Who needs coffee when you can have naturally caffeinated tea?

Insert Rise Yaupon, the family owned tea company that prides themselves in their perfect selection of locally sourced and sustainably harvested yaupon blends.

For those who aren’t familiar, Yaupon is the only naturally caffeinated plant in North America, yielding tannin-free tea that’s full of flavor and antioxidants for the perfect pick me up anytime of day. Additionally, Yaupon is linked to cancer prevention and treatment because it contains endless natural anti-inflammatory properties, making it ideal for daily consumption.

Retailing at $11.30 per bag, Rise Yaupon comes in 5 flavors:

  • Classic - Timeless and traditional tea that boasts a smooth, slightly grassy flavor with a subtle hint of sweetness. 
  • Chocolate Mint-Up - Refreshing peppermint and spearmint blended with Yaupon Holly to elevate your typical tea experience. 
  • Strawberry Zen - Unique curation of Yaupon Holly, fresh strawberries and refreshing lemongrass transformed into a tasteful symphony of tranquility. 
  • Healthy Kick - Carefully crafted with Yaupon Holly, fragrant rose petals, vitamin-packed rose hips, robust hibiscus flowers, zesty ginger, and warming cinnamon, this tea is the ultimate addition to any wellness routine. 
  • Berry Breeze - Seasonal offering comprised of coconut, lavender and elderberry combined with Yaupon Holly to create the ultimate summer sensation. 

Each blend is meticulously crafted with real fruits, flowers, and spices, giving customers a delightful medley of nuanced, complex flavors in each cup.

Honeysuckle spoke with Shelly Steele, Co-Founder & President at Rise Yaupon, to discuss the launch of Rise Yaupon and why it’s so beneficial for both mental and physical health.

Where are you from & what's your background?

I began my career in Financial Services and spent 15 years on Wall Street, mainly focused on projects and initiatives that changed the way firms interacted with clients. After years of consulting with Ernst & Young, I joined Charles Schwab in San Francisco as a Managing Director in charge of branch innovation.

Meanwhile, my dad was embarking on a new post-retirement project. Soon after, I spent a weekend with him at a tea festival which inspired me to pivot my entire career path. I left corporate America to focus on the yaupon business in 2020. Three years later, in March 2023, I co-founded Rise Yaupon with my parents and a farm partner. We are a women and veteran owned business using tea as a catalyst to do good in our community. 

When did you first get the idea for Rise Yaupon & what was the reality in launching?

My parents had been in yaupon tea since 2015, and I joined their previous company as the COO when I left the corporate world. We grew the company tremendously and even got yaupon named the 2023 food trend of the year by Whole Foods Market. While I am grateful for the experience, over time, the culture of the company changed and it became clear that it was not an ideal dynamic. But we really believe in the power of the plant and wanted to find a way to utilize it as a catalyst to do good for our community. Thus, Rise Yaupon was created. 

From the outset we believed that tea can change lives:

-For customers: We want to make a tea that has tremendous health benefits but still tastes great. 

-For employees: We employ local people looking to improve their lives.  We hire second-chance employees as our tea harvesters and also have neurodivergent, physically and mentally handicapped individuals, and seniors looking for community as key members of our production team. We also have a fabulous job training program for entry-level workers. 

-For our community: $1 from EVERY retail unit sold is donated to a local charity, mostly to help feed homeless children in our county.

What's your relationship with tea & what does it do for you?

Yaupon tea is a natural anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant-rich superfood. It contains a myriad of powerful health-promoting properties including polyphenols and flavonoids linked to cancer prevention and treatment (specifically colon cancer). Yaupon is also a natural prebiotic that supports a healthy gut microbiome. I drink Yaupon tea to boost my immune system, regulate my digestion and provide the extra energy I need as an entrepreneur to remain productive throughout the day. 

Tell me about what separates your tea from others? 

We have such a unique product coupled with an even more compelling story:

  • At Rise Yaupon, we make amazing tea packed with health-promoting properties. Some customers assume that a healthy drink will taste bad, but Yaupon dispels that myth. 
  • Yaupon tea has little to no tannins, which means that it will not get bitter, so it does not need creamers/sweeteners to be enjoyable!
  • Yaupon is a native plant and the ONLY indigenous caffeine source in North America. 
  • Yaupon is sustainably farmed without the use of harmful chemicals or pesticides and harvested locally in Florida. It requires minimal water preserving natural resources and exerting a negative carbon footprint. 
  • Rise Yaupon is a Florida-based, family-owned, women-led business committed to using tea to change lives by enriching consumers' health and empowering our community. 
  • Rise Yaupon’s motto is: Drink tea. Be healthy. Do good.

What's your favorite flavor & why?

It’s hard to choose! They’re all so tasty, but if I had to pick, I’d say Healthy Kick. I like the combo of spicy and floral. This blend has a special place for me because my sister (a physician in California) helped to formulate it. She did the medical research around each of the ingredients to ensure we could stand behind the name. We’ve received numerous customer testimonials about how Healthy Kick has helped folks feel better, so it’s the blend that I’m most proud of.

Anything else we should know? 

Yaupon Holly is the only naturally caffeinated plant in North America. Plus, it’s tannin-free so it’s never bitter and can’t be oversteeped. At Rise Yaupon, we encourage customers to “steep it and keep it” to get three cups from each tea bag. 90-95% of the caffeine will emerge in the first cup, while your second cup will have 5-10% of the caffeine and your third cup will be virtually caffeine-free. Of course, you can always add a fresh tea bag or two to the mix to get that extra pick-me-up.