Preparing Cassina

Timucua women prepare cassina also known as the "black drink", a caffeinated tea brewed in Florida by the indigenous people there. The drink was widely popular and consumed throughout much of the Southeast US, Gulf coast of Mexico and Atlantic. The tea is made from the leaves of the yaupon holly, a relative of the more popular South American yerba mate. The Tiumucua are one of the major indigenous peoples of Florida.