Guarana

Halfway through your smoke, you feel jittery. Your hands start shaking. You realize that you haven't been drinking espresso. You marvel at the wonders of guaranine, the Amazonian wonder-additive.

Smokers who haven't caught a buzz in quite a while will appreciate Guaranas. Ravers really seem to like them. Some people can't get past the fact that the filter is sweetened, but the smoke itself tastes like regular tobacco. Guaranas are an acquired taste, but well worth the extra bodybuzz.

Guaranį (apparently pronounced gwa-ra-naa, but everybody I know has always pronounced it ga-ra-naa) is a berry that grows in Venezuela and the northern parts of Brazil. The name 'Guaranį' comes from the Guarani tribe that lives in Brazil. Guaranį plays an important role in this culture, as this herb is believed to be magical, a cure for bowel complaints and a way to regain strength. They also tell the myth of a 'Divine Child', that was killed by a serpent and whose eyes gave birth to this plant.

There are some dangers associated with guarana:

• It is possible to overdose on caffeine or guaranine. The fatal dose has been estimated at 10 grams, taken at once. To put this in perspective: the average cup of coffee contains 65-130 milligrams of caffeine; some very strong Guaranį-based beverages contain 350 milligrams.
• People with cardiac problems or a high blood pressure should avoid Guaranį (and smoking or drinking coffee, for that matter)
• As with all stimulants, dependency may occur.

^{I got the facts from br.guarana.com}

The national Brazilian soft drink. Guarana (and Diet Guarana, should you be so interested) is a sweet, carbonated, caffeine free beverage available throughout Brazil. It is sold by several bottling companies, some of them domestic Brazilian and some the usual international monster conglomerates such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.

Guarana is less acidic than Coke or Pepsi and has a fruity taste. The appearance is somewhat golden in color and if one were careless enough it could be mistaken for beer. Guarana soda may or may not contain actual Guarana berry extract, although if it does I personally doubt that it contains very much. It's cheaper and more sterile to just use artificial flavoring.

A final point. Guarana, despite ending in 'a', is grammatically masculine. It is proper to say "um Guarana" but not "uma Guarana." Don't ask me why.

Gua"ra*na` (?), n. [Pg.] Med.

A preparation from the seeds of Paullinia sorbilis, a woody climber of Brazil, used in making an astringent drink, and also in the cure of headache.

© Webster 1913.