Guaraná: the eyes of the Amazon

Native to the Amazon, guaraná (Paullinia cupana) can climb up to 13 meters high in trees like a vine, but when cultivated in open areas it takes the form of a shrub. Its fruits, which resemble human eyes, sparked Indigenous imagination and gave rise to legends that are still told today.

Among the Mawé people, a young boy was killed out of envy. To console his people, Tupã (one of the main deities of Tupi-Guarani mythology) transformed the boy’s eyes into guaraná, a gift to strengthen both body and spirit. The name comes from the Tupi wara’ná, meaning ‘human eyes’.

For the Sateré-Mawé, guaraná is more than food or medicine: it is a sacred heritage. Domesticated long before the arrival of Europeans, its roasted and ground seeds gave rise to a stimulating drink, used in rituals, hunts, and daily life to provide energy and satisfy hunger.

In 1664, Jesuit missionary Johannes Philippus Bettendorff reported the use of guaraná as both food and medicine among the peoples of the Amazon. By the late 18th century, the Luso-Brazilian naturalist Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira described its cultivation, preparation, and trade.

In the early 19th century, European naturalists Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland collected guaraná in southern Venezuela. Their accounts highlighted the plant’s energizing properties and helped spread its fame across Europe.

Decades later, Carl Friedrich von Martius recorded guaraná in his work Journey through Brazil, describing its uses and cultivation. The species also gained prominence in the monumental Flora Brasiliensis, where art and science came together in plates that helped spread knowledge of Brazilian botany.

Guaraná is rich in caffeine (up to three times more than coffee), theobromine, and tannins, which give it stimulating and antioxidant properties. It helps boost energy, focus, and physical and mental performance. Science has confirmed the effects that Indigenous peoples have known for centuries.

In the 20th century, guaraná moved from Indigenous rituals to soda bottles and countless other products, from energy drinks to cosmetics. It became a cultural brand of Brazil and a symbol of natural energy. 'From the Amazon jungle to the genuine Guaraná Champagne,' read a 1958 poster.

The guaraná plant thrives in hot, humid climates with fertile, well-drained soils. It flowers in the rainy season and fruits in the dry season, harvested between September and October. Brazil is the world’s largest producer, with the state of Amazonas standing out — especially Maués, the land of guaraná.

Guaraná is a symbol of the living forest. It preserves Indigenous memories, inspires science, and points toward the future — conserving biodiversity, honoring the forest’s guardian peoples, and strengthening the bioeconomy through sustainable innovation.