Anglophile, author, and journalist Claire Evans returns virtually to the Alpena County Library on Feb. 26 at 5:30 p.m. to present one of her newer talks about Yaupon Tea.

Few people realize there is a delicious, viable competitor to imported coffee and tea, much revered by Native Americans, that grows as an uncelebrated ornamental shrub in the southeastern United States. The story of yaupon holly, besmirched by the embittered British with the inaccurate botanical name Ilex vomitoria, is an ethnobotanical voyage from its documented use in native ceremonies, notably at Cahokia Mounds in Illinois more than 1,000 years ago, to relative obscurity in an era when the import duties on tea and coffee have never been higher. Consider the merits of yaupon tea for yourself as we explore the reasons behind its obscurity.

Tea will be available for sampling. Free and open to the public.