Plant
Guaraná
Paullinia cupana
Also known as: Paullinia cupana
A climbing woody vine native to the Amazon basin, cultivated by the Sateré-Mawé and other Indigenous peoples of the central Brazilian Amazon for at least a thousand years. Produces fruits whose seeds contain ~2–4.5% caffeine by weight — more than any other plant — alongside theobromine, theophylline, and tannins. Traditionally ground into a paste, dried into a hard *bastão*, and shaved into water for a stimulating drink. Today the seed extract is the base of Brazil's national soft drink (*Guaraná Antarctica*, Kuat, others), exported globally as an energy-drink and supplement ingredient.
Scientific
Paullinia cupana is in family Sapindaceae (the same family as lychee, longan, and rambutan). A woody climbing liana with compound leaves and small clustered flowers; fruits are red capsules that split when ripe to reveal one to three shiny dark seeds set against white arils — the visual resemblance to a human eye is unmistakable and central to Sateré-Mawé creation narratives.
Seed chemistry is exceptional: 2–4.5% caffeine (vs. ~1.1% in arabica coffee beans), plus theobromine, theophylline, catechin and epicatechin tannins. The combination produces a slower-onset, longer-lasting stimulant effect than coffee, and the high tannin content gives a distinct astringency.
Cultural
Guaraná is one of the deepest Indigenous-domesticated crops of the Amazon, central to the Sateré-Mawé people of the lower Amazon (Maués region in Amazonas state, Brazil), who maintain the genetic and cultural core of the crop. Traditional preparation: seeds are roasted, hulled, ground into a paste with water, formed into hard cylindrical bastões, dried, and grated into water with the rough tongue of a pirarucu fish bone for ceremonial and daily use. The Sateré-Mawé still hold geographic-indication protection for Guaraná Sateré-Mawé and continue forest-grown traditional cultivation.
Commercial Brazilian production expanded in the 20th century with the development of the Guaraná Antarctica soft drink (launched 1921), now one of Brazil’s most-consumed beverages. Global energy-drink and supplement markets have expanded guaraná export far beyond its Indigenous heartland.
Global production
Brazil produces almost all the world’s guaraná, with Bahia and Amazonas as the leading states. Sateré-Mawé forest-grown guaraná is a small but high-value premium fraction; the bulk of Brazilian production is plantation-grown in Bahia. Limited cultivation in Venezuela, Colombia, and Paraguay.
See also
Auto-generated from this entry’s typed relations: frontmatter, grouped by relation type so the editorial signal isn’t flattened.
- Shares approach with: [[coffee]] · [[cacao]]
- Member of: [[plants]]
- Produced by: [[cnpo-valeso-especiarias-agroecologicas-ltda-nilo-pecanha-ba]] · [[cnpo-xingu-fruit-polpas-de-fruta-industria-e-comercio-ltda-castanhal-pa]]
Sources
- Embrapa Amazônia Ocidental — guaraná research
- Consórcio dos Produtores Sateré-Mawé
- Wikipedia — Guaraná
A plant entry in the 0mn1.one [[directory]].
What links here, and how
Inbound connections from across the wiki, grouped by lens and by relationship. These appear automatically — every entity page declares what it links to, and that data populates here on the targets.
Scientific
substrate of
- Amazon Basin Indigenous-domesticated by the Sateré-Mawé in the lower Amazon
Practical
produces
demonstrates
- Sateré-Mawé the Sateré-Mawé domesticated guaraná and continue to hold the deepest cultivation knowledge of the plant
4 inbound links · 3 outbound