Açaí is very popular in Brazil. It's usually consumed in a bowl with fruits and granola. However, can you believe that they transform açaí into coffee?
Hello, my dear friends of Hive and coffee lovers!
In today's post, I share an unusual experience that may even be a little controversial... For those who don't know me, I am Brazilian and I am lucky to live in a country that produces one of the best coffees in the world. However, these days I was at the supermarket and found an açai coffee. Oh! Wait?! WTF!
So, I found it so curious that I decided to try it and share a little bit about this coffee that, in fact, is not a coffee! Are you ready for this experience?
Açaí: powerful and delicious
Açaí is a small fruit from an Amazon palm tree that can reach up to 20 meters in height. Almost everything from this tree is used: the trunk, the palm heart, the leaves, and, of course, the tasty fruit, which is the basis for the production of a purple cream that is much appreciated by Brazilians.
Besides being delicious, açaí is rich in antioxidants, minerals, and vitamins. It is so energetic that is considered a "superfood" by nutritionists. In the north of the country, açaí is consumed with fish and is part of the main meals. In the rest of the country, açaí is consumed frozen, beaten in the form of creams or ice creams.
Açaí cream: this is the way we consume it
(font: https://www.ufrgs.br/laranjanacolher/2021/07/19/acai-um-alimento-funcional/)
Aça[i coffee
As soon as I saw it on the supermarket shelf, I found it very curious. When I read the label I discovered that the açaí coffee has nothing about coffee in its composition. In fact, it's the seed of the açaí fruit roasted and ground, so it would be more like an açaí brew than a coffee.
Of course, me, as a coffee and açaí lover, I wanted to try it, but I'll already give the spoiler ... The experience was somewhat frustrating.
Inside the packet, you find a black powder that looks very little like coffee. In addition to not having the same aroma, you notice that it comes with a few strands that I imagine are from the açaí seed itself.
As the powder is very fine, the best way to make this "coffee" was in the strainer. I use a stainless steel strainer for this kind of preparation. I put the powder inside, boiled the water, and put it in the açaí "coffee" powder.
It doesn't look much like coffee, but more like tea. The taste, unfortunately, is horrible. It is super astringent in the mouth and tastes like dirty water.
For me it is more like tea. What do you think?
On the package, they say that the açaí coffee, besides not containing caffeine, is rich in vitamins A, D, E, and K, among other minerals. The label also says that it is antioxidant, besides not having caffeine.
The experience
The marketing was good, but as a person who is passionate about coffee, the acai coffee is completely frustrating and very bad. I didn't think it was worth the experience. In fact, I got such a bad taste in my mouth that I ended up going for a real coffee at my favorite coffee shop after trying iy. I needed to erase this traumatic experience from my memory (drama queen).
Besides being a bad product, I also don't know if it will stay longer on the market. This is because Brazilian legislation understands that it can pass as a kind of misleading advertising, leading the consumer into error.
In addition, because coffee is a very strong commodity in Brazil, the Brazilian Association of the Coffee Industry prohibits products being marketed as coffee if they are not extracted from the fruit of the coffee tree.
They did great marketing. The package is nice and also says about the benefits of açai coffee
Açaí coffee, therefore, besides being a bad coffee, is also a controversial coffee.
If you find açaí coffee wherever you are, my tip is: run away because it's a trap! You might as well invest in the good old coffee!
To leave the trauma behind, I had to go for a latte and drip coffee in order to clean my soul
See you at the next coffee!
Caffeinated hugs