Hi, I am looking for a source of guarana powder that is cheap. At least 3 members of my family are always drinking those Mother-type energy drinks and I thought I'd try and save them some $ by just mixing up cordial & guarana drinks myself.
Oh and do you really think the caffeine from Guarana is better than the caffeine from freshly brewed coffee?
All Caffeine is Caffeine, if it wasn't, it wouldn't be Caffeine!
It's all exactly the same chemically.
Anyone who tells you otherwise is a Hippy who has no scientific knowledge whatsoever.
Onto your point, Guarana powder is bitter, insoluble and brown and generally pretty disgusting. It's also incredibly expensive!
I work for a food manufacturer and we experimented with using it in a new product. Despite being Peppermint Flavoured (ie one of the strongest flavours around, usually capable of overpowering even the worst fishy tastes), we could not hide the bitter aftertaste and eventually gave up.
I dunno how the soft drink manufacturers add their Guarana Extract, but I suspect it is probably really just a caffeine extract from Guarana plants which would be water soluble..
Basically I'd be encouraging them to reduce their intake.. You're not supposed to drink more than 2 cans a day maximum!
Well, I found these sites:
http://www.aussievitamin.com/guarana-powder-1kg.html
http://www.xtremeherbs.com.au/herbs/energisers_energy-powder…
http://www.herbalserenity.com.au/herbal/product.php?producti…
…I've put them in order of price as there seems to be quite some difference between them.