‘Brazilian child’: The most valuable fruit

Compared to coffee, guaraná – the fruit called by the creepy nickname ‘eyeball’, has four times more caffeine.

“The fruit of the eye” guaraná. In addition, it also contains saponins, tannins … nerve stimulants that help improve the mind, fight inflammation, limit depression and prevent aging. Thousand year specialty Guaraná is a species of vine in the Sapindaceae family, scientifically known as Paullinia cupana. It is native to the Amazon basin (South America), especially common in Brazil. It is easy to distinguish guaraná from other fruit species because of its eye-catching color and shape… super creepy. It is red when ripe and splits on its own, exposing the black seeds and white flesh. Visually, it resembles the human eye. That’s why the guaraná is nicknamed “the pupil”. In Brazil, guaraná is the trademark specialty of Maúes, a municipality in the state of Amazonas. For this municipality, guaraná is tradition, culture, present and future. It can be said that the whole life here revolves around the guaraná. According to scientific analysis, guaraná seeds contain 4 times more caffeine than coffee beans. In addition, it also has many other nerve stimulants such as saponins, tannins… They have the effect of improving cognitive health, preventing cardiovascular disease, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, depression, intestinal regulation and even aphrodisiac. The native of the Maúes is the Sateré-Mawé. Since the dawn of time, their ancestors knew how to grow and use guaraná. The Sateré-Mawé people especially love and worship the guaraná. They called it “the eye of the gods”. In 1669, the western world became aware of the Sateré-Mawé guaraná, through the religious emissary João Felipe Betendorf (Portugal). This priest took on a mission to the Americas and was captured by the guaraná. In the 18th century, Portugal frantically looted guaraná from Maúes and sold it around the world. In the 19th century, guaraná spread throughout the Americas and Europe. “For us, guaraná is not only a mystical plant, but also a national origin,” said proud local resident Obadias Batista Garcia (Maúes). The land of guaraná Guaraná is an indispensable ingredient in Brazilian carbonated soft drinks. According to the legend of Sateré-Mawé, the guaraná is the reincarnation of a child beloved by the whole village who was murdered by an evil spirit. The angel was too sympathetic to everyone’s pain, so he buried the child’s right eye in the village’s ground. From the place where the eye was buried, the first guaraná tree grew, blossomed, and bore fruit. In Maúes, just 75km from the city is a huge guaraná forest, 8,000 square kilometers. The people here protect this forest strictly. Every year, they actively pick up seedlings and plant them in empty slots in the forest. The guaraná fruit harvest season lasts from November to March of the following year. Guaraná beans are just as small as coffee beans, washed, roasted, peeled and ground. People mix guaraná powder with water, knead it into a cylinder that fits in the hand, and then dry it. Dried guaraná can be preserved for several years on its own. Every time they want to use it, the Sateré-Mawé people grind it on stone, mixing it with water. They call this drink capó, used as a daily drink and holy water during holidays and Tet. In particular, Sateré-Mawé has a very unusual sharpening stone that goes well with guaraná, the ribeirinho fish tongue. This is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, can weigh up to 200kg, possesses a rough tongue full of sharp spines 10cm long. When dried, the tongue becomes a peg that fits the guaraná. Sustainable livelihood The duo of guaraná and ribeirinho fish tongue. Currently, around Maúes there are about 2,400 Sateré-Mawé households growing and selling guaraná. They supply 500 tons of seeds per year, with completely manual harvesting and processing methods, ensuring absolute quality. In the world beverage market, guaraná is an indispensable ingredient in many energy drinks and carbonated drinks, especially Coca-Cola. Although not all Brazilians know about guaraná, their Coca-Cola consumption alone amounts to 400 million liters per year. The purchase price of guaraná in Maúes is about 24 Brazilian Reals/kg (more than 100,000 VND). In 2018, the municipality earned 13.94 million BR (equivalent to 60,000 billion VND) with just guaraná. In addition to Maúes, Brazil has many other guaraná-growing regions, such as Presidente Figueosystemo, Urucará… Every year, they produce tens of thousands of tons of guaraná and sell it around the world. In recent years, Brazil offers guaraná tourism services. In Maúes, visitors can tour the plantations, watch the process, enjoy guaraná on site and participate in the guaraná festival: Festa de Guaraná. Festa de Guaraná is an annual festival held around the end of November or the beginning of December. It lasts 3 days with various types of performances, fun, fairs, sports competitions, beauty… For decades, guaranás in Brazil have been trying to find indigenous recognition for Sateré-Mawé. They claim, the Sateré-Mawé people are the fathers of guaraná: “If there were no Sateré-Mawé people, there would be no guaraná”. In 2020, Sateré-Mawé’s guaraná was awarded the “Brazilian origin” certificate. This is the first and only certification given to an indigenous community in the country. It creates an exclusive brand, helping Sateré-Mawé to promote its name to the world. In the field of guaraná production in Brazil, only the Sateré-Mawé people still carry out the entire process by hand. The rest of the farmers have industrialized.