THE NATIVE BOTANICAL
Yazoo Yaupon, founded in Clarksdale, Mississippi, by Oliver Luckett and his husband Scott Guinn when they came back to the Mississippi Delta after successful careers in California and Iceland. A moment of serendipity occurred at the home of Bill Luckett, Oliver's father, when a visiting ethnobotanist made a life changing discovery of native Yaupon growing in his back yard.
Always entrepreneurial, Scott and Oliver have created Yazoo Yaupon with their dear friends Frosti Gnarr and Michelle Van Duzen. We aim to help rebuild our small, beloved town by inspiring a new generation of Mississippians by example and inclusion.
"We plan to create jobs and help elevate and revitalize the Mississippi Delta, which is considered the Cradle of American Culture."
Well, for thousands of years, the Mississippi Delta was home to numerous indigenous people who dried Yaupon leaves and brewed them into a spiritual and ceremonial beverage.
By basing Yazoo Yaupon in Clarksdale, Mississippi - the heart and soul of the Mississippi Delta - we aim to make this Delta community a major hub for Yaupon farming and tea production. Along the way, we plan to create jobs and help elevate and revitalize the Mississippi Delta, which is considered the Cradle of American Culture. And we'll tell the story about the 100% American tea which has deep roots in the rich Delta soil.