The One & Only Sustainable Matcha in Texas
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Yup, you read the title right. Local Leaf is the only, truly sustainable matcha available in the United States market — let alone in Texas! If you love matcha but were wondering if there was a better yet local alternative, look no further as Local Leaf’s Yaupon has got you covered!
What, Exactly, is Yaupon?
Yaupon is a shrub native to Central Texas and the southeastern United States that contains natural caffeine in its leaves. It is the only native plant in North America that contains caffeine and is a member of the Holly genus (Ilex) that’s related to the famous yerba mate of South America. It can be brewed and prepared in the same way as its southern cousin. Yaupon has a smooth caffeine buzz without the unpleasant crash experienced with other caffeinated drinks.
Fun fact: Native Americans who lived in Central Texas drank tea made from yaupon leaves extensively.
Inspiration Behind Local Leaf
Eric Knight and Stacy Coplin are a couple who founded Local Leaf in 2016 drawn by their ever-deep appreciation for the environment.
“Both passionate about the environment and consider ourselves good environmental stewards, we strive to create products that align with our personal value systems and intentionally choose the “right” way in our process, not the fastest or cheapest way. We take pride in the process and feel honored to get to do the work that we do and work so closely with the natural world,”
The couple met at the Austin Nature and Science Center in 2012. Stacy had always been wanting to run her own business but didn’t have any great ideas until Eric showed her Yaupon one evening. It was in the same year that they made sure their bases were covered by meeting with lawyers and accountants.
They also made small batches of Yaupon tea for family and friends — but decided to set aside the whole idea for a while. Four years later, they finally got on with their ideal business after having reached their personal milestones as a married couple.
Local Leaf’s Humble Beginnings
Coming from Austin proves to be of great advantage for the couple as the city is an open and friendly environment filled with robust small business culture and local food scene, perfect for aspiring and starting businesses that need much support.
“There is always the initial fear when you are presenting something new to the market but the enthusiasm and excitement around it wash out the fear and it feels more like an on-going project and adventure of learning what works and what doesn’t.”
The Early Challenge
Local Leaf’s products are naturally free of sugar, additives, and preservatives — both an advantage and a disadvantage at the beginning. With no preservatives and unpasteurized, Local Leaf’s bottled Yaupon Mate has a short shelf-life.
The couple, fortunately, managed to develop a workaround, specifically by creating a system that works for the business and their partners. From a logistical point of view, their Yaupon Matcha has been a little easier as customers can purchase directly from their website.
What Sets Them Apart
Their unique proprietary processes and their story definitely set them apart from the rest of the competition. Their locally grown, processed, and packaged matcha dramatically cuts down on their carbon footprint as it particularly reduces transportation needs.
Eric is an environmental engineer by day. This helped them to run some numbers using greenhouse gas emissions reporting software and the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator. This is to calculate just how much carbon actually goes into transporting other coffee or green tea compared to theirs.
“It was pretty eye-opening to see the amount of energy required to get coffee or tea over to the US when converted into everyday energy uses. For example, we compared how many acres of forest would need to be preserved in one year or how many smartphones could be charged with the same amount of energy it takes to get your favorite Japanese matcha to your door. I’m not knocking Japanese matcha, because we love it, but there is a reality you have to understand and weigh as a consumer,”
Local Leaf does not farm yaupon, cut down yaupon, or harvest stems — they only strip the leaves from the branches. This way, it doesn’t require the creation or maintenance of unnecessary farmland, which displaces native plants and ecosystems or causes major harm to the wild plants. You can even see new growth within a month or so from the same branches they harvest from.
Very much dedicated to their craft, the couple went to Japan in 2018 — along with some Yaupon they brought along with them — to learn traditional green tea matcha-making processes techniques that have been used for centuries.
Sourcing Ingredients
Local Leaf wild-harvests their Yaupon from two different unique and pristine properties near Austin year-round. These locations are the Earth Native Wilderness School and Chickamaw Farms in McDade.
Earth Native is an awesome outdoor education school that teaches traditional “survival” skills such as friction fires, shelter building, and edible wild plants.
Chickamaw Farms, on the other hand, is the only Demeter Certified Bio-Dynamic ranch in Texas that specializes in grass-fed beef.
Buying Local Leaf Products
Local Leaf’s Yaupon Matcha is available on their website and at all Whole Foods stores in Austin. Yaupon Mate is currently on a production hold due to COVID-19. Although it’ll be available at local Austin stores as soon as restaurant partners are open.
Local Leaf is still a very young business that will surely continue to create new products. The owners ensure all their customers that the business will grow at a sustainable rate. Local Leaf is currently looking forward to serving new retailers and selling products online.
Local Leaf also collaborates with other businesses and restaurants. Their partners brought about a number of pretty awesome Yaupon Matcha creations — and there’s a lot more to come!
Insider Tip: Yaupon Matcha is amazing as ice cream! It's just like green tea matcha except it’s the local Yaupon plant. Their bottled teas are great with a splash of milk or milk substitute. So basically, dairy or dairy substitutes pair really well with Yaupon products!
Keeping an Eye Out
Part of Local Leaf’s mission is to inspire environmental awareness through food and instill stronger connections to the natural world. They fulfill this educational aspect by hosting Edible Plant Walks seasonally, particularly headed by Eric himself.
He runs Edible Plant Walks through Local Leaf, Earth Native Wilderness School, and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. He also co-hosted plant walks with local entities and/or businesses such as Central Texas Mycological Society and Jester King Brewery.
They also wild-harvest other foods like Mexican plums and loquats for other small businesses around Austin like Lick Ice Cream and Dolce Neve’s Yaupon Matcha gelato. Feel free to send them a message if you’re a small business in Austin interested in wild-harvested fruits or veggies.
Check out Stacy’s recipes using foraged edible plants posted on their Instagram stories regularly. To make sure you’re in the know, be sure to sign up for their newsletter to get the latest updates!
