Yuppies, gym bunnies and jujitsu masters alike have been drinking in the juice of the Brazilian superfruit acai.  Like surveillance cameras silently moving into our downtowns, I’ve noticed an increased presence of acai drinks not only in health food stores but pharmacies, corner delis, and even a rest stop on the Garden State Parkway.  And it doesn’t end with beverages.  Acai now finds its way into energy bars, sorbets, ice creams, smoothies and nutritional supplements, promising health benefits from antioxidants and anthocyanins, which help prevent pretty much any condition from cataracts to heart disease.

The acai berry, primarily grown in the Amazon region, was hardly known outside of Brazil 15 years ago.    While acai production was almost decimated in the 1980s, forests have been replenished and acai has become a lucrative commercial business in a rapidly expanding global market.  Traditionally, every part of the acai tree is used for crafts, construction and for making everyday products such as brooms.  The fruit itself is used in folk medicine and for homemade “acai wine,” and only recently has become the drink of choice for health conscious types looking for a high calorie, low fat energy drink.  You’ve heard that a glass of red wine is good for you and contains many antioxidants.  Acai pulp is like that, except with thirty times as many antioxidants.

I had my first taste of acai, appropriately enough, in Brazil in the form of a chilled acai tapioca smoothie accompanying breakfast, courtesy of the brilliant and passionate chef Yara Castro Roberts, evangelist and expert in the cuisines of Brazil. (More on her in an upcoming piece).  The next day, on a jungle walk to a cachaca distillery, I saw an elegantly swaying acai tree up close.  The acai is a type of palm tree, about 25 meters tall.  The round, deep purple acai berries grow on tentacle-like fronds that resemble giant inverted dustmops clinging to the top of a tree.  Black, smushed berries stained the nearby ground.   A few days later, wandering aimlessly through Rio de Janeiro,  I came across an open-air cafe and ice cream shop where I sampled rich, purple acai ice cream – It was intense, but enjoyable, tasting like a combination of blackberry and cola flavors, and not too sweet.   This was a long way from the 500 ounce “Acai Supercharger” at Jamba Juice.

 
In New York, I often find acai blended with pomegranate or blueberry juice, that while delicious, makes it difficult to discern the acai flavor.   When I came across some straight acai, I bought it and kept it in my refrigerator for longer than I care to admit.  It was like a special bottle of Chateauneuf-du-Pape and I was waiting for just the right occasion to open it.  Finally, an impromptu cocktail party got me to crack open the acai, making it the main ingredient.   On its own, acai can have a sweet, heavy, herbal taste.   So we balanced out our cocktail with lots of fresh lime and orange juice.  After some pathetic bartending on my part, and major futzing with the ingredients, we came out with a refreshing cocktail that with its acai and cachaca, was our makeshift tribute to Brazil.  

This got me thinking.  Like the pomegranate martini and the cosmopolitan before it, will the acai cocktail (working title: Acai of Relief) be just another fruity booze fad or will it join Brazil’s famous caipirinha as a fully legitimized palliative?   With its unquestionable health benefits, an acai cocktail makes a traditional cosmopolitan look like Tab and a pomegrante martini like Ovaltine.   Should we expect to see $16 acai martinis or acai margaritas offered in hotel bars this summer?   Furthermore, will dried acai berries be as overhwhelmingly popular as craisins (dried cranberries) in the early 80s?  (And would they be called acaisins?)  Perhaps one day my farmers’ market will have an acai stand, in the way there is a wheat grass stand today.  The acai has come this far, I don’t think it’s going anywhere. 

Here’s a loose approximation of my first ever acai cocktail experiment.  A word to the wise: acai may help combat macular degeneration, but it won’t prevent your hangover.

Acai of Relief

3 oz cachaca
3 oz acai juice
2 oz orange juice
2 oz lime juice
2 oz club soda
2 T agave nectar
2 T fresh chopped mint
mint sprig for garnish

Combine first six ingredients.  Mottle chopped mint with this mixture to release its flavor.  Strain and pour mixture over ice.  Garnish with mint sprig.