cassina teas were marketed.

- ----- end quote -----

(by the way, this page is footnoted, if you're interested in pursuing 
the info further)

So, who's making the Ilex vomitoria ice cream for Pennsic this year?

Anahita al-shazhiyya