CatSpring Yaupon

CatSpring Yaupon, VAPG Keeping Texas Tea Producer Afloat

Sandra Yerges

Abianne Falla may have looked outside the box when starting CatSpring Yaupon after a statewide natural disaster, but she did not have to look past her property to seize this ambitious opportunity. Texas faced its largest drought in 2011, which wreaked havoc on the land. Slowly withering away millions of plants, this massive dry spell was detrimental to almost all of the area’s vegetation.

“Everything looked like wilted spinach, except for yaupon,” Abianne recalled.

With growth as unrelenting as that year’s precipitation shortage, yaupon is notoriously undesirable among Texas residents due to the sheer amount of it. Its green leaves envelop structures in a way unlike other plants in the area. Despite being a “nuisance” for some or being overlooked by others, the drought-resistant yaupon carried secrets within its overgrowth that would soon be uncovered by Abianne.

“It wasn’t until that drought where it was the only thing not dying that we started paying attention to it in a different light,” she added.

In an initial act of curiosity, Abianne consulted the Internet for more information about yaupon. The results she found were not only intriguing from a health consumption standpoint but were also backed up by two separate university studies. Additionally, her search led her well into the past while learning the effect this domestically grown plant had on Native American culture and her family’s lineage. This fact gave a whole new meaning to the word “local.”

Although these findings were promising for Abianne, they also left her a bit puzzled. Because she could not find any yaupon-based products on the market at the time, she questioned what kept producers away from using this plant. “I figured it must taste terrible,” she explained.

To test that theory, she began formulating a tea product that maximized yaupon’s caffeinated quality. Despite being a product with one plant input, its final preparation processes were narrowed down from the input of many outside individuals. Everyone from farmers market shoppers to professional chefs gave their honest opinions about the product. Their reactions were overwhelmingly positive, which proved Abianne’s suspicion wrong and gave her the confidence to pursue this venture full-time.

Throughout the 11 years that CatSpring Yaupon has been in business, it has become a favorite of many. Yaupon-based tea has always been the sole offering produced by the company, but customers still have the chance to try something new with variations in each product type. Some may gravitate toward the flexibility of loose-leaf tea or the ease of tea bags. Others may prefer one of the three tea flavors, including dark roast, medium roast, and green.

The customer base for this array of tea types is twofold. E-commerce audiences make up one side of the business, whereas food and retail outlets, such as Whole Foods and local restaurants, make up the other side. Even with this widespread visibility, however, Abianne noted that first-time yaupon consumers have a distinct mindset going into their first sip.

“People are always a little bit wary but then find that it's actually really delicious,” she shared.

This short-lived hesitancy is a byproduct of the unknown, and in 2017, Abianne set out to combat the unknown. After applying for and receiving her first Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) that year, she made newly funded strides toward familiarizing the public with yaupon and its benefits. Through marketing messages and farmers market attendance, unknowing customers could rethink the value this plant and product could have on their lives.

As a result of these worthwhile efforts, Abianne eagerly applied for the VAPG two more times. Unlike her first application experience, she was the sole writer of each of these additional grants. She admitted that grant writers make a large difference, especially as they can be the link between the producer’s end goal and the requirements of the United States Department of Agriculture. Because she relied on and learned from a grant writer during her initial grant application stage, she was then able to approach these new applications with the same confidence and expertise as these experienced professionals.

Both of these grants shared an important brand-enhancing quality. Adding to the tea already produced at CatSpring Yaupon, the VAPG supported the introduction of two new yaupon offerings. The first of which was matcha powder, which was ground more than the other tea flavors in production. Secondly, the company created an innovative, productivity-focused product named “Vibe.” This crystallized tea offering is a quick option for customers who desire a refreshing drink with whatever water they have available.

Before each of these VAPG experiences, Abianne expressed that consulting a grant like this did not guarantee a certain future given the young stage of her company. Being that the business was created from the remnants of a disaster, there was no room for risk. Thankfully, her application timing worked in her favor in a way that benefited her not just once but multiple times over the years.

“I don’t think we would be in business without the Value-Added Producer Grant,” stressed Abianne.

By comparing the start of her grant experiences to the end, she has recognized that the VAPG is all about the journey. With new discoveries along the way, Abianne and the company have been able to embrace the unpredictability that first brought CatSpring Yaupon into existence.

For more information about CatSpring Yaupon or their products, visit their website at catspringtea.com.