I enjoyed the discussion of kudingcha and found this.
http://www.itmonline.org/arts/kudingcha.htm

As a member of the Ilex (holly) family, that would make it first cousin
to yerba mate, also strong and bitter, and also full of medicinal
properties. The kudingcha has a high number of saponins. Somehow, it
wouldn't surprise me at all to see even more "teas" that are old
traditianla herbal medicines being introduced just as rooibos has
gained in popularity recently. C.W. Walker
http://millenia3dotnet.blogspot.com