FAQs about Guayusa & caffeinated drinks

Introduction

This page brings together the key information about Ilex guayusa tea in a quick and easy-to-read FAQ. Follow the links to in-depth articles where you can read more or watch a video.

This article is updated regularly.

Contents

1. What is guayusa?
2. What are the effects of guayusa?
3. What active compounds and ingredients does guayusa contain?
4. Where does guayusa come from?
5. How much caffeine does guayusa tea contain?
6. What are nootropics?
7. What are lucid dreams?
8. What are dream herbs?
9. What is ayahuasca?
10. How is guayusa tea grown and processed?
11. How do I prepare guayusa tea?
12. Why doesn’t guayusa tea taste bitter?
13. How long should guayusa tea steep?
14. What advantages does guayusa have over other pick-me-ups?
15. Who are the Kichwa people?

1. What is guayusa?

Guayusa, also called Ilex guayusa or Waysa, is a holly from Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest. The local Kichwa people use it as a pick-me-up.

Find out more in our article: What is guayusa?

2. What are the effects of guayusa?

Guayusa’s effects differ fundamentally from those of other caffeinated drinks. This is attributed to its particularly balanced combination of active compounds and ingredients. Its effect is described as a “state of relaxed alertness”.

Find out more in our article: What are the effects of guayusa tea?

3. What active compounds and ingredients does guayusa contain?

The main active compounds are caffeine, theobromine, theophylline, L-theanine and antioxidants. Guayusa also contains plenty of protein, vitamins and minerals.

Find out more about its ingredients and their effects in our article: Ingredients in guayusa tea

4. Where does guayusa come from?

Guayusa comes from Ecuador’s Amazon rainforest. There are also guayusa farmers in border areas near Colombia and Peru, but most guayusa comes from Ecuador.

If you’d like to learn about Kichwa myths and legends surrounding guayusa’s origins, we recommend this article: Guayusa origins – myths and legends

5. How much caffeine does guayusa tea contain?

Guayusa tea contains up to 7.6% caffeine by dry weight, the highest value ever measured. Its average caffeine content is around 3.2%. Guayusa is therefore the world’s most caffeinated leaf, from which the world’s most caffeinated drink can be made.

You can compare caffeinated drinks in our free e-book: Pick-me-up comparison

or in our blog article: The world’s most caffeinated drink

6. What are nootropics?

“Nootropics are supplements intended to improve memory, focus and concentration, as well as overall cognitive performance.”

Learn more about nootropics in our article: Modafinil, Ritalin and NZT: effects and alternatives

7. What are lucid dreams?

Lucid dreams are dreams in which you know that you are dreaming. Experienced lucid dreamers can control their dreams, relive experiences, learn things and do things that are impossible in ordinary life, such as flying, floating or breathing underwater.

Our in-depth article takes you on a journey into this fascinating world: What are lucid dreams and how can you have them?

8. What are dream herbs?

Dream herbs are specific plants used to stimulate dreams and increase the likelihood of having a lucid dream. Guayusa is one such dream herb. That may sound confusing at first, since it is also the world’s most caffeinated leaf, but its distinctive combination of active compounds allows the mind to stay active at night and enter a dream.

You’ll find everything about different dream herbs in our comparison of well-known dream herbs.

9. What is ayahuasca?

Ayahuasca is a widespread spiritual healing practice in South America in which several plants are brewed together into an ayahuasca tea. The tea is consumed and causes intense hallucinations which, like LSD, can offer a deep insight into one’s own consciousness.

Some Amazonian communities use guayusa as part of this ritual to gain additional energy. Find out more about the ayahuasca ritual in our article (No, GUYA does not sell ayahuasca; Indigenous people use guayusa only as an energising ingredient): Ayahuasca ceremony and retreat – DMT and recipe

10. How is guayusa tea grown and processed?

Guayusa is grown in so-called permaculture systems, which are the opposite of monocultures. Depending on the intensity of the system, a handful, a dozen or even hundreds of useful plants are combined on one hectare to create a synergy.

GUYA works directly with farmers in Ecuador who grow guayusa exclusively in permaculture systems combining at least several dozen different crops. This helps protect the rainforest from further deforestation. We also work with the NGO YAKUM, which reforests cleared areas of the Amazon with permaculture systems that combine productive plants, combining at least 100 different species.

Find out more in our projects section and these articles:

1. Monocultures: definition, disadvantages and possible advantages
2. What does organic farming mean – monoculture vs permaculture

11. How do I prepare guayusa tea?

As with coffee, tea and cacao, there are many ways to prepare guayusa tea. We have several blog articles with recipes and instructions, as well as two short downloadable e-books.

1. Top 10 ways to prepare guayusa
2. Make a healthy energy drink at home – recipe ideas
3. 7 creative tea recipes from the Amazon: from iced tea to smoothie bowls
4. Guayusa ice brew for summer
5. E-book: 13 ways to prepare guayusa
6. E-book: 10 exclusive ways to prepare guayusa

12. Why doesn’t guayusa tea taste bitter?

Guayusa is the only caffeinated drink that contains little to no bitter compounds. With ordinary preparation (anything except boiling the leaves for a long time), it produces a full-bodied tea with a slightly earthy, forest-like note.

13. How long should guayusa tea steep?

It depends on the effect you want and which of our varieties you’re preparing. You’ll find our recommended steeping times in this article: Guayusa tea steeping times

or in our quick guide, which is less detailed.

14. What advantages does guayusa have over other pick-me-ups?

Guayusa combines important active compounds found in coffee, cacao and green tea. This combination produces its distinctive effect, which is pleasant despite its very high caffeine content and, unlike other caffeinated drinks, has no known side effects.

Find out more in these articles:

1. Tea without side effects
2. Comparison of tea varieties
3. Pick-me-up comparison e-book

15. Who are the Kichwa people?

Kichwa is the name given to Indigenous people in Ecuador and parts of Peru. For thousands of years, they have used guayusa tea every day as a crop and pick-me-up.

Find out more about Kichwa life in our article:

1. Life and traditions of the Kichwa people
2. Guayusa use by the Kichwa people
3. Guayusa origins – myths and legends
4. The Kichwa people’s coffee alternative