Indigenous & Historical Use

Traditionally, in indigenous communities, people wake up at dawn to drink Guayusa and connect as a family before the day begins. They sit around the communal fire drinking from gourds full of Guayusa. During this peaceful time in the early morning, the elders teach the youth about ancestral myths and legends, cultural values and simply share time together as a family.

The indigenous people actually refer to Guayusa as “Dream Tea” for its effect of helping promote a restful sleep, lucid dreaming and better dream recall. In testament to Guayusa’s revered status throughout South America, a 1,500 year old bundle of Guayusa leaves was found by Harvard ethnobotonist Richard Evans Shultes in a medicine man’s tomb high in the Bolivian Andes far beyond the native range of this plant.