Brazilian Acai Berry

The acai berry comes from a palm tree deep within the Brazilian rainforest, Euterpe oleracea, growing as tall as 25 meters. Branches at the top have ribbon-like leaves and from these branches the acai berries hang in clusters.

The average tree branches into four to eight trunks, each 4 to 6 inches in diameter. It is not uncommon to find palms with as many as 25 trunks. The palm tree grows best in low-lit, swampy areas, such as the conditions found in the Brazilian rain forest, but it has been spread by animals throughout the Amazon basin. Each branch produces four to eight bunches of berries throughout the year. The largest fruit production occurs in the dry season. The acai palm starts producing fruit when it is about 4 to 5 years old.

The acai palm produces small, deep-purple, almost black, fruit. When ripe, the berries are about the size of a blueberry or grape. It is edible, and its pulp is used in wines, liqueurs, as flavoring, as colorant and of course, as juice and smoothies.

The acai palm was originally used for its palm hearts, taking the place of another palm that was harvested to near extinction. It is fortunate that the multiple trunks of the acai palm will grow back after they are removed.

Brazilian Acai Berry

Acai is used not only for food; the fronds are used to thatch homes and for weaving. Acai palms now provide most of the world’s palm hearts, but over-harvesting is a concern.

In the traditions of the local people acai berries were picked by hand. A tribe’s males would climb up the tree and cut the branches from the top where the acai berries are. Now that the amazing acai berry has been discovered by the outside world, it is a highly sought after crop and it is mass harvested.

Because the juice’s beneficial properties are active for only 24 hours, the acai berries must be loaded into baskets and onto boats as soon as possible after picking. Overnight transport gets it to the market in Belem, one of Brazil’s busiest ports.

An acai palm produces about 20 kilos of fruit per year. The wine produced from acai has become Brazil’s most important product after wood forest products. Belem employs more than 30,000 people to keep up with demand.

In addition to the brazilian acai berry's medicinal attributes, historically acai has been used as a great energy food. It was traditionally pulped to make a mineral-rich wine. Today these attributes are available in juice form in North America and other parts of the world.

http://www.excitingbrazil.com/brazilianacaiberry.html