| By :
Nadine Davis
Copyright (c) 2010 Nadine Davis "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story" was something that Energy Drinks didn't really think much about when they first brought V Guarana to the consumer market, although everyone agreed that a fun drink should have a fun marketing edge. So here follows the story of V Guarana. In the interests of accuracy, fact has been separated from fiction, although the truth is not as much fun as the legend. Legend: Enter the Vigoratis - a tribe of Amazons who were surprisingly short, but could work all day, party all night, and still find the energy to build monuments to their gods. The centre of their village was encircled by guarana plants, and the morning warm beverage was brewed from the guarana seeds themselves, giving them the energy to keep building temples - under the supervision of their architect, Vita-Laze. One day Vita-Laze missed his morning guarana. To cut a long story short, the temple building that followed was a disaster and he was banished from the tribe. Taking only a few guarana plants, he paddled down the Amazon and reached New Zealand, an extraordinary feat of navigation considering that the Amazon empties into the Atlantic Ocean and not the Pacific. Regardless of that, on landing he was apprehended by the local natives and was able to save himself by giving the tribe chief a drink of his brew. The chieftain experienced his first burst of energy, and commissioned Vita-Laze to supply his warriors so he could pillage and conquer. The secret brew was handed down through the generations until today, when it is still produced as V, in honour of the Vigoratis and Vita-Laze. Truth: V is produced from guarana extract made from the ground seeds of the guarana plant. The origin of this plant is the Amazon basin, and for many years (centuries in fact) it has been used by native tribes for the purposes of increasing mental awareness and creating stamina. It grows naturally in the rain forest on a vine which can reach 10 metres high. When grown in open areas it becomes a tree 2 to 3 metres high. The orange or red fruit forms in clusters and splits open when it's ripe, revealing a white fleshy substance around the seed. When the ripe fruit is hanging from the tree, it looks like watching eyes, which is probably quite scary for anyone lost in the Amazon. Even though the truth is not as interesting as the legend, consumers of V Guarana can still be thankful that Frucor Beverages saw its potential as a market rival to other energy drinks, and decided to manufacture V Guarana for the Australasian market. Energy Drinks also came on board by including V Guarana in its product range, and it is now available throughout South East Queensland.
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