Acai Everywhere

By Jacy Wojcik in Food on Jan 9, 2009 8:33PM

We had our first taste of acai (ah-sigh-EE), in bowl form, from a Brazilian food stand in Oahu's north shore. There are many versions of acai bowls, but ours consisted of a sorbet-like substance made with acai pulp, topped with honey, granola and bananas. Simple, delicious, and a huge trend in southern Brazil, we became obsessed and wondered why we couldn't find this treat in Chicago.

Apparently, we spoke too soon. Though our South American friends have been eating the small, purple berry for quite some time, the past few years have brought the onslaught of acai to mainstream United States. And yes, it’s officially an onslaught when friggin' Oprah endorses it as the number one "superfood," Jamba Juice serves an acai smoothie and pop-ups for acai cure-all products outnumber Netflix pop-ups. (Note: Acai ads may be a scam, Netflix is not a scam and also awesome.)

The berry is noted for its high levels of antioxidants, fiber, essential fatty acids and practically every other healthy buzzword you can think of. Acai is officially the new pomegranate is the new blueberry is the new soy is the new oh-my-God when will it stop?!?! But a product that boosts such great health benefits is virtually unstoppable in our health crazed world, as evidenced by the increasing amount of acai-related products available including: tea, sorbet, juice, smoothies, and even alcohol.

Perhaps the company responsible for bringing the acai phenomenon to the states is Sambazon-a certified organic and “green” global leader in acai products. Sambazon was formed in 2000 when Ryan and Jeremy Black fell in love with the berry and noted its popularity during a trip to Brazil. Because fresh acai berries lose their nutritional value after about a day, the brothers brought frozen acai pulp back to the states and began selling it to juice bars and health clubs. Nine years later, you can find Sambazon products all over the damn place including Whole Foods, Treasure Island, vitamin supplement stores and according to the Sambazon website, is used at Charlie Trotters.

It's a good thing then that the founders of this multi-million dollar company have noted the impact they have on the Amazon region and are socially responsible- working with companies dedicated to fair trade pricing and creating the Sustainable Amazon Partnership, a "a public and private collaboration to promote lasting sustainable management of the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest." Concerns have been raised over a "green deforestation" of the Brazilian rainforest- cutting down trees to replace them with acai palms to accommodate the growing demand for the berry.

But Ryan Black states:

"The whole idea is to protect the biodiversity of the forest. The idea is not to clear-cut everything on the land and plant acai trees. We want to look back [in] 20 years and see that acai has been a positive force in the Amazon," Black says, "not just a fruit that became domesticated and found success at the price of the local people and their environment."

Until we get the chance to visit Brazil and try the berry fresh off the tree the way thousands of Brazilians eat it everyday (it's apparently tart and often served with fish), we will settle for the sweetened, frozen version to curb our craving. We're pretty sure a homemade acai bowl isn't going to give us the skin of a 12 year-old and we're not going to magically lose 30 pounds, but the fruity treat with hints of chocolate will brighten up a gray Chicago winter day. Especially if we set our heat at 80 degrees, wear a swimsuit and watch Riding Giants while we're eating it. (Not that we've done that before, of course...)

[LA Times]
photo by: huesaturation