Clean Energy Drink- Guayusa

Continuing with our Clean Energy Drink series next up is a new plant I just recently became aware of, that being Guayusa (gwhy-u-sa).

Trying new things in the plant, herb family is always exciting especially when they turn out to be delicious.  During my travels I tried guayusa for my first time as a tea.    I was doing a long distance drive and needed something to give me a pick me up.  My normal drink is matcha but after talking to the really nice man at the café counter,  I decided to try the guayusa  tea listed on the menu.   When I ordered the tea  I had a little maple syrup added but I don’t think I needed it, on its own the tea probably would have been sweet enough.    The tea had slightly sweet, fruity notes and reminded me of Yerba Mate.   It gave me the energy I needed to continue the last leg of my road trip.  So of course as soon as I got home one of the first things I did was to start my research on guayusa and the benefits of the plant.  What I found out was so amazing and instrumental in now making guayusa a part of my tea rotation.

Guayusa is a plant indigenous to Ecuador more specifically the Amazon rainforest.   It’s a species from the holly trees native to the Amazon.    The plant has been cultivated and used for thousands of years by the indigenous people.   The women were reported to have used  guayusa tea for relieving menopause symptoms,  using it in pregnancy to provide strength and balance as well as consuming the plant to aid in the lessening of pain and aches.  The elders of the community said guayusa was good for recalling dreams and preventing snake and insect bites.  They also claimed drinking guayusa would give someone lucid dreams and sharpen their senses.

Like most clean energy drinks guayusa is packed with lots of nutrients like polyphenols, flavonoids and saponins which are all responsible for calming the central nervous system and providing whole health benefits.   Some of the other nutrients in guayusa are calcium, zinc, magnesium and vitamins D & C.   

The benefits of guayusa:

While doing research I found a couple of good websites which go into further detail about guayusa, how to brew the tea for consumption and how to purchase from a reputable, organic source.  I will link them right hereand here. 

I plan on purchasing some guayusa  to keep in my tea cupboard (yes I said cupboard) J.  I enjoyed the tea immensely not to mention I’m interested in seeing if the lucid dreaming part is real!

Peace & Wellness!