Virtually all of the tea consumed by Americans comes from somewhere else, but Brian White wants to change that.
White, who is from New Smyrna Beach, is the CEO of Yaupon Bros. American Tea Company. The business focus on selling “tea” made from the leaves of the yaupon holly plant.
White said he got started about 12 years ago. At the time, he said there was no commercial supply of yaupon available.
“So we really had to build a supply chain from the ground up which took a really long time and a lot of you know blood, sweat, tears and other people’s money,” White said.
Of course, it wasn’t just Brian White’s blood sweat and tears. His brother, Kyle, also became involved in the business.
White said his brother remains an active part of the day-to-day operations, dealing with much of the sales of the business. The brothers are also helped by the third founder of the business, Mark Steel, who started out as a mentor to the younger White brother.
In addition to building Yaupon Bros., White has been working with farmers across the state to promote yaupon as an alternative crop to citrus, as the industry has been struggling with citrus greening.
The business has seen quite an expansion since it started. Yaupon Bros. is now available in every Whole Foods supermarket in the state of Florida. The company also just recently opened a new production facility and cafe in Edgewater.
On the latest episode of Florida Foodie, White shares some of his future plans for Yaupon Bros. He also takes a deep dive into the cultural significance of the yaupon to the indigenous people of Florida and the U.S.
Please follow our Florida Foodie hosts on social media. You can find Candace Campos on Twitter and Facebook. Lisa Bell is also on Facebook and Twitter and you can check out her children’s book, “Norman the Watchful Gnome.”
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