What grows in northern Ontario that has caffeine in it?

so enough about all these wimpy herbal "teas."
don't get me wrong i love herbal tea, nothing like it for after-dinner-sippin', but in the morning i need something with a little KICK in it! some CAFFEINE! coffee (or good strong black tea)!
problem is coffee (and black tea) doesn't grow here (in northern Ontario), has to be shipped in! if you wanna stay local whats a guy to do? even the wounderful dandy-lion root cant help me here!
so wise permies, i ask you, what grows in Ontario (or at least the northern states) that I can make a good morning wake-me-up-cup from?

Yaupon Holly grows around here. It may be possible to establish it in a northern greenhouse. I've tried the tea. If you like the taste of dirty old socks, it may be of interest to you.

bumping this back to the top.

anyone know of any plants that have caffeine that can be grown in zone 5b/6a?
we dont get much rain (12 in average) but i wouldnt mind babying something if needed. imo the ability to produce caffeine onsite would great, as it is one thing a LOT of people can't [dont want to] live without.

seems most of the caffeine type plants grow best in the warmer climates.

There is a tea plantation in the US: Charleston Tea Plantation. There's nothing special about their climate and there could probably be plenty of tea plantations in the South. The thing preventing them from catching on here is the amount of human labor required out in the fields. I don't think tea has the same flavor when it is harvested by the equivalent of a riding lawn mower.

And if it grows in Charleston, you can probably grow it in a greenhouse in zone 5b/6a.

Not sure exactly what your weather looks like in Northern Ontario (other than cold), so this might not be an option for you...

I currently have a very healthy Sochi Tea plant growing at my house in western Oregon, we are a very wet zone 7.
So I would assume you would have no problem growing these in a greenhouse, or with some winter protection.

Here's where I got mine: One Green World

The problem with the tea bush in the greenhouse is the same as having a coffee or cacao tree there...you won't really get a significant amount of product from one or a few plants. I was planting tea in GA, where it grows readily outdoors, and had it figured out that I would need something like 15-20 good sized bushes to supply my daily dose. You only pick the young tips, regularly through the summer as it grows in flushes....sort of like clipping a hedge. Then you (for black tea) ferment and (for both green and black) dry these tips. You can see how it would shrink it down a lot.......

Mormon tea (ephedra) might be an option.

http://www.easybloom.com/plantlibrary/plant/mormon-tea

I find with caffeine I'm just borrowing energy from later in the day. When I have certain ferments like umeboshi plums, I get a nice energy kick without the coma that follows. Just sayin', maybe you need to question whether caffeine is really the thing you want, could be going to a lot of trouble for something that's less than ideal.

Renate Haeckler wrote:I find with caffeine I'm just borrowing energy from later in the day. When I have certain ferments like umeboshi plums, I get a nice energy kick without the coma that follows. Just sayin', maybe you need to question whether caffeine is really the thing you want, could be going to a lot of trouble for something that's less than ideal.

You take your reasonable, balanced, opinion and flaunt it some place where the addiction hasn't taken hold .

OP, Good luck, I'm way to new at this to offer caffeine advice, I hope you get it figured out.

i've certainly tried to guilt myself out of the coffee habit by imagining just how much area of a huge mountain it would take just to fufill my (unfortunately also unhealthy) consumption of coffee.

and it TOTALLY DIDNT WORK!
darn, i really love the morning coffee ritual.

not to mention the weird issues that coffee can have, as far as social consequences on marginalized people in other countries....

have had temporary success trying to change the ritual to one with a good strong chai, and it...sort of worked...till i fall back into the coffee habit.

my little coffee plant is certainly not going to do it, but i have been starting some kona beans i got from hawaii, and have a little struggling plant that may someday produce a handful of beans.

I've found that I like the smell of coffee, more than I like drinking it. I often have breakfast at the coffee shop. I bring it with me and only buy tea. I've hauled away hundreds of pounds of spent coffee to use as mulch. The van and garden both smell of free coffee.

I'm growing WITH caffeine. (: