What is Guayusa Tea? Effect, advantages, preparation, purchase

Introduction

In this article about guayusa tea, we want to summarize everything you need to know so that by the end you know exactly what guayusa tea is, where guayusa comes from, how you should prepare guayusa, whether guayusa tea has any side effects, what are the benefits of guayusa, and of course where you Guayusa can buy.

You will also find further links in the text for each area, such as the production of guayusa, the effect, the health benefits and the preparation. These links will take you to other articles and you can read them more intensively.

Contents

1. What is Guayusa?
2. Where does Guayusa tea come from?
3. How is Guayusa grown?
4. How is Guayusa made?
5. Ingredients of Guayusa Tea
6. Guayusa tea effect
7. What are the health benefits of Guayusa?
8. Does Guayusa Tea Have Side Effects?
9. Guayusa tea preparation
10. What varieties of guayusa are there and which are the most popular?
11. How long can Guayusa be kept and how should it be stored?
12. Buy Guayusa tea

1. What is Guayusa?

Guayusa is a plant native to the Amazon rainforest. Guayusa belongs to the holly family. The botanical name of Guayusa is therefore Ilex Guayusa. The mate tree also belongs to the ilex family, which makes the two plants related.

However, guayusa grows in very different regions of South America and is used by other cultures. The taste, smell, effect and appearance of the guayusa plant also differ from mate. What the two plants have in common is more or less just pouring and drinking as tea.

2. Where does Guayusa tea come from?

Guayusa tea comes from 99% Ecuador. In addition, Guayusa can be found in the outskirts of the Amazon towards Peru and Colombia. The Guayusa plant needs a special climate and the shading of larger plants in order to grow optimally.

The indigenous Kichwa people of Ecuador use Guayusa tea for various purposes. Below:

1. as a natural energy drink and coffee substitute, especially before a hunt
2. as a medicinal plant to relieve stomach problems
3. As an antiseptic for injuries

The most common use is as a natural organic energy drink or pick-me-up. Among the Kichwa there are also myths and legends about the origin of Guayusa. You can find out more about these exciting stories here .

You can also find a detailed article about the lifestyle and traditions of the Kichwa Indians in this article .

3. How is Guayusa grown?

Guayusa grows in permaculture. The Kichwa refer to these as chakras, while others call them forest gardens. Permaculture is the exact opposite of a monoculture.

Compared to a monoculture, many crops are planted on one hectare in a permaculture.

At GUYA, we make sure that dozens to hundreds of useful plants are combined with each other. Accordingly, we mimic the Amazon rainforest in its plant biodiversity and give animals a natural environment to live.

Unfortunately, many people equate the term organic with permaculture. Of course this is not the case! Permacultures are self-functioning ecosystems. You can find out more about the differences between cultivation methods, such as organic, conventional and perma, in our article " Organic Guayusa Tea - What does organic cultivation mean? "

Due to the high biodiversity of a permaculture, the plants protect each other from parasites and fungal infestation. However, should there be an infestation that needs to be contained, with a good permaculture, other plants and their roots can be used to produce a natural pesticide.

Fertilizers are usually not necessary either. Because short-lived plants are planted next to long-lived ones . By dying, the short-lived plants then become fertilizer again. In an emergency, however, organic fertilizer can also be produced from other plant residues.

4. How is Guayusa made?

Guayusa tea production begins in permaculture. The Kichwa farmers harvest Guayusa leaves as needed. Collected in large sacks, the farmers drive the fresh leaves to the factory in a truck. In the case of GUYA, the factory is owned by the farmers themselves, so most of the value added in Ecuador lies with the farmers themselves.

Arriving at the factory, the leaves are washed, then spread out on large, air-permeable basins before being hot-air dried. Depending on the type of Guayusa tea, the leaves remain on the basin for a shorter or longer time.

Our Guayusa Tea PURE is dried as quickly as possible with hot air. Guayusa tea DARK, on ​​the other hand , remains on the tanks for some time to oxidize and ferment. This process creates the delicious, sweetish-caramel taste.

A detailed video documentation about the cultivation, harvest and production of Guayusa tea can also be found in the following video.

5. Ingredients of Guayusa Tea

The most well-known ingredients and active substances in Guayusa are the following:

• caffeine
• theobromine
• theophylline
• L-Theanine
• antioxidants

If you would like more detailed information, click on the respective ingredients or read a summary of the active ingredients in Guayusa in this article: " These ingredients in Guayusa give you unlimited energy! "

In our free e-book you will also find a comparison of the most well-known caffeinated drinks including detailed descriptions of the individual active ingredients.

6. Guayusa tea effect

The best way to experience the effects of Guayusa tea is for yourself.

In general, it can be said that the effect of Guayusa tea is very invigorating and keeps you awake. The Kichwa describe it as a "state of relaxed alertness!"

Despite Guayusa being the world's most caffeinated drink , you won't get a racing heart, confused thoughts, or jitters. On the contrary, you are very alert, focused, creative, high-performing and relaxed.

This effect is due to the ingredients or the unique composition. Guayusa therefore offers an amazingly pleasant yet powerful effect!

7. What are the health benefits of Guayusa?

Guayusa tea can improve your mental and physical health. Guayusa, for example, has mood-enhancing properties due to theobromine and caffeine. The relaxed and thought-focusing effect can be clearly felt in a reduction in stress and is therefore of course a great health benefit.

In addition, the active ingredients increase physical performance, which is particularly interesting for athletes . The antioxidants protect cells from oxidative stress and may even promote the absorption of blue light, which in turn can lead to faster and longer waking hours.

The basic properties of guayusa also make it pleasant to the stomach.

A detailed article on the health benefits and properties of guayusa can be found here .

8. Does Guayusa tea have any side effects?

Many of our customers can't really believe it until they experience it for themselves. Guayusa has no known side effects. Apart from the fact that after 4 liters of Guayusa you will probably get problems because of the caffeine. Nevertheless, even large amounts of Guayusa tea are not a problem and are well tolerated by the body. 2 liters per day is not a problem for an adult, for example.

In our article on caffeine side effects, we take a closer look at why some caffeinated beverages cause so many problems.

9. Guayusa tea preparation

The preparation of Guayusa tea is very simple. Unlike green tea or black tea, you don't have to pay attention to the brewing time. The water temperature can also reach 100ºC without guayusa tea becoming bitter.

Guayusa tea should be brewed for at least 5-15 minutes. However, even after 60 minutes, the tea does not become as bitter as black or green tea. We have a separate section for the preparation of our Guayusa varieties .

A particularly detailed article with 10 different Guayusa tea preparations can be found HERE . You can also download our free recipe and preparation PDF for every order or as a newsletter subscriber .

Here are some variations on how you can use Guayusa alongside a normal preparation.

• Cold brew guayusa preparation
• Ice Brew Guayusa preparation
• Cappuccino Guayusa preparation
• bar
• mocha
• coffee machine
• Bulletproof Guayusa Tea Recipe
• 10 TOP Guayusa preparations

10. What varieties of Guayusa are there and which are the most popular?

In Ecuador itself there are two types of Guayusa, the green and the red. However, the Guayusa tree with red leaves is rare and commercial distribution is therefore not possible.

However, after a lot of experimentation, we managed to ferment the green leaves similar to black tea, creating a new guayusa taste. We also mix our Guayusa PURE with herbs, spices and fruits. You can find all varieties here:

• PURE - original Guayusa tea
• DARK - fermented Guayusa tea, sweeter
• ORANGE-MINT - Guayusa tea with mint and orange peel
• CHAI - Guayusa tea with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and liquorice
• LEMONGRASS - Guayusa tea with lemongrass
• PURE POWDER - original Guayusa as a powder
• GUAYUSA-COFFEE - 50/50 blend of coffee and guayusa for coffee lovers

Without a doubt, the PURE and DARK strains are the most popular. As a change, they like to buy CHAI for the evening hours and ORANGE-MINT and LEMONGRASS for sunny days. Our varieties all have a different amount of Guayusa and are therefore of different strengths.

11. How long can Guayusa be kept and how should it be stored?

You should store Guayusa in a cool, dark and dry place. If you use our zipper bags, you can't go wrong and the tea will last for several years.

Our zipper bags also close airtight and at the same time protect against solar radiation and water penetration. Even after the expiration date, the tea can be enjoyed without hesitation.  

Keep in mind that the best-before date is just a guide , not an expiration date ! Especially with tea, this hardly plays a role if it is stored correctly!

12. Buy Guayusa tea

When buying Guayusa you should consider a few points:

1. Is the company transparent about working with indigenous farmers?
2. Does the company offer enough transparency regarding cultivation in the rainforest?
3. Is the company represented locally in Ecuador or just a reseller?
4. How long has the company existed?

For example, you can find transparently designed documentation on our company on YouTube , which we recorded again and again during our time in Ecuador. Here you will find interviews with farmers , detailed videos on harvesting and processing and on our reforestation project .

GUYA is the first European Guayusa company and has grown on its own since 2016 without investors. We also maintain direct contact with the farmers and do not buy from middlemen. In addition, we pay significantly more than the official fair trade price demands and are regularly on site ourselves. You can find out more about our values ​​here .

Where can you buy our organic Guayusa tea? Our online shop is always ready to receive your Guayusa order. Unfortunately, we are not yet available in retail - you can find out why here and here .

If you subscribe to our newsletter, you will get a whopping 10% discount and a free e-book in which GUYA founder Sebastian Freidank compares the most well-known caffeinated drinks.