Harvesting Acai Berries

Due to popular demand, large companies in the United States and other countries are now importing the acai berry from the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil. The resulting products are wide ranging, tapping into the expensive juice, smoothie and supplement market.

Fortunately, the destruction of trees is not necessary, because twice a year the acai palm produces hundreds of tiny, purple berries, so growth is actually encouraged. Aside from a valuable export crop the acai berry continues to be a large part of the traditional native diet.

Acai dishes are often served in gourds called “cuias.”

A popular way to eat it in southern Brazil is cold, mixed with granola, known as acai na tigela (acai in the bowl”). In the north the preference is mixing it with tapioca, to be served either sweet or salty.

The acai berry is mainly seed surrounded by pulp with the fruit itself only making up 10% of the actual berry. The process of separating the seed from the pulp produces an edible, thick puree. Depending on the destination it can be freeze- dried into powder form, dried, left as pulp or made into juice.

Harvesting the berries is not for those with vertigo issues as the long, skinny trunk can stretch as high as 25 meters into the rainforest canopy. The life span of the berry is only 24 hours so it is vital that the gathering is done quickly and efficiently. Boats, laden with berry filled baskets are usually transported overnight to local towns and processing plants.

The mass production by these small village farmers is shown above, during a trip to Brazil by one of the founders of Innocent Drinks.