Yaupon holly is the only caffeinated plant native to the United States, yet its role as a morning pick-me-up has largely remained limited for centuries.
But as tariffs threaten to hike the price of imported coffee and tea, yaupon appears set to wake from its centuries-long slumber.
Helping lead the charge is Goldholly. Having launched its first products in April, the New York City-based startup is a new player in the emerging yaupon industry.
Founder Liam Trotzuk first encountered yaupon at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. Yaupon is native to the Southeastern U.S. where it has long been used by Indigenous populations. Trotzuk’s career was in aviation; he was working in network planning at JetBlue when he visited the botanical garden while on a work trip to Austin. Trotzuk said that he returned to his hotel room that night to conduct further research on yaupon. He expected to see it was a burgeoning industry. Instead, he only saw small producers who were marketing the tea to small audiences and not selling it in a form accessible to average American consumers. Trotzuk saw the untapped commercial potential.
That was in 2021. After three years simmering on the back burner, doing further research, visiting yaupon farms and making connections in the industry, Trotzuk approached friends Jeffrey Chung and Andrew Little with cups of tea and his idea for the business. Together, in the fall of 2024, Goldholly began.
Almost immediately, Goldholly contacted the Cornell Food Venture Center, which brought the startup company to the Center of Excellence for Food and Agriculture (CoE). CoE Business Development Specialist Alysia Ericsson guided Goldholly through packaging regulations, food safety, the logistics of working with a co-manufacturer and what Trotzuk called “many other little things that you wouldn’t think of looking into.”
“Having the CoE treat fledgling entrepreneurs seriously and giving us time and advice is a reaffirming thing that keeps us true to the course at points where we would’ve given up,” he said.
Goldholly works with regenerative family farmers in Texas, Georgia and Florida to grow the yaupon, which is then shipped to a co-packing partner in Philadelphia. They work with Mid-Hudson Works in Poughkeepsie, a nonprofit organization that provides employment opportunities for veterans and disabled workers, for distribution and order fulfillment.
