Buy guarana: our tips for choosing well (2025)

Best guarana: our review

We analyzed 5 brands and selected the Guayapi brand’s guarana capsules.

Our selection criteria

• Origin: place where guarana is grown.
• Certifications : the labels and certifications obtained by the product and/or the brand.
• Price / day: the price for one day of treatment, at the brand’s recommended daily dose.
• Customer reviews: this average of customer reviews of the brand comes from the manufacturer’s site, review platforms, or marketplaces like Amazon.
• Our opinion on the brand: based on the tests of supplement brands that we conduct each month and the analysis of 6 criteria such as transparency and expertise.

The supplements selected below are made in France, without excipients or additives.

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OUR CHOICE

We selected Guayapi’s guarana capsules because it is the best product on the market in terms of quality and origin.

This organic guarana has been protected since 2016 by the Brazilian AOC “Warana”, the original name of guarana. It is cultivated in the Amazon by the Sateré Mawé Indians, who possess the ancestral know-how of cultivating this plant, and are the inventors of its domestication technique.

The Sateré Mawé Indians, in partnership with GUAYAPI since 1993, are the guardians of the global guarana gene bank.

We really like Guayapi and its corporate mission: the brand is dedicated to recognizing, promoting, and distributing wild-harvested plants from the Amazon and Sri Lanka.

Operating according to the principles of fair trade (a member and board director of Commerce Équitable France) and committed to three fundamental criteria (organic, environmental, and social), Guayapi is an active player in biodiversity restoration.

Use the code DARWIN10 at checkout to get 10% off.

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What are the benefits of guarana?

An energizing and stimulating seed

The guarana (Paullinia cupana) is a shrub native to the Amazon. Its red berries each contain a black seed, nicknamed ” eye of the forest “ because of its characteristic appearance. These are the seeds that are consumed for their medicinal properties.

Their benefits were already known to local populations in pre-Columbian times.

The seeds are a concentrated source of active compounds and nutrients: vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, proteins… But they mainly contain guaranine, a molecule similar to caffeine.

As shown by this study, it provides energy, stimulates the body and improves physical performance. All without the side effects of caffeine !

An overall effect on mental function

Guarana doesn’t only affect the body: it also supports the mind and boosts cognitive function. Thus, consuming it can improve concentration and memory. It also contributes to better learning.

Finally, guarana has a positive effect on mood. Like cocoa, it contains theobromine. By stimulating the production of serotonin, the happiness hormone, this molecule promotes mental well-being.

Where to buy guarana?

Organic stores

Guarana is offered in many health food stores: Naturalia, Biocoop… It is generally available in capsules, powder, or in energy drinks. Organic farming guarantees a product without pesticide residues, without GMOs, and unirradiated.

Pharmacies and parapharmacies

Prefer pharmacies and parapharmacies that have a ‘phytotherapy’ section. They often offer capsules. You can also find herbal formulas that combine guarana with maca or ginseng, for example.

Specialized brick-and-mortar stores

Retailers of dietary supplements and health food stores can sell capsules, powder, or guarana in drink form. Also consider herbal shops.

Specialized online shops and e-commerce sites

If you want to buy online (in capsules, powder, or as a drink), prefer online organic stores such as Kazidomi or La Fourche. Retailers, labs, and supplement brands also frequently offer it.

Also read the Discover the best online organic stores

Producers

Brazil alone supplies 95 % of the world’s production. It is followed by Venezuela, Paraguay and Uruguay. If possible, favor guarana grown by small producers and sourced from fair supply chains. The brand guayapi, for example, sells producer-direct, fair-trade guarana harvested from wild collections in the Brazilian Amazon.

In what form ?

In capsules and tablets

Capsules and tablets are made from guarana powder. It’s a convenient format, easy and quick to take. It is also useful if you don’t like the powder’s astringent taste.

In powder form

Once harvested, the whole seeds are ground into a fine powder. The powder is used in dishes and beverages (fruit juices, smoothies, energy drinks…). It has a rather sharp and bitter taste.

As a drink

Guarana is used in the manufacture of many beverages: energy drinks, smart drinks (energy beverages), slimming drinks… Unfortunately, they often contain additives or a lot of sugar. Preferably buy organic drinks or make your own drink at home using guarana powder.

What criteria should be considered ?

1. Guaranine content

Pour être pleinement efficace, le produit doit présenter une teneur suffisante en guaranine. Si vous optez pour des gélules ou comprimés, ils doivent être titrés à 12 % de guaranine minimum. Le mieux étant de privilégier le guarana en totum de plantes, avec une teneur en tanin à hauteur de 10 à 12 %.

2. Cultivation method

Choose guarana from organic farming that meets a strict set of standards. This way, you can be sure you’re buying a product without pesticide residues, non-GMO and non-irradiated.

3. Composition

Choose as natural a product as possible, without excipients or preservatives. It should also be without added caffeine synthetic and contain only guaranine.

4. Origin

Most of the guarana offered comes from Brazil, more precisely from the states of Amazonas, Mato Grosso and Bahia. It is valued for its quality and good guaranine content. If possible, favor small local productions and fair-trade supply chains.

5. Price

You should expect about €10 for 60 organic guarana capsules.

The powder is sold at around €10 per 100 g, the price increases if it is organic, fair-trade, or carries the AOC “Warana”.

In summary

To be sure of choosing quality guarana, check:

1. La teneur en guaranine : le produit doit être titré à 12 % de guaranine minimum pour les comprimés, pour le guarana en totum de plantes, la forme à privilégier, on recommande une teneur en tanin à hauteur de 10 à 12% ;
2. The cultivation method: favor organic farming or even wild harvesting.
3. La composition : choisissez un produit naturel, sans ajout de caféine synthétique ;
4. L’origine géographique : le guarana du Brésil présente une bonne qualité ;
5. Le prix : comptez environ 10€ pour 60 gélules ou 100 g de poudre, le double si le produit est labellisé (bio, équitable, AOC “Warana”…)

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