Guayusa (pronounced "gwhy-yoo-sa") is the leaf of a holly tree found almost exclusively in the Amazon rainforests of Ecuador. It contains as much caffeine as coffee but produces a 600% lower adrenaline spike, providing energy and focus but without the jittery side effects. Guayusa has been cherished by Ecuador's indigenous communities for centuries. Each morning before sunrise, people of the local Kichwa culture gather as a community to drink an infusion of guayusa and share their dreams from the night before, whilst planning the day of work ahead. They believe guayusa is a gift from their ancestors that will help them remember their dreams, heighten theirphysical and spiritual awareness, align them with spirits of the forest, and bring them success in hunting. Since 2010, guayusa has started to become discovered outside of Ecuador and is now becoming known for its unique energy effect as well as smooth taste. The growing demand is supporting the smallholder indigenous farmers that grow guayusa whilst demonstrating their more sustainable form of rainforest agriculture on a larger scale.

Do you ship to my country?

We currently ship most easily to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. However if you're in another country and would like to try the product then we can send orders, but the shipping cost is a bit high at €25 for Rest of Europe and €35 for Rest of World! But we're working on getting the product more easily accessible further abroad so stay tuned!Irish orders are dispatched next business day with An Post and so typically arrive 1-3 business days after you order.

How much caffeine is in a can?

Each can contains 115mg of caffeine, all coming from an infusion of the guayusa leaf. For comparison, a flat white has about 136mg of caffeine, whilst a cup of brewed coffee has about 90mg of caffeine, so this sits right in the middle. It's also worth noting that the effect of guayusa is much calmer than coffee or synthetic energy drinks (check the next FAQ to see why!)

Why does guaysua give a different kind of energy?

The energy from guayusa feels different, and a recent study gives some explanation as to why. It showed how caffeine from guayusa produces a 600% lower adrenaline spike than caffeine from coffee or synthetic sources. Adrenaline is a stress hormone responsible for the anxious feeling that some people experience with coffee and synthetic energy drinks. By not triggering adrenaline but still enhancing neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, guayusa gives you a lift in focus and mood without the jittery side effects or the crash. And the good news this isn't just something seen in biomarkers. It's something you can really feel.

Yes! We don't use any animal-based products in our drink. Whilst some see the word "kefir" and think of milk kefir, our cans are made using water kefir. Water kefir is like milk kefir's vegan cousin - it has a lot of the same gut-loving benefits, but only uses water and fruit juice as the base of fermentation.

Do you filter or pasteurize your cans?

Nope! Unfortunately these practices have become common in the kombucha and water kefir industry. The problem is that they remove or kill all the beneficial bacteria from the drink, and so remove all the benefits. By not doing this, we ensure that the beneficial bacteria are really in every can!

How is it sugar free if you add fruit juices?

Great question! The sugars in the fruit juices are almost entirely consumed by the water kefir crystals during the fermetation process. This means only a trace level (less than half a gram per can) are left over!

Our Story

"NU" means to reimagine traditions in a modern way

CONOR'S DISCOVERY

In 2018 I got a gift of guayusa tea from my Ecudorian friend Martin. My housemate Fionn and I started brewing it every day before work because we loved how it made us feel: alert and switched on but also more present, without the usual anxiety and crash of other caffeine sources.

It also tasted great, was packed with health benefits and was supporting sustainable agriculture in the Amazon. So, the big question for us was - why don't more people know about this?

TAKING THE LEAP

We felt guayusa was too good for people not to know about it, so we eventually rolled up the sleeves and launched NU -Ireland's first guayusa brand. We've been preaching the good preach about this little leaf ever since, even being featured in The Irish Times.

GERRY'S MAGIC

We wanted to make it easy for people to enjoy guayusa, so a ready-to-drink product made sense. But guayusa comes from the rainforest, so it didn't seem right to mix it with the synthetic ingredients of most energy drinks. We wanted to create something as natural as possible, and with health benefits rather than just being lower calorie or "less bad" for you.

Doing this while creating a shelf stable product that tastes great isn't easy. But after more than a year of searching for the right manufacturing partner, we landed on our feet with Gerry. Over 10 years, he had perfected a method for making great-tasting, gut-friendly & low-calorie drinks from nothing but herbal infusions and real fruit juices, preserved and enhanced with live gut-friendly cultures from water kefir fermentation.

All our cans are crafted with care at his bespoke water kefir brewery on the North-East coast of Ireland, withour sugar or any artificial ingredients. Just herbs, live cultures, real juices, a touch of Celtic sea salt, and a passion for creating something new and needed.

KICHWA INSPIRATION

Our mission goes beyond just feel-good energy drinks. With each purchase, you're supporting indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon who are cultivating guayusa trees using time-honoured agroforestry techniques that demonstrate a sustainable way to blend human needs with those of nature.

With your help, we want to grow the popularity of guayusa so that these communities can increase their incomes whilst demonstrating their sustainable agriculture on a larger scale, something that is needed more and more in a time when monocrop agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation in the Amazon.

YOU?

We're only just getting started, and we'd love to have more people along for the journey! Do you have an idea for how we can collaborate?

Then reach out and let's see what we can do!

CONTACT US

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