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There are hundreds of Guaraná and chapéu-de-couro sodas from tiny brands all over Brazil.
It’s part of the touristic attraction of many small towns to taste a local guaraná soda.
Very true. It is also part of our local identity. I get nostalgic just remembering our local Guaraná Pureza, which I haven't enjoyed in decades.
http://flavorsofbrazil.blogspot.com/2010/10/guarana-pureza-m...
Guaraná Antarctica is my all time favorite soft drink. I've stopped drinking soft drinks more or less entirely, but I still allow myself a can of Guaraná Antarctica every now and then. Luckily it's very hard to come by, and at $3-4 per can, prohibitively expensive to buy in any quantity.
In North Carolina I've found Guaraná Antarctica much cheaper at grocery stores like Compare Foods (carries Latin American products, even cashew-fruit concentrate (Marañon in Spanish, not Cajú), another great Brazilian beverage).
I just wish we could get Baré in the U.S., definitely my favorite guaraná, a lot of great stuff doesn't make it out of Northern Brasil.
Although this article doesn't say so, Antártica is the most popular brand and a pretty terrific soda.
Think ginger ale with a kick.
You can find it in many Latin grocery sections in CA, FL, and TX.
I love Guaraná and agree that Antarctica is the superior brand! Wikipedia describes the taste as "mild and slightly apple-like, with a berry after-flavour" [0] but I agree it is more like ginger ale or like spiced ginger beer. It is pronounced "gua-da-NAH".
It is also called "Brazilian champagne" [1], has as much caffeine as Coke, but much less sugar even though it tastes as sweet due to the Guaraná taste.
[0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guaran%C3%A1_Antarctica [1] https://sodapopcraft.com/what-is-guarana-soda/
AFAIK Guaraná Antártica doesn't have much caffeine at all, that's one of the reasons I like it more (can drink it at night). It might not even have caffeine at all, although I can't find that information anywhere.
There is a "zero" variety now that has no sugar and IMO is tastier than the original, just like Coke zero
Here in Japan I mainly see Antártica for sale. Only at a Brazilian specialty store did I find a different brand of it. Now, I gotta try them all.
I must say every time I leave Brazil, even though I don't really enjoy the country that much, I REALLY miss Guaraná LOL. It's so much better than any other soda, specially in the US where Coke has something like 5 tons of sugar per milliliter. I often wonder why the national companies haven't managed to widely export these or produce them elsewhere, I think a lot of people would really enjoy it.
Meanwhile Coca-Cola has made their own version of Guaraná called Kuat [0], but it's mehh at best, I seriously hope it doesn't mess with outsider's perception of the drink. They then created yet _another_ soft drink with Guaraná under the Fanta brand [1], that one is better IMO but a lot of people don't like it too. Wonder what's so different between those recipes.
> I often wonder why the national companies haven't managed to widely export these or produce them elsewhere
The reverse is true as well. Some popular soft drinks in the USA are unknown in Brazil -- such as root beer, Dr Pepper, and cream soda.[1]
I think guaraná would be a success in the US and root beer could be a success in Brazil too. My assumption is that nobody wants to spend the money to create the market in a new country unless they're going to have a monopoly for at least awhile. But nobody own the flavors of guaraná and root beer, or even those names. After you've spent all the money to educate the public, some established domestic company would swoop in and take the market away from you.
[1] http://brazilsense.com/index.php?title=Common_in_the_USA_and...
as a German who LOVES root beer, it is kind of an acquired taste and most of the friends I introduced to root beer don't like it.
You can actually buy root beer in larger supermarkets here but there isn't a guarantee that its in stock always and I am sure its a low sales volume item).
So IMHO root beer has its market share in the US because it got popular at a time when there wasn't such a great variety in sugary drinks, kind of a founder effect, and that is not replicated in a different market, as competition is hire so people don't get to drink the 3-4 cans of root beer that I guess are necessary to get hooked.
Guarana flavored soda is the original flavor of Bawls energy drink, based in the US. Pretty tasty.
I was just looking to try this soda and it looks like regular Guarana has almost exactly the same amount of sugar as a Coke.
If anyone is interested in other sodas I recently had the chance to try Materva, a yerba mate soda, and I would recommend it if you can find the sugar free variety or have room in your life for a sugary treat.
I was going to say. Americans have a sweet tooth but Brazilians are the world champions of adding sugar.
Only place I've ever been where it's considered perfectly normal to add sugar to your orange juice in the morning.
Guaraná is definitely just as sweet as American sodas. I personally find it too sweet because it doesn't have as much acid balancing it that Coke does.
In which country? Coke has different amounts of added sugars in between regions to adapt to regional tastes. AFAIK the United States is the one with the most sugar, although don't quote me on that.
Coca-cola has acquired one of the most prominent regional variations (as mentioned below by tambourine_man) - Guaraná Jesus
It's pink, tastes like bubblegum and sweeter than other Guaraná sodas I've tasted
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guaran%C3%A1_Jesus
Edit: the can depicted in the Wikipedia picture is not the design I like and am familiar with:
Guaraná Jesus is largely a novelty in most of the country, and don't even register as worthy of mention. It is funny to have a soda named *Jesus ".
Kuat today is full of sugar and added caramel, to be cheaper and compete with smaller brands.
Fanta is trying to compete with Antarctica (that is from AmBev).
I'm buying Fanta because it's cheaper than Antarctica.
2L pet bottle is here: R$ 3.99 Kuat R$ 5.99 Fanta Guaraná R$ 7.99 Antarctica
In US$ it's about 0.79 1.20 1.60
I think it's just that it occupies the same "place" as lemon-lime soda (Sprite, 7-Up) in other countries like the US. It's the main "fruity" alternative to Coke.
Obviously guaraná and lemon-lime taste different, but you don't really need both in the same market. Just one main fruity non-cola.
(I'm speaking from the perspective of product lines of course. I totally realize individual consumers may prefer guaraná over lemon-lime or vice-versa.)
Do you have any experience with BAWLS (guarana) & how it compares to what you get in Brazil?
GUS soda available in many supermarkets is not as sugary as most other brands, if you’re looking for dryer soda pop.
I found this drink in my local supermarket in Finland and decided to try it. It was amazing, but after a little research I realised that it probably had way too much caffeine which as a coffee drinker, I should have less of. As someone who has integrated into Finnish culture, nothing was going to replace my coffee, so I stopped drinking it.
If I'm not mistaken it has less caffeine than Coke or Pepsi. But I haven't had it in a couple of years, not a big fan personally.
edit: ok so it seems that is the case for the brand (guarana antarctica) I know of (and the only one I saw sold/advertised where I come from)
I used to drink guaraná powder mixed with mate tee to keep up with my working and study schedule when I was at uni.
Interestingly enough, the guaraná soda doesn't contain a lot of caffeine: just 2mg per 350ml can.
Who remembers Bawls soda
I remember a friend of mine from the University brought me along to one of the LAN parties in his home town. And one of the things he told me to look forward to was that they sold Bawls Guaraná at the party. He was right, they did and it was the first time I’d tasted it. I liked it.
They were blue bottles of glass, with kind of a bumpy texture of a surface. Looks like these bottles look about the same, or even exactly the same, still, judging from results on Google Images.
I first heard of it from watching PurePwnage, then it became a hipster soda in my town a few years later. 05/06 was an interesting time.
I think I've had it once or twice, but nothing memorable. The real tragedy is that I haven't been able to find Stewarts Key Lime locally in the better part of a decade.
How about Josta? It was my absolute favorite as a teenager.
Bawls is still sold today, but hard to find. They have an online store too, if you can stomach the shipping costs…
Guarana Antartica is very popular in our family. The best part is that they have a diet version and it’s no different than the regular. If anyone wants to try it, there are plenty of sellers on Amazon (no pun intended)
https://www.amazon.com/Guarana-Antarctica-Guaraná-Flavoured-...
I believe Antarctica are also behind the Amargo (bitter) tonic-like soft drink - a favourite whenever I am in Brazil (along with Guarana, of course!)
If anyone in the US wants to try it, I used to find it at Brazilian-owned ethnic markets.
Beware that it can have a lot of caffeine. (Personally, I now minimize caffeine intake, for health reasons.) If you want caffeine, hopefully you can get an accurate ballpark of how much a particular soda will contain, and work it into your intake budget.
What were the health reasons, if you don't mind me asking?
You can just get it on Amazon, too.
Another interesting thing about Guarana is that it's a relative of Lychee, Rambutan, Longan, Quenepa, etc. -- you can see it by the fruit and the black seed in the middle. And many seeds in this family can be used to produce a soap, though some are better than others.
Yes, they are all in the soapberry family (Sapindaceae). One has to be a little careful, though, because many of the seeds of plants in this family contain bioactive compounds that can be quite poisonous. For example, in ackee. By the way, maple (Acer species) have also now been moved into this family based on genetic evidence.
I've almost given up on soda for the last 12 years. The funny thing is that my taste has shifted and all the colas have become nasty, but Guaraná I still enjoy.
Antártica is not the best, Fruki is IMO the best one. David Beckham was one photographed taking one home (not payed publicity).
Fruki is pretty good, roughly as good as Antártica imo (though I'd give Antártica a slight edge still). But it's only found in Southern Brazil, while Antártica is available nationwide, so the latter is much more popular.
The one regional soda I'd like to see become more popular is Mineirinho, which I've only ever seen sold in Rio de Janeiro (the state). It's such a peculiar/interesting taste, have not had it in years now.
Rio also has a regional guaraná called Guaravita, but it's not really a soda as it's not carbonated. It's more like a juice (and it's marketed as "natural guaraná"). It's pretty good too!
Damn, this conversation made me thirsty lol
Guaraná with ice and a slice of orange is one of my favorite drinks of all time
And when it's on the weekend, you can also put a little bit of vodka
You can buy guarana syrup for around $8 for 900ml on Amazon and make your own soda. I personally use it for homemade acai bowls.
If only I could have my Josta back!
Ctrl+F, Yerba Mate, zero results. I'm ashamed of you all HN!
Maybe because Yerba Mate is more of a Taste of Paraguay? :)