Customer Reviews

Black Drink: A Native American Tea

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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.