06/07/2026
This video takes us right back to the beginning.
We had just received our very first tea pouches. The packaging we’d dreamed about, worked on, and poured our hearts into had finally arrived. I was out taking photos for the first time and I captured Dad aka Mark, doing what he’s always done—working tirelessly behind the scenes to help bring America’s forgotten tea back to life.
What you don’t see in this clip are the years of learning, harvesting, grinding, packing, and believing in something most people had never even heard of. You don’t see the family meetings, the long days, the risks, or the countless conversations about how we could build a business that puts people first.
Today, Rise Yaupon is more than tea. We’re a women-owned, veteran-owned family business on a mission to revive North America’s only native caffeinated plant while creating opportunities and giving back to our community.
When these memories pop up it reminds us where it all started—with family, a dream, and a whole lot of hard work.
Here’s to the early days, the people who believed in us before anyone else did, and the journey that’s still unfolding.
❤️ June 7, 2023. One of the first photoshoots
