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I plan on switching from coffee to a more regional alternative but can't quite figure out which plants would be suitable.

I'm based in Germany so it would be great if the plant grows somewhere around there. I've read about a project that tries to grow green tea in Freiburg but didn't find an update since 2017 (link).

Doesn't have to be a beverage. Any ideas?

robfuscator
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1 Answers1

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Here's one alternative for you:

Yaupon (Ilex vomitoria). It's native to the southeastern US (lowest temperature it should survive at is -17 C). According to this map, Yaupon should survive in most of Germany. The leaves possess up to 0.32 percent caffeine, along with theobromine. Not sure why the species name is "vomitoria"; this could be due to its berries being poisonous (the leaves and stems are not poisonous and are brewed into a tea).

EDIT - Note that you only get berries if you have both male and female plants.

Here's a site that gives much more information about yaupon, including instructions for harvesting and parching the leaves, along with a recipe for yaupon tea.

Jurp
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  • According to the German Wikipedia, the addendum _vomitoria_ is based on a misunderstanding: Europeans watching the native Americans use the plant in a ritual that included vomiting and falsely assuming that the plant was the cause. – Stephie Jan 21 '20 at 14:42