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You are here: Home / Archives for guarana

Guarana Soda: Brazil’s National Buzz

May 17, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

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The caipirinha may be Brazil’s national cocktail, but Brazil’s national drink is a carbonated, caffeinated quencher known as guarana soda.

Brazil’s guarana soda industry dates back to 1907, and today is Coca-Cola’s fiercest competitor. Guarana Antarctica is the leading big-name brand, but collectively hundreds of smaller brands, many regionally made, make up more than 50 percent of Brazil’s soft drink market.

The guarana plant itself is more than just a caffeine buzz. It’s a symbol of Brazilian history and pride. It’s also an economic boost, since guarana production helps supply the worldwide energy drink industry with caffeine, which in this case is known as guaranine.

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So where does guaranine come from? The substance hails from the seeds of the guarana plant, hence the name. Native to the Amazon basin, guarana vines bear clumps of grape-size, Christmas-red berries and can climb as tall as 35 to 40 feet. When the three-sided guarana fruits ripen, the capsule splits to reveal a black seed poking out of a white aril – they look like arm-length clusters of Muppet eyes. (Native legends say that the first guarana plant sprouted from the eye of an infant god.) Essentially, the seeds are dried, ground, and brewed into tea or processed as an extract.

But how the Amazon tribes cultivate, process and use guarana is far more interesting, as my post on The Children of Guarana explains.

Pop Goes Guarana: Antarctica Competes with Jesus

Commercially grown guarana may not meet the tribal natives’ gold-standard of quality, but it still packs a power punch. Throughout South America, it’s made into guarana-based sodas that tingle the taste buds with their spicy, berry-like flavors. Variations now inundate the North American market. You’ll find guarana in Bawls, Monster, Rockstar, Full Throttle, and other energy drinks, and in many energy shots.

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To taste a South American brand, try Brazil’s Guarana Antarctica (find it in Latin markets and online). It was created in 1921, and the canned soft drink has been zipping around the world ever since. It’s Brazil’s most popular soda, after Coca-Cola. (It tastes a bit like ginger ale, if slurped while chewing Double-Bubble gum.)

 

GuaranaJesusAdkhAnd speaking of Coca-Cola: The global beverage giant now bottles its own pink, bubbly, bubble-gum-tasting soda known as Guarana Jesus – which is not some weird holy drink, but rather it’s named after its inventor, Jesus Norberto Gomes (a pharmacist who created it in 1920).

The original company was sold to Coca-Cola, which originally sold it in only in its birthplace, the Maranhao state in northeastern Brazil, but now has expanded. Ironically, Jesus (the drink creator, not the Creator) was an atheist and excommunicated by the Catholic Church for assaulting a priest. Humorous ad slogans make the most of the brand identity and have kept the heretical tone alive:

“Abençoe sua sede!” (Bless your thirst!)

“Fé no estômago” (Faith in your stomach)

“Guarana Jesus, porque nem só de pão vive o Homem”

(Guarana Jesus – because man does not live by bread alone)

 

For more about guarana, check out the Guarana Profile in Caffeine Basics.

Filed Under: Buzz Tagged With: Coca-Cola, guarana, Guarana Antarctica, Guarana Jesus, soda, soft drink

Brazil’s Children of Guarana: Tribe, Legend, Plant

May 11, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

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Want the crème de la crème of guarana? Head to the highlands of the Maués-Açu River basin in Brazil, and seek out the Sateré-Mawé tribe – the foundation of guarana culture.

They domesticated the wild vine and cultivate it as a shrub. The Indians’ care and traditions make theirs the best quality. But they sell less than two tons per year, and like premium winemakers, they retain most of the harvest for their own consumption. Commercial companies nearby also raise guarana, but the quality doesn’t come close to that of the Sateré-Mawé tribe. (Guarana is valued as a natural source of caffeine, and a main ingredient in energy drinks.)

Raising the Children

In November, tribesmen dig up guarana saplings – known as the “children of guarana” – from the forest, and transplant them in dark, highland soils close to their villages, reachable by foot or canoe. They arrange the saplings in pairs, crossing their stems to support their growth, in rows to make an X formation, allowing the saplins room to grow and spread. It takes another two to three years to produce a harvest. If the rains are late, the flowers dry up. The more humidity, the bigger the fruit. Over decades, the tribe has developed a complex knowledge of the genetics, pollination, reproduction and nurturing of the plant, including the effects of fluctuating conditions.

The production process starts with the harvest and runs from October through March (the rainy season). To ensure the best quality, the Sateré-Mawé harvest the guarana bunches before they’re completely ripe. They pluck the seeds from the branch. Then one-by-one and by hand, the seeds are peeled quickly, while they’re most potent and before they ferment. They’re dumped into pots of water to cleanse them of their white pulp, rinsed in running water, and drained.

Preparing Guarana, the Old-Fashioned Way

The seeds are now slow roasted, stirred evenly over the fire so they don’t get puqueca (burned spots). Just as a restaurant kitchen has expert chefs for each stage of a meal, the tribes have expert piladores (seed crushers) and padeiros (bakers) who turn the product into “sticks” – loaves of guarana dough. Skilled women wash the sticks and smooth their surfaces to make them uniform. Finally, the sticks go into fumeiros, smoking areas over low fires, to be dehydrated and blackened. The tribe’s knowledge and attention to detail make their sticks the best in the region.

To drink the guarana, a woman grates the stick with a rock or more likely, the bones of a pirarucu (a large Amazon fish), into a gourd of water. The beverage, known as çapó, is drunk by all ages. It’s used as a daily boost and at ceremonial rituals. Tribesmen consider it an aphrodisiac, though this effect is unsubstantiated. The tannins in the substance are said to aid digestion, and the drink relieves headaches (probably due to the caffeine).

Not much has changed since the first white men encountered the Sateré-Mawé. Father João Felipe Betendorf wrote in 1669 that the tribes have guarana “which they praise like whites praise their gold, and which, grated with a small rock and drunk mixed with water from a gourd, provides them with so great a strength that when the Indians go hunting they do not feel hungry and in addition it makes one urinate and cures fever, headaches and cramps.” [Note: Father Betendorf’s claims have not evaluated by the FDA.]

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The Legend of Guarana

Both the Sateré-Mawé tribe and the plant’s forest saplings are known as the “children of guarana.” This legend explains how the plant was given to the people:

“The contrast of the colors in the split-open fruit gives them the appearance of eyeballs. Indeed, the origin myth behind guarana’s domestication is attributed to the Sateré-Maué Indians of Brazil, the first consumers of the guarana beverage, who tell of a malevolent god who lures into the jungle and kills a beloved village child out of jealousy. The village finds the dead child lying in the forest, and a benevolent god consoles them in their grief with a gift in the form of guarana. The good god plucks out the left eye of the child and plants it in the forest, where it becomes the wild variety of guarana. The right eye is planted in the village garden, where it sprouts and produces fruits resembling the eye of the child, forever after a pleasant reminder of their forever but lost child.” – H.T. Beck, The Cultural History of Plants

As with all legends, variations are plentiful. In one version, the child’s mother is a strong and courageous Indian girl who lives in the forest. Her two lazy brothers are dependent on her and prevent her from marrying, lest they must fend for themselves. The girl becomes pregnant, and gives birth to a boy with intensely beautiful eyes. But the selfish brothers kill the child. Crying and screaming, the girl throws herself over the boy’s body, and to preserve his eyes, she chews the leaves of a magical forest plant and washes the eyes with this mixture of her saliva and plant juices. She plants the eyes in the forest earth, and says “My son, you will be the greatest natural force. You will restore energy to the weak and free them from disease.” And from those eyes grew guarana.

For more on guarana, check out the Guarana Profile in Caffeine Basics.

Visit this site for images of the Sateré-Mawé tribe. and detailed descriptions of the Children of Guarana and how the tribe prepares and consumes guarana. 

Filed Under: Buzz Tagged With: Brazil, caffeine, energy drink, guarana

2. Natural Caffeine: Coffee, Tea, Chocolate, and Other Plants

January 2, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

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Caffeine origins

No one knows for sure when humans first consumed caffeine. Africa was the starting point for coffee, and probably fueled early man. Tea has its roots in Asia. Cacao, the source of chocolate, is native to Mesoamerica, while guarana and maté originated in South America. Kola nuts hail from Africa.

Today, we get our caffeine from the same plants, though in different forms, with complex processes ranging from simple steeping to grinding, fermenting, and roasting. Before jumping  into energy drinks and caffeine-enhanced products, let’s start with the basics: caffeine in its natural forms as coffee, tea, cacao, guarana, and yerba mate.

 

Filed Under: Caffeine Basics Tagged With: cacao, caffeine, Chapter 02, chocolate, coffee, guarana, tea, yerba mate

Guarana Profile

January 2, 2013 By Kate Heyhoe

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAScan the label on an energy drink or energy shot, and you’ll likely see guarana: an ingredient twice as caffeinated as coffee, and a natural product of the Amazon. For centuries, natives there have used it medicinally, to suppress appetite, and for extending physical endurance.

What is guarana? The substance hails from the seeds of the guaraná plant, hence the name. Guaranine is the term for the caffeinated element in guarana, which is chemically identical to caffeine in coffee, tea and chocolate.

Where does guarana come from? Native to the Amazon basin, guaraná vines bear clumps of grape-size, Christmas-red berries and can climb as tall as 35 to 40 feet. When the three-sided guaraná fruits ripen, the capsule splits to reveal a black seed poking out of a white aril – they look like arm-length clusters of Muppet eyes. (Native legends say that the first guaraná plant sprouted from the eye of an infant god.) Native tribes have harvested guarana for centuries. The seeds are dried, ground, and brewed into tea or processed into an extract. Brazil is the leading supplier of guarana extract and powder, which are added to foods and beverages as a caffeine-boost.

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How much caffeine does guarana yield? Guarana seeds are twice as caffeinated as coffee beans, about 4% caffeine by weight (coffee has 1-2% caffeine). But it’s difficult to know how much guarana a product contains. Like coffee and tea, guarana is naturally caffeinated, so U.S. regulations do not require the amount of guarana to be listed. If caffeine is listed separately, it typically does not include the extra caffeine that comes from guarana or guaranine.

What else does guarana contain? Guarana also contains the caffeine-related stimulants theobromine and theophylline. Some studies show guarana yields antioxidant effects. It’s classified as GRAS, generally recognized as safe, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

For more about guarana, check out: 

Children of Guarana: Tribe, Legend, Plant

Guarana Soda: Brazil’s National Buzz

Return to:

Caffeine Basics: Table of Contents

Filed Under: Caffeine Basics Tagged With: caffeine, Chapter 02, energy drink, energy shot, FDA, guarana, health effects

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About Kate Heyhoe

I'm an author and journalist specializing in food and cooking. Caffeine Basics is my ninth book. I've written about the U.S. wine industry, international foods, shrinking your "cookprint," and cooking with kids. Great Bar Food at Home was a James Beard Award finalist, and Cooking Green: Reducing … More

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