Goldholly was featured in SupplySide Food and Beverage Journal's Bites of Brilliance video series. Co-founder Liam Trotzuk sat down with associate editor Heather Carter to talk about yaupon, clean American caffeine, and why North America's only native caffeinated plant is worth a closer look. Here are two moments from that conversation, in Liam's own words, with a link to watch the full interview.
Goldholly brews yaupon holly, North America's only native caffeinated plant, into three flavors: Original, Mellow, and Bold. Each teabag has an estimated 30mg of caffeine, lighter than a cup of coffee or tea, paired with theobromine, the compound also found in cacao. Yaupon is naturally low in tannins, and Goldholly's is grown across the American South on family farms the brand partners with.
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The full interview runs about seven minutes and covers the plant, the energy, and the farm partnerships behind the brand. Two exchanges stood out.
What is Goldholly? How did it come to be?
Liam Trotzuk, co-founder:
Goldholly is a sustainable beverage brand selling yaupon holly, North America's only native caffeinated plant. This plant grows all throughout the American South. It's a relative of yerba mate from South America and it's clean American caffeine. That's one of our taglines. It's light. It's rich in caffeine, theobromine and theacrine, a lot of antioxidants. Different from coffee, tea and yerba mate, it has very low to no tannins, so it's lighter to drink and easier on your stomach. On top of that, it's grown right here in the U.S., not shipped from thousands of miles away like coffee and tea. And it's organic, sustainable and just a terrific American alternative to imported caffeine that we're really excited to spread the word about across the country.
Liam points to the antioxidants and the low tannins that set yaupon apart. We go deeper on yaupon's antioxidants in a separate post. The next question got into the energy itself.
How is yaupon holly different from other stimulants?
Liam Trotzuk, co-founder:
It has lighter caffeine content than classic tea and coffee, about 30 milligrams per cup. Tea probably is going to be in the 40-50 milligram range. A cup of coffee, depending on how it's brewed and roasted, is probably in the 75-100 milligram range. So, it's lighter, but what we find is that it has a really smooth, jitter-free, sustained effect because of the presence of these other compounds. Theobromine, which is also found in cacao, helps to level out the boost. In addition, we also find theacrine, which is this rare compound only found in a couple other beverages worldwide, is longer lasting and doesn't interfere with sleep. So, this combination of these three alkaloids leads to a really clean, refreshing, jitter-free, sustained boost that's good for you. Then, given where it's sourced and grown and how we process it, it's really good for the planet and American soil as well.
For context, the FDA estimates a cup of coffee at about 95mg of caffeine, so an estimated 30mg per teabag is a lighter pour. If you want the fuller side-by-side, see how yaupon compares to coffee. And for the detail on theobromine, the compound Liam credits for leveling out the lift, we broke it down separately.
The rest of the conversation gets into the family farms Goldholly works with across the American South and the push to grow more yaupon here at home. You can watch the full Bites of Brilliance interview and read the feature at SupplySide Food and Beverage Journal. If you want to taste what Liam is talking about, start with the Variety Bundle and try Original, Mellow, and Bold side by side.
Reference
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine is Too Much?" fda.gov. A typical 8-ounce cup of coffee contains about 95mg of caffeine.