Getting to Know Your OpenBazaar Vendor: Lost Pines Youpon Tea
Lost Pines Youpon Tea
Austin, Texas
OpenBazaar: @youpon
Since I began using Openbazaar I have found many great products that I had never used before or that I never even knew existed and one of my favorite discoveries so far has been Lost Pines Youpon Tea. Having been a tea drinker most of my life and having spent years working at a health foods store that sold a wide variety of teas, I thought I had heard of everything, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn about this delicious tea that has many health benefits and very environmentally friendly. The company’s passion for this native plant is shown through their vast knowledge of their product, attention to detail such as earth friendly packaging, and their helpful and caring customer service. Check out the links above to their website/OB store and to a video below at the end of the review to learn more about this great small business. Thank you Jason, Heidi and John!
How is it made?
We wild harvest the leaves and small stems from the Yaupon Holly, which is the only caffeinated plant native to all of N. America. The property owners of most of the properties we harvest from are part of the endangered Houston Toad Conservation Program. The Houston Toad was the first amphibian added to the Federal Endangered Species list. For breeding the toad needs native grasses and forbs. Due to human encroachment in the area the native plant communities have gotten out of balance, the yaupon holly shade out almost all other plants and grows in large thickets. The property owners get a property tax exemption for restoring toad habitat and part of that effort is to reduce the amount of yaupon growing on their properties. So, we help them remove yaupon, they get a property tax credit and the toad gets more breeding ground. A win-win-win!
How did you start in this business?
Our interest in the natural world, foraging and edible plants. Jason was researching what plants the Native American’s of Central Texas made use of and discovered that the only caffeinated N. America native plant grew in our area. He’s been experimenting with yaupon over the last 8 years or so and then one day made some for Heidi and John. It all started from there!
What are the materials used or the manufacturing process?
We use the leaves and small twigs of the yaupon holly.
What is your target market?
Environmentally and socially conscious caffeine drinkers. Many of our early adopters have been environmentally and socially conscious people that have an interest in reducing their carbon footprint. People that like really tasty tea!
Prices
Our prices start at $11 for a 2oz package of looseleaf or package of 20 tea bags. We also offer wholesale prices to restaurants, cafes, tea shops, etc. Our prices include the ability to pay our employees a living wage as well as making environmentally and socially conscious decisions like using compostable packaging.
Location
We live in Austin, Texas and harvest our yaupon just 30–40 miles out of Austin in the Lost Pines Forest area of Bastrop County.
Shipping
We will ship to anywhere and do our best to keep shipping cost as low as possible. We use repurposed boxes and packaging as much as possible to keep our shipping cost and environmental impact as low as possible.
Why do you use OpenBazaar and how long have you had an OpenBazaar store?
We’ve been selling on OpenBazaar for about a year. It’s a great way reach people that would normally never hear of our product. Plus, we love the idea of a decentralized currency that keeps the government bean counters out of the loop!
Do you use a moderator? Why or why not?
We’ve just recently started using a moderator at the request of a customer. Though, we’ve never had a issue where a moderator was needed. We feel most people are well meaning.
What would you like to see improved with OpenBazaar?
Stability. Some sort of “shopping cart” type system so customers can purchase multiple items at once and have the shipping combined. Beyond that, adoption by more sellers/users.
What is your favorite feature of OpenBazaar?
Getting paid in bitcoin is fun! :)
What do you wish other people knew about OpenBazaar?
That it’s safe and easy!
What surprised you about using OpenBazaar?
How easy and smooth all our transactions have gone, even without using a moderator. We’re optimists and believe that most people, given the chance, will do the right thing.
What, if anything, do you not like about OpenBazaar?
It’s instability when running on our Windows PC. Having the store go down when OpenBazaar crashes and nobody is around to kick the server. We have to keep a 3rd party program (Restart On Crash) running to restart OpenBazaar when the software crashes. Once we started using Restart on Crash it hasn’t been nearly as much of an issue.
What do you look forward to in the future?
Wider adoption of bitcoin and more OpenBazaar shops and users.
Link to video:
