What wasn’t included in the box—was the flavor.
Not the actual flavor of the berry, which doesn’t taste like much. In fact, the only place in Brazil where they eat pure açaí is at its source in Belem, where the Amazon meets the Atlantic. Açaí loses it antioxidants 24 hours post-harvest. Therefore its be pulverized or frozen and shipped to coastal cities around Brazil, the majority of the population resides.
The best way to enjoy the flavor is how the locals do, mixed with a day of the beach, sun, soccer, and volleyball, or even futevôlei, a combination of the two. In Rio de Janeiro, juice stands line the streets of Copacabana, Ipanema, and Botofogo. Açaí can come in a cup as a thick purple juice or “Na tigela,” in a bowl, heaping with granola, honey, and banana. It’s the perfect uplift after a day in the sun. It’s also a known aphrodisiac, not that the sexy Cariocas (Rio natives) need any help in that department.
The Açaí Legend
A tribal king’s daughter supposedly discovered açaí. As the legend goes, a tribe near modern-day’s Belem city, at the mouth of the Amazon River, was near starvation. In order to ameliorate the deficit, the king ordered all of the children to be sacrificed, including his own granddaughter. The night before the children were sacrificed, his daughter, Iaca, heard a cry and found her daughter wrapped around a tree trunk. Her soul was gone, but there was a smile on her face and her eyes, black like the berries, were staring up at the fruit on the tree. The king ordered the fruit to be harvested and he named it Açaí, Iaca reversed.
Açaí in Rio
Carlos Gracie, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu master was responsible for the initial spread of açaí. Grazie learned jiu-jitsu from a Japanese teacher, and he brought the sport to Rio when his family moved there in 1921. The Grazie family brought açaí to eat. Their admirers, impressed by their fighting skills, began to eat the superfood to increase their stamina. Since then, it evolved into the beachside staple that it is today.
Best Bowls of Açaí in Brazil
Canoa Quebrada, Ceara: Açaí Barraca
At the Açaí barraca, or cabana, in Canoa Quebrada, Renatinho serves in a half coconut shelled, mixed with milk, honey and cinnamon. Surfers at Praia do Pipa near Natal eat a bowl everyday for lunch to keep them nourished and energized for a day amongst the waves.
Rio de Janeiro: Big Nectar
Big Nectar is one of the many juice bars in Copacabana and Ipanema (Rua Teixeira de Melo, 34, loja A, Ipanema.) Cariocas load their açaí with guaraná for an extra pick-you-up, that is if one of the locals already hasn’t.
Praia do Pipa
On Rua Praia do Amor, on the way to the cliffs that overlook the beach, there is a small sandwich and açaí shack. Monkeys hang about, hoping to get a slice of banana from the top of the surfers’ bowls.
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