Back in May, Guaraná Jesus, the iconic soft drink of the northeastern Brazilian state of Maranhão, was featured in this post on Flavors of Brazil. In its home territory, this locally-invented soft drink is reportedly more popular than either Coca-Cola or any of the national brands of Guaraná. Outside of Maranhão it is generally unobtainable unless it's been brought from there by a Guaraná Jesus-addict, or by someone who's suffering from homesickness for that remote state.
In many ways Guaraná Jesus is like Vernor's Ginger Ale, which for most of its history was only distributed in its native Michigan and a few neighboring states, and which today still sells 80% of its volume in Michigan. You could say that Guaraná Jesus is to Maranhão what Vernor's is to Michigan, even more so.
The other day I went to a small shop that sells regionally produced food products here in Fortaleza. I was looking for some homestyle hot sauce as a birthday present for a friend. While perusing the shelves I spotted a bright pink-and-blue can of Guaraná Jesus. I'd never actually seen one, but I remembered the can from the photos I'd posted here earlier. I asked the clerk where it came from, and he told me that a friend of his had recently returned from Maranhão with a few cases of the drink, and that he was selling them (at a very nice price, I have to say).
I couldn't resist buying a can, as I'd never tasted the stuff myself - I'd only heard second-hand reports of what it tasted like. So, this morning, I decided to give Guaraná Jesus an official Flavors of Brazil taste-test. Here are the results:
Color: A truly shocking pink. It's a stronger color than I had been expecting based on the photos I'd seen. It's not a pale rose, it's a strong hot pink, verging on red in certain light.
Carbonization: The drink is very highly carbonated, with large CO2 bubbles in the glass. When poured, the drink doesn't develop a head, as Coca-Cola or other drinks sometimes do. The carbonization, to me, is similar to the way most lemon-lime soft drinks are carbonized.
Sweetness: Very intense. Like all Brazilian soft drinks, Guaraná Jesus is sweetened with cane sugar, not HFCS (high-fructose corn syrup). The label gives a calorie count for the 350 ml (12 oz) can as 170, which indicates a large quantity of sugar.
Flavor: Guaraná Jesus tastes nothing like the national brands of guaraná. The first flavor I picked up was a strong artificial-banana flavor, similar to the flavor of banana gum or banana popsicles. Next up, I detected some tutti-fruti (bubblegum flavor), and finally hints of spices - cinnamon and cloves. The flavor is complex, and the drink is highly flavored.
Verdict: Interesting, but it wouldn't become a "beverage of your choice" for me.
I enjoyed drinking Guaraná Jesus, though for me I think it's a drink that I could only take in small quantities due to the combination of high sugar content and strong flavor. I'm sure that in larger quantities, it would quickly begin to cloy. I can't say it was a revelation for me, or that I'd buy more at premium price. Probably, since I wasn't born and raised in Maranhão, what I didn't detect in my taste test was nostalgia, and that's the ingredient that keeps the mystique of Guaraná Jesus alive.
In previous posts Flavors of Brazil has focused its eye and its palate on a Brazilian soft-drink called guaraná. Almost unknown outside Brazil outside the immigrant communities of the Brazilian diaspora, guaraná is hugely popular within the country. The market for this drink, which takes its name from and is flavored by a fruit from the Amazonian rain forest, is dominated on the national scene by two major brands - Antartica, owned by the world's largest brewing company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, and Kuat, owned by Coca-Cola Brasil.
Along side these two giants exist regional brands of guaraná, which are often extremely popular within their own geographical territory, but which are unknown elsewhere in the country. Probably the most popular of these regional brands is Guaraná Jesus, from the state of Maranhão, which was the subject of this article on Flavors of Brazil. It, of course, is dwarfed even in its home state by the two major brands.
Interestingly, I have recently discovered, thanks to an article in the most recent edition of Gula, a Brazilian culinary magazine, that there is a brewery in the southern state of Santa Catarina which is so small that it makes Guaraná Jesus seem like a multinational producer. It's continued existence and its continued success after 105 years of production show the power that a local brand can have within a limited territory, and makes a heartwarming story in the way that a product from a consortium with the unwieldy name of Anheuser-Busch InBev could never have.
This drink is aptly called Guaraná Pureza, which translates into English as Purity Guaraná. The drink was developed by brewer Alfredo Sell in the small German-immigrant village of Rancho Queimado, Santa Catarina, in 1905, and has been manufactured there, and only there, ever since. In fact, the water used in making this drink still comes exclusively from a well on Sell family property. Rancho Queimado is located 60 km. (35 miles) from the capital of Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, and that city constitutes almost 100% of Guaraná Pureza's market. The company is currently owned by the fourth-generation of the Sell family, and they have resisted various offers to sell the company. Current production of Purity Guaraná is 300,000 liters per month, compared to the 66 million liters of Guaraná Antartica that are produced in the same time frame.
In an age of logos created with the help of focus groups, market-saturating ads and commercials, sales promotions and imperative social media presence, Guaraná Pureza chugs along as it always has done, resisting change and "modernization." The logo and the label that the company uses today has not changed in 105 years, and the company does NO marketing, advertising or promotion. None. The reason? According to Ricardo Sell, the current general-manager, Guaraná Pureza does no advertising because, "We don't have to. Without exaggerating, we can speak of generations that grew up drinking [Guaraná Pureza] and it's become established as a family custom. Those who like it only drink Guaraná Pureza, even though it's a bit more expensive than other guaranás." I, for one, love the fact that a company that has never "updated" it's product, never marketed it, and even charges more for it than the brand-leaders do, can still find a niche in the marketplace and successfully exploit it. I say "Bravo, Guaraná Pureza!"
I'm currently vacationing in my Canadian hometown, Vancouver. During the summer months of July and August the weather in Vancouver isn't significantly cooler or wetter than in my Brazilian hometown, Fortaleza, so the adjustment to Canada has been very easy for me. Maybe the beaches here aren't quite as tropicalas in Brazil, and certainly there are no beach bars serving cerveja and caipirinhas (Canada's strict alcohol laws prohibit the public consumption of alcoholic beverages on beaches) but when the sun shines, you can almost imagine that you're in Brazil.
This past weekend, Vancouver became significantly more Brazilian during the annual Brazilfest, sponsored by a number of commercial enterprises, the city administration, the Consulate General of Brazil in Vancouver, and the tourism department of the federal government of Brazil, and organized by the local Brazilian community here in Vancouver. This community has grown significantly in the past decade, and Brazilian culture has become part of the rainbow of cultures that makes up Vancouver. On the Brazilian social network site Orkut, one community for Brazilians in Vancouver numbers over 9000 members, and there are other Vancouver-based Brazilian social networks around the web. Vancouver annually hosts thousands of Brazilian students who come to Canada to learn English. During the summer in the center of the city one constantly hears Portuguese spoken in shops, on rapid-transit and in parks.
Brazilfest took place on one of Vancouver's principal downtown streets, which was closed for the duration of the festival. There was a large music stage at one end of the street (video above), and the street was lined with booths and stands. Some were selling Brazilian clothing and crafts, come were advertising tourism in Brazil, but by far the most popular, and to me the most interesting, were the food stands. One stand featured plates of Brazil's "national dish", feijoada, and for most of the afternoon, the line for feijoada stretched back a full city block. Other stands sold Brazilian pastries and sweets, like cheese bread (pãode queijo) and doce de leite, or snacks such as coxinha and pastel. The popular Brazilian soft drink guaraná was available at the exorbitant price of $3.00. All that was lacking to make it truly a Brazilian festival was beer. Oh well, that's Canada for you.
I spoke to several people who were lined up to buy feijoada. Whether they were Brazilians who immigrated to Canada long ago or students here for a summer of English language instruction, they all said they were lining in order to "matar saudades" of Brazil. They meant that they were trying to assuage homesickness for Brazil and Brazilian culture through eating one of it's most traditional dishes. Feijoada isn't easy to make for one or two persons, or in a small kitchenette, so these folks didn't mind lining up in the hot sun for up to an hour just to eat a plateful of "home." Over the years, I've attended numerous cultural festivals, in Vancouver and elsewhere, and one constant element of these fairs is "food from home." It's interesting proof of the centrality of traditional foods and recipes in creating cultural identity. Food from back home shrinks time and distance and brings one back to one's culture with each bite. Certainly that was the case for those Brazilians in Vancouver this weekend who ate feijoada and other Brazilian dishes. They all exclaimed how the tastes of Brazil connected them once again to their homeland, or even if they said nothing, the look of satisfaction on their faces as they ate told the same story.
(Please click here to read about this series of reposts of original posts from May 24, 2010 to June 12, 2010)
In our ever-shrinking, globalized world, I find it refreshing when something, anything, remains particularly and resolutely local. When something, be it a style of music, a fashion, a type of handicraft, a food or a drink, has a cult following in one region, and is practically unheard of in the rest of the world.
In the most recent post here on Flavors of Brazil, I discussed Guaraná Antartica, a popular soft-drink everywhere in Brazil, manufactured by a multinational brewing consortium. It has a huge following in Brazil, but it is known outside the country only in expatriate Brazilian communities, and among travelers who learned to enjoy it in Brazil. But Guaraná Antartica isn't really what I mean when I mention very local cult brands or styles, because Brazil is a huge country with almost 200 million inhabitants.
There is another Guaraná made in Brazil which does have this status. It's called Guaraná Jesus, and it comes from the poor northeastern state of Maranhão, where it is extremely popular. It's a carbonated soft drink, bright pink, and although the list of ingredients is secret there are hints of clove and cinnamon in its flavor. It's very sweet, in keeping with Brazilians' flavor preferences, and naturally, it contains guaraná from the Amazon.
Guaraná Jesus was named after its pharmacist-inventor, Jesus Norberto Gomes, of São Luís, Maranhão, who developed the drink at his pharmacy in 1920. He was trying to imitate a locally-popular medicinal concoction when he developed the soft drink, which he baptized with his own name. Ironically, although the drink has a Biblical name, Gomes was a fervent atheist, and was excommunicated by the Catholic Church for assaulting a padre.
Guaraná Jesus' advertizing campaign often use religious humor and references to advertise the drink. Among the company's recent slogans are: "Abençoe sua sede!" (Bless your thirst!) "Guaraná Jesus, porque nem só de pão vive o Homem" (Guarana Jesus - because man does not live by bread alone) and "Fé no estômago" (Faith in your stomach).
The ironic part of this whole story, for me at least, is that this small soft drink company, which was a market leader for many years in its own little corner of the world, did too well in selling its product. Guaraná Jesus was just too-tempting a purchase for one of the big multi-nationals not to scoop up, and in 2001 Coca-Cola purchased Guaraná Jesus. Up to this point, however, they have left it a strictly local product, only manufactured in Maranhão. I hope they keep it that way forever.
(Please click here to read about this series of reposts of original posts from May 24, 2010 to June 12, 2010)
The small fruit from the Amazonian rain forest known as guaraná provides not only an extract or powder with a powerful stimulant effect on the body, as discussed in the previous post, but also provides the name, if not the principal , of one of the most important soft drinks sold in Brazil, certainly the most iconically Brazilian soft drink that exists. Brazilians, in the third largest market in the world for soft drinks, consume enormous quantities of guaraná, which follows only Coca-Cola in the national market. The soft drink Guaraná is a crisp, highly carbonated soft drink, with a flavor that can best be described as "apple-ish" with hints of berries. It's very refreshing, particularly when served ice cold on a tropically hot day, a typical day in most of Brazil.
The first Guaraná soft drink was developed in 1905 by a medical doctor in Rio de Janeiro state. It became popular quickly, and its popularity led to the development of competing soft drinks named Guaraná . The most important of these was created in 1921 by Antartica, a beverage and brewery company which is now port of the largest beer producing consortium in the world AmBev. Guaraná Antartica is by far the most consumed Guaraná in Brazil, dwarfing all competitors, including the Kuat brand, which is Coca-Cola's entry into the Guaraná market. It is so much the brand leader in Brazil that one's of it's more recent slogans is simply "É o que é," which means "It is what it is." Guaraná Antartica is the primary sponsor of the Brazilian national soccer team, which links the product directly to the soul of Brazilian culture. During the 2006 World Cup, Antartica filled the nation's TV screens with a commercial that some consider the best Brazilian commercial of all time, and which created a storm of outrage in neighboring Argentina. In the commercial, the camera pans the national team singing the Brazilian National Anthem, and as it pans, you see the among the players Diego Maradona dressed in the official Brazilian kit. Suddenly the scene shifts as Maradona awakes from this nightmare in his own bed, and puts it all down to drinking Guaraná Antartica before going to bed. Here is the ad, from YouTube:
Antartica isn't the only Guaraná in Brazil, though, and in the next post on Flavors of Brazil, we'll cover one of the most interesting of the non-Antartica Guaranás.
(Please click here to read about this series of reposts of original posts from May 24, 2010 to June 12, 2010)
If not "flavor of the month", the small red fruit known as guaraná in its Amazonian homeland and as guarana with-no-accent in the rest of the world has become a buzzword for the 21st century. "Buzz" is indeed the appropriate word to use here, as guarana fruit contains more than twice the caffeine punch of the coffee bean. The percentage of caffeine, botanically known as guaranine when occurring in the guarana plant, in guarana is approximately 2-4.5% by weight, whereas in the coffee bean in ranges from 1-2%.
The guarana tree (Paullinia cupana), which is in the same botanical family as the maple, is native to the Amazon rain forest, and is particularly prevalent in the Brazilian portions of that forest. The fruit of this tree was harvested by native tribes of Indians long before the arrival of Columbus and was revered for its medicinal or magical properties. According to Indian legend, one day an evil deity killed a particularly well-loved child. A more benevolent god, seeing the grief caused by this senseless act, plucked the left eye of the dead child and planted it in the forest, where it sprouted into the wild guarana tree. Then it plucked the right eye of the child and planted it in the village, where it grew into the domestic guarana tree. The bright red fruit, with a black seed inside, is considered to resemble an eye, which is probably part of the origin of this legend.
Guarana extract, often in the form of a powder, has been used by Brazilian pharmacists and apothecaries for centuries as a stimulant which can be added to any type of syrup or concoction. Pure guarana powder can be purchased in pharmacies, healthfood stores and supermarkets throughout Brazil, and it is often added to fruit juice drinks to provide an extra energy boost. The phenomenal growth in the use of guarana as a stimulant in the 21st century, however, has not come from the Brazilian market, but from the worldwide market in energy drinks, most of which depend on guarana to provide at least part of that "energy" that is the mystique of these beverages. A quick look at the list of ingredients on the back of a can of Jolt, Burn, Starbucks Energy+Coffee, Monster, Mountain Dew MDX and countless others will show guarana to be an ingredient. This has had an important impact on the growth of the export market for guarana extract and powder in Brazil, and has contributed to the globalization of the consumption of guarana, though most likely few who imbibe these energy drinks care what's providing their "buzz."
In Brazil, one of the most popular soft drink flavors is known as Guaraná. Although there is a small amount of guarana in these drinks (the caffeine levels are similar to those in Coca-Cola), they are not energy drinks. In the next posts on Flavors of Brazil, we'll discuss these soft drinks.
In our ever-shrinking, globalized world, I find it refreshing when something, anything, remains particularly and resolutely local. When something, be it a style of music, a fashion, a type of handicraft, a food or a drink, has a cult following in one region, and is practically unheard of in the rest of the world.
In the most recent post here on Flavors of Brazil, I discussed Guaraná Antartica, a popular soft-drink everywhere in Brazil, manufactured by a multinational brewing consortium. It has a huge following in Brazil, but it is known outside the country only in expatriate Brazilian communities, and among travelers who learned to enjoy it in Brazil. But Guaraná Antartica isn't really what I mean when I mention very local cult brands or styles, because Brazil is a huge country with almost 200 million inhabitants.
There is another Guaraná made in Brazil which does have this status. It's called Guaraná Jesus, and it comes from the poor northeastern state of Maranhão, where it is extremely popular. It's a carbonated soft drink, bright pink, and although the list of ingredients is secret there are hints of clove and cinnamon in its flavor. It's very sweet, in keeping with Brazilians' flavor preferences, and naturally, it contains guaraná from the Amazon.
Guaraná Jesus was named after its pharmacist-inventor, Jesus Norberto Gomes, of São Luís, Maranhão, who developed the drink at his pharmacy in 1920. He was trying to imitate a locally-popular medicinal concoction when he developed the soft drink, which he baptized with his own name. Ironically, although the drink has a Biblical name, Gomes was a fervent atheist, and was excommunicated by the Catholic Church for assaulting a padre.
Guaraná Jesus' advertizing campaign often use religious humor and references to advertise the drink. Among the company's recent slogans are: "Abençoe sua sede!" (Bless your thirst!) "Guaraná Jesus, porque nem só de pão vive o Homem" (Guarana Jesus - because man does not live by bread alone) and "Fé no estômago" (Faith in your stomach).
The ironic part of this whole story, for me at least, is that this small soft drink company, which was a market leader for many years in its own little corner of the world, did too well in selling its product. Guaraná Jesus was just too-tempting a purchase for one of the big multi-nationals not to scoop up, and in 2001 Coca-Cola purchased Guaraná Jesus. Up to this point, however, they have left it a strictly local product, only manufactured in Maranhão. I hope they keep it that way forever.
The small fruit from the Amazonian rain forest known as guaraná provides not only an extract or powder with a powerful stimulant effect on the body, as discussed in the previous post, but also provides the name, if not the principal , of one of the most important soft drinks sold in Brazil, certainly the most iconically Brazilian soft drink that exists. Brazilians, in the third largest market in the world for soft drinks, consume enormous quantities of guaraná, which follows only Coca-Cola in the national market. The soft drink Guaraná is a crisp, highly carbonated soft drink, with a flavor that can best be described as "apple-ish" with hints of berries. It's very refreshing, particularly when served ice cold on a tropically hot day, a typical day in most of Brazil.
The first Guaraná soft drink was developed in 1905 by a medical doctor in Rio de Janeiro state. It became popular quickly, and its popularity led to the development of competing soft drinks named Guaraná . The most important of these was created in 1921 by Antartica, a beverage and brewery company which is now port of the largest beer producing consortium in the world AmBev. Guaraná Antartica is by far the most consumed Guaraná in Brazil, dwarfing all competitors, including the Kuat brand, which is Coca-Cola's entry into the Guaraná market. It is so much the brand leader in Brazil that one's of it's more recent slogans is simply "É o que é," which means "It is what it is." Guaraná Antartica is the primary sponsor of the Brazilian national soccer team, which links the product directly to the soul of Brazilian culture. During the 2006 World Cup, Antartica filled the nation's TV screens with a commercial that some consider the best Brazilian commercial of all time, and which created a storm of outrage in neighboring Argentina. In the commercial, the camera pans the national team singing the Brazilian National Anthem, and as it pans, you see the among the players Diego Maradona dressed in the official Brazilian kit. Suddenly the scene shifts as Maradona awakes from this nightmare in his own bed, and puts it all down to drinking Guaraná Antartica before going to bed. Here is the ad, from YouTube:
Antartica isn't the only Guaraná in Brazil, though, and in the next post on Flavors of Brazil, we'll cover one of the most interesting of the non-Antartica Guaranás.
A Vancouverite who's living in Fortaleza, on Brazil's fabulous Northeast Coast. Learning all I can about Brazilian culture, with emphasis on the rich culinary traditions of Brazil
