What did Native Americans drink for caffeine?
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4 min read
For thousands of years, long before the introduction of coffee, many Native Americans in the southeastern United States derived their caffeine from a specific native plant. The answer to what did Native Americans drink for caffeine is the yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria), the only naturally caffeinated plant native to North America. This was brewed into a stimulating and ritualistic beverage known to Europeans as the 'Black Drink'.
