The acai berry (pronounced "aw-saw-ee") is a small dark purple (sometimes wine-colored) fruit that looks a bit like a grape and is slightly smaller and rounder. It grows in the tropical rain forests of Brazil and Bolivia where it has been a part of the local diet for hundreds of years. Its name (in Portuguese) is actually spelled açaí.

This photo isn't mine. You can get it at istockphoto.com

Acai berries grow on a type of palm tree called the Euterpe oleracea and are related to berries that grow in other parts of the world like cranberries and blueberries. They have a very unusual acidic berry flavor mixed with a creamy flavor some describe as being similar to chocolate. In Bolivia acai has more of a deep grape-y sort of flavor ending in a rather dry-ish semolina-ish flavor. Sometimes I even think it has a little rhurbarb-ish sort of flavor.

It's not a fruit you can eat as is. Juices are usually made with sugar or "miel de caña" (that's what we call a sort of sugar cane syrup we use down here) or they mixed with other fruits. Powdered acai is mixed into teas, added to other juices, or milk, yogurt and other foods. I usually add a tablespoon or two to my morning cup of "trimate" (that a tea made from three things: coca leaf, chamomile and anise).

Acai berries are a good source fiber and heart-healthy fats. They also have aminoacids, vitamins, proteins and minerals as well as Omega 6 and Omega 9 (rarely seen in fruit). But the acai berry is most known for its incredible anti-oxidant qualities. It has over 30 times more antioxidants than red wine. In fact, it has such a high concentration of antioxidants and so many other good qualities it is now being touted as the number one superfood on Earth!

Because the acai berry has become so popular around the world now that more is becoming known about its qualities, people have a lot of questions about the health benefits of acai berry products. We'll try to answer some of them here.