TIL about the Guarana plant, which looks like a cluster of eyes when ripe. This is fitting because it's full of caffeine.
I miss Guarana sodas, it has been almost 20 years, used to be my favorite when living in South America.
Are you in the US? Bawls is a Guarana soda sold here. Can’t find it locally very often (Meijer, sometimes) but you can order directly from their website.
Yes, the name is stupid; still my favorite soda.
Never had it, but considering the Wikipedia article says that it can have more than twice the caffeine of a coffee bean, it must keep you wide awake.
There was one in the US called Bawls that I drank a lot in the 90s. It was really good.
Edit: Turns out it still exists. https://www.bawls.com/
Gods, that stuff gave me the worst case of explosive diarrhea I have ever had, seen, or heard of.
Years ago I was really missing it and my wife found a Josta taste a like recipe. It was Bawls, Sobe Dragonfruit, and Pepsi.
Here is a recipe for Josta
Making Josta Reborn
Required items
20oz Pepsi
20oz SoBe Dragon
10oz Bawls
16oz or bigger measuring cup
1oz measuring cup
drinking cup or spare bottle
Optional Printed Josta Reborn labelProcess
Carefully and slowly open the Pepsi being as careful as possible not to cause more bubbles than necessary.
Bring bottle to the edge of the larger measuring cup and rest it on the edge, tipping it slowly and empty out 7.7 Ounces of the Pepsi. gently set the Pepsi bottle down when done.
Empty the 7.7 ounces of pepsi in to the drinking cup or spare bottle. You may consume this now so you dont waste good cola.
Open the SoBe Dragon and pour 6.7 ounces in to the large measuring cup.
Open the bawls and measure out 1 ounce in to the small measuring cup and then add it to the 6.7 ounces of SoBe Dragon. Gently pick up the partial Pepsi Bottle and tip it at a 45 degree angle. In the other hand, pick up the measuring cup with the Sobe and Bawls mixand rest it on the Pepsi Bottles opening.
SLOWLY pour the Sobe and Bawls mix in to the Pepsi Bottle allowing it to trickle down the inside surface of the bottle. If you do it right it should take you about 10 to 15 seconds to finish, and there should be NO bubbles being provoked form the Pepsi from the very slow speed at which the liquids meet.
Put down the now empty measuring cup and gently place and tighten the cap back to the Pepsi Bottle.
Carefully, slowly, and gently tip the closed bottle back and forth to ensure and even mixture.
Optionally apply label if youd like.
For best results, put it in the fridge for a few hours. this will allow the beverage to chill and build up a little carbonation. a bottle that remains in the fridge over night will have nearly the same pressure feeling when squeezing it as an unopened bottle of soda.
If you have a SodaStream at home, could just mix a large batch and not worry about carbonation loss.
Oh shit I remember drinking bawls only cus it was a funny name and my friends and I kept saying "let's go grab some bawls"
I remember being too turned off by the name to try it. It was very much of the X-TREME!!! era of marketing, which I really hated.
Maybe if I see it again, I'll try it. Thanks.
Not so much. It was milder than Coke. I guess it was quite diluted. You can buy Guaraná Antarctica online in the U.S. if you’re curious.
Antarctica is good. Can't find it in stores around me, so I order a case every once in a while.
Soft drinks and tea made from it are delicious.
If I remember correctly, Brazilian indigenous legend is that a woman had a miraculous child, the baby died, and some days after burial from one of the eyes sprouted a guaraná plant, from the other sprouted false-guarana.
Thanks. I'm not finding much info about false guarana, but this is apparently what it looks like:
Searching in Portuguese might help?
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=falso+guarana&t=fpas&iax=images&ia=images
If this is what I think it is, it tastes delicious (unlike guaraná). I don’t remember the name, but it wasn’t presented to me as falso guaraná.
That would be because I've never tried it. But I am taking the word of you and others who have posted on that point.