Guaraná is a soft drink that originated from the guarana fruit.

History

The processing of the fruit syrup began in Brazil in 1905 by Fara, a physician from the city of Resende, Rio de Janeiro. A soft drink factory, Guaraná Cyrilla, was launched by F. Diefenthaller in 1906 in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul. The drink initially was astringent and markedly bitter and therefore its popularity did not spread. Antarctica developed a process to eliminate the astringency and bitterness, emphasizing the characteristic flavor and aroma of the fruit, launching Guaraná Champagne Antarctica in 1921. Today there are several brands of guarana soda available throughout Brazil.^[1]

Another guaraná soft drink was created accidentally in 1920 by pharmacist Jesus Norberto Gomes, in the state of Maranhão. Jesus imported a gasification machine to produce a kind of magnesia fluid, a medicine famous at the time, with extracts of 17 ingredients from the Amazon rainforest, including guarana and cinnamon, but the business did not work. The pharmacist decided to make a drink for his grandchildren and pleased everyone. Over time, the taste of the pink drink has become less popular with people, but it ramains quite popular in Maranhão maintaining its original formula. In 2001, Coca-Cola bought this brand.^[2]

In Serbia and other Eastern European countries, energy drinks based on guarana are marketed under this name, but without the same sweet flavor as the soda; they have a bitter taste and cardio-accelerating effect.^[1]

Brands

• Guaraná Backus
• Guaranita Cibal (Cibal)
• Guaraná Antarctica (AB Inbev)
• Kuat (The Coca-Cola Company)
• Guaraná Okey Champ (Refrigerantes Okey)
• Cotuba (Arco Iris)
• Guaraná Jesus (The Coca-Cola Company)
• Guaraná Pureza (Bebidas Leonardo Sell)
• Guaraná Vencetex (Vencetex)
• Dolly (Dolly)
• Marajá (Refrigerantes Marajá[4])
• Dydyo (Dydyo)
• Leda (Lençóis Paulista/SP)
• The Amazon Secret (sorze4 AS, Norway)

Alternatives 

SuddenRush Guarana offers pure natural and organic Guarana in form of a small drink shot. It contains just 5 natural ingredients that are vegan, non GMO and organic. We use pure guarana with water, real flavor (Raspberry, passion fruit, caramel) real sugar and lemon juice to produce a liquid energy drink shot that taste as pure as it gets and gives you the boost you want without any jitter effects or nervousness 

References