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Coffee, Tea, or Guarana?

BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN BRAZIL

“WHAT would you like to drink?” asks the charming hostess. “Coffee, tea, or guarana?” That question is commonly asked at social gatherings in Brazil. But her foreign guests seem perplexed by the question. So in response, the hostess shows her guests a bottle with a label showing three red berrylike fruits. To their relief, the guests realize that guarana is not some sort of exotic amphibian but, rather, a refrigerante, or soft drink.

You may not have heard of guarana either. While coffee and tea are favorites around the world, guarana is particularly popular in Brazil. Nevertheless, all three beverages have something in common: They contain caffeine. Indeed, guarana may have three times as much caffeine as an equivalent cup of coffee! Moved by curiosity, the guests opt for guarana. While sipping the refreshing drink and enjoying its tart but fruity flavor, they enjoy hearing the story of guarana.

The guarana, they learn, is a woody, climbing plant that is native to the Amazon basin. It grows naturally near the towns of Maués and Parintins and in other parts of the state of Amazonas. Guarana is, however, also cultivated in other Brazilian states, such as Pará, Goiás, and Mato Grosso.

The plant may climb to a height of 33 feet [ten meters]. Its dark branches hold oval leaves with toothlike edges and clusters of flowers with short stalks. In its third year, during January or February, the shrub begins to bear fruit. A five-year-old bush can yield about six and a half pounds [about three kilograms] of fruit.

The guarana fruit, about the size of a grape, contains one or two smooth, oval seeds. The fruit is a vibrant red on top and yellow toward the bottom. When guarana pulp is being prepared, the fruits are soaked. This separates the pulpy seed coat from the seeds. Then the seeds are washed, dried, toasted, and ground into powder. Later, the powder, which contains caffeine, is mixed with water and possibly with cocoa and manioc.

Long before Brazil’s colonizers learned about guarana, the Indians already valued this fruit. To produce a drink of superior quality, the Indians took care to select only the mature fruits, not mixing ripe fruits with green or fermented ones. Then the seeds were crushed and mixed with water to form a dough. The dough was shaped into sticks about six inches [about 15 centimeters] long and one inch [2.5 centimeters] in diameter. The sticks were dried rock hard—an early form of food preservation in hot and humid climates. Later the dried guarana sticks were grated on the palate bone of a large fish called pirarucu. The powder was then added to water or fruit juice.

Brazilian Indians prized the drink for its therapeutic value. Medicine men commonly prescribed the guarana beverage in various forms for the sick. And when work was long and arduous, the Indians used guarana as a remedy for fatigue.

About 1816, guarana arrived in France. Later, in 1826, German botanist Karl von Martius had his brother, Theodore, make the first chemical analysis of the fruit. However, the use of guarana in Europe remained limited because therapists there felt that cheaper products could be used in its place.

Nevertheless, back home in Brazil, a growing number of people considered guarana to be a panacea. In 1905, Luís Pereira Barreto, a Brazilian medical doctor, praised the person who first tasted guarana and noticed its good effects as one of the greatest benefactors of humanity.

Advocates of the guarana drink still regard it highly. Some claim that it is not simply a pick-me-up tonic but also a sedative for the heart and an effective medicine for combating arteriosclerosis, hardening of the arteries. It has also been claimed that guarana is helpful in curing diarrhea, dysentery, and migraine as well as neuralgia, or nerve pain. Whether these claims hold up to medical scrutiny remains to be seen. At any rate, since 1929, guarana has been a popular soft drink in Brazil.

The guests have found this discussion to be quite enlightening. “Would you like to have some more guarana?” the hostess asks. Unanimously, they nod yes. How about you? Would you like some guarana too?

[Pictures on page 23]

Guarana—before it is made into a drink