Part 3: Did the settlers use Yaupon?

Over the past month, we’ve had an overwhelming number of visitors requesting information on yaupon tea

So we thought this was the perfect time to bring one of our past postings up again!

As it was hinted in Part 2, the tradition of Yaupon Tea was handed down generation upon generation.

In the mid 1700’s, yaupon tea developed into an industry as a result of the British tea tax imposed on American settlers. Yaupon became a staple product after the Boston Tea Party in 1773. On Hatteras, a few small factories were built to make the tea in bulk and export it north as far as Philadelphia. The industry thrived for about 150 years and was 2nd only to fishing.

In the 1920’s, the last yaupon factory was run by Charles Williams, paying working children a few cents per pound of processed tea.