Ilex cassine, the aboriginal North American tea /

by Edwin M. Hale

METHOD OF PREPARATION.

The leaves and young tender branches were carefully picked. The fresh cassine was gathered at the time of harvest or maturity of the fruits, which was their New Year. The New Year began with the “busk,” which was celebrated in July or August, “at the beginning of the first new moon in which their corn became full eared,” says Adair. The leaves were dried in the sun or shade and afterwards roasted. The process seems to have been similar to that adopted for tea and coffee. The roasting was done in ovens, remains of which are found in the Cherokee region; or in large shallow pots or pans of earthenware, such as the Indian tribes made.

These roasted leaves were kept in baskets in a dry place until needed for use. Laudonnière (1564) writes of being presented with baskets filled with leaves of the cassine. A description of the method of making the decoction, or “black drink,” will be found in Dickenson’s and Bartram’s narrations, and in other quotations below. A special feature was the practice of pouring the liquid from one bowl to another until a deep froth appeared. Whether this was supposed to increase the potency of the beverage, or was a fashion, like the Spanish method of whipping chocolate to a foam, is a question; probably the latter is the true explanation. The Japanese treat their infusions of tea in the same manner.

Was it an article of commerce?—There seems to be no doubt on this subject. Allusions to the drinking of the “black drink” are found, indicating its use among tribes residing at a long distance from the habitat of the cassine.

Lawson (1709) writes of its being “collected by the savages of the coast of Carolina, and from them sent to the westward Indians and sold at a considerable price.” Dr. Porcher, author of the “Resources of the South,” says: “The Creek Indians used a decoction of the cassine at the opening of their councils, sending to the seacoast for a supply,” and adds that the coast Indians sent it to the far west tribes. How far its use extended northward I can not ascertain. From some allusions of the early French writers I think it was used by the Natchez, and that it was sent up the Mississippi from the coast of Louisiana. The Indians of Wisconsin, Illinois, and westward, used a decoction of willow leaves as a beverage, but I can not find that they used it in ceremonials, or that it was looked upon with the same reverence.

It appears from the accounts of various early writers that there were several methods of preparing the black drink.

(1) The decoction made of the fresh leaves and young branches.

(2) A decoction of the dried and roasted leaves. It is probable that the leaves during roasting developed new qualities, as the roasting of coffee brings out the aromatic odor due to a volatile oil.

(3) A decoction which was allowed to ferment. In this condition it became an alcoholic beverage, capable of causing considerable intoxication, similar to that caused by beer or ale.

McCullough, in his “Researches,” seems to be in error when he asserts:

None of the people of Florida appear to have used intoxicating drinks; but they made a hot tea from the leaves of the cassine (Prinos glaber), which they poured backwards and forwards until it frothed. This tea may have been slightly stimulant, but it seems to have had no other than a diaphoretic or diuretic effect.

This seems to have been the belief of all the early writers, but I have always doubted it, for if true the North American Indians would stand about alone among races above the lower grade of savagery in their ignorance of alcoholic beverages. The Mexican Indians (Aztecs), the tribes of the Pacific coast and of Central America, all had intoxicating drinks. I admit that there is no proof that the Indians of Canada and of the States north of the Ohio and the Potomac possessed intoxicating beverages, but there is ample proof that the southern Indians brewed from cassine a strong beer.

In my experiments I find that an infusion of cassine leaves with boiling water, after standing till cool, gives a scarcely perceptible taste and slight odor. This infusion, if boiled for half an hour, gives a dark liquid like very strong black tea, of an aromatic odor, sui generis, not like coffee, but more like Oolong tea without its pleasant rose odor. The taste is like that of an inferior black tea, quite bitter, but with little delicacy of flavor. It is not an unpleasant beverage, and I can imagine that the palate would become accustomed to it, as to maté, tea, or coffee.