Photo: Anna Premo, FAL (via Wikimedia Commons)
Guayusa
Ilex guayusa
Also known as Guayusa, Amazonian guayusa, Kichwa tea, Waisa
Key benefits
✦Traditional uses
✦For generations, Kichwa families of the Ecuadorian Amazon have risen in the dark hours before sunrise to share a pot of guayusa tea together, a ritual known as the guayusada. Elders and children alike gather around the fire to drink, talk over the night's dreams, and greet the day with a clear head, long before the rest of the world discovered caffeine in a cup. The leaves have traditionally been used to support alertness, ease digestion after meals, and provide a gentle boost of energy without the jitteriness some people associate with coffee. It has also long been valued as a plant of community, since guayusa is traditionally brewed and shared rather than drunk alone.
How to grow & use it
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“For the quiet hour before sunrise, when the house is still and the mind is ready to wake slowly.”
Guayusa has never been found growing truly wild. Every known stand traces back to cultivation by Amazonian communities, so botanists still are not entirely certain where the species originated before people began tending it.
Guayusa leaves are naturally rich in caffeine, so this is a genuine stimulant tea, not a mild infusion. Limit or avoid it during pregnancy and breastfeeding, in young children, and if you have a heart condition or are sensitive to caffeine, and don't combine it with other stimulants. If you take medication for heart rhythm, blood pressure, or mood, check with your doctor first.