CoffeeFruit™ cascara coffee cherry extract by AFS

The Future of Nootropic Caffeine

AmaTea® Max Organic Guayusa Extract

Not all caffeine is equal. AmaTea® Max comes from Guayusa (Ilex guayusa), hailed as an Amazonian “super leaf” thanks to exceptional antioxidant properties and unique caffeine content. We developed a patented extraction process to enhance the plant’s naturally occurring compounds to provide a nootropic ingredient that delivers a bright, balanced, and cognitively uplifting energy experience. Numerous peer-reviewed journals have published articles on this impressive ingredient’s efficacy and safe use. However, for added peace of mind, AFS hired an independent lab to conduct its safety data and submit it to the FDA for review, receiving a historical first “no questions letter” recognizing its GRAS status for safe usage in food and beverage applications.

Inquire Here

Clinically Studied In:

Mood & Daily Focus

Sports Nutrition

Esports

Mood & Daily Focus

Try the feel good energy from AmaTea® Max

Mood scores were assessed using VAS and SHS validated testing methods.^[i]

Results assessed using Serial-Sevens tasks, a validated method for testing attention and concentration.^[i]

Data based on the N-Back task, a validated method for testing working memory.^[i]

Results assessed using VAS validated testing methods.^[i]

Mood scores were assessed using VAS and SHS validated testing methods.^[i]

Consumers are giving more importance to their mental well-being, and hence, they are looking for products that can help them feel good, stay mentally focused, and improve productivity throughout the day. AmaTea® Max has undergone numerous clinical trials that have demonstrated its impressive effects in enhancing mental acuity and mood. This ingredient is an excellent choice for products that aim to improve focus, concentration, memory, and overall sense of happiness for daily life.

Feel good energy. Brands that contribute to our sense of joy, mental clarity, and happiness add value to our everyday experience. AmaTea® Max provides a bright and cognitively uplifting energy experience that is tangibly different from other forms of caffeine.

Stay focused throughout the day. Empower your customers to navigate daily tasks with more concentration and mental bandwidth. AmaTea® Max enhances attention, memory, focus, and mental stamina.

Productivity. Foster a composed mindset for effective problem-solving and decision-making. AmaTea® Max improves concentration for better multitasking with more cognitive precision.

Sports & Active Nutrition

Nootropic energy for physical performance with AmaTea® Max

Motorspeed determined using Go/No-Go stimuli testing. Psychomotor speed assessed using N-Back reaction times.^[i]

Results through Go/No-Go Stimuli, N-Back time per score, and Serial-Sevens attempted.^[i]

Data assessed using POMS validated testing method for energy and fatigue.^[iii]

Get “In The Zone”

Flex Your Focus. Keeping your eye on the prize requires complete attention and focus. AmaTea® Max supports athletes with quicker mental processing, increased energy, and improved concentration with fewer mental errors.

Cognitive Control. Be the calm within the storm. Athletes need to keep their composure without the nervous side effects associated with synthetic caffeine. AmaTea® Max responds differently than typical forms of caffeine, providing sharp mental energy while allowing the body to remain in a more controlled physical state.

Seconds Matter. Maximum performance starts in the brain, calculating how quickly athletes can process information and physically react to it. AmaTea® Max sharpens reaction time and cognitive response rate while providing more immediate memory recall and rapid decision-making.

Drive to Keep Going. Success comes down to motivation and a willingness to keep pushing. In a trailblazing study with female athletes, AmaTea® Max significantly improved readiness and motivation to exercise.

Cognitive Focus in Esports

Evaluating Gaming Performance with AmaTea® Max

AFS recently partnered with the University of Memphis College of Health Sciences to conduct a first-of-its-kind gaming study to determine the effect of AmaTea® Max on mood, cognitive measures, and gaming performance. Gamers underwent a battery of reliable and validated cognitive tests designed to fatigue the subject mentally. Throughout a combined six hours of gameplay and nootropic testing, subjects were scored on sustained energy, jitters, reaction time, gaming performance (kills/scores), and cognitive performance.

Based on 270 mg of active caffeine.^[v]

Experience Fewer Jitters
Active gamers using AmaTea® Max showed no increase in jitters compared to gamers on synthetic caffeine, which significantly increased jitters.

Increase Your Stamina
Gamers using AmaTea® Max showed reduced mental fatigue with increased vigor for more energy, effort, and enthusiasm.

Enhance Your Focus
AmaTea® Max helped gamers as they showed improvements in reaction time, cognitive performance, and greater kills per match.

Inquire Below

AFS has built a sustainable supply chain of responsibly sourced guayusa through cooperatives run by indigenous farmers across Ecuador. Rather than industrial plantations, we work with thousands of independent farming families from more than ninety different communities to source our guayusa.

Read Our Story

US 10,300,097 B2

Formulation Benefits

Dry Extract
Shelf Stable
Water Soluble
USDA Organic
GRAS approved
Sweet Tea-Like Flavor

Applications

Beverages

Powders

Stickpacks

Supplements

Pods

Foods & Confections

Flavor

Guayusa is technically very different than other teas in that it lacks a heavy tannin or bitter fraction that would typically cause the astringent, dry-chalky flavor profiles. Instead, guayusa provides a pleasant, almost sweet tea-like flavor.

Certifications

USDA Organic is a labeling term that indicates that the food or other agricultural product has been produced through approved methods. The organic standards describe the specific requirements that must be verified by a USDA-accredited certifying agent before products can be labeled USDA organic.

Generally recognized as safe (GRAS) is a United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) designation that a chemical or substance added to food is considered safe by experts, and so is exempted from the usual Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) food additive tolerance requirements.

STAR-K Kosher Certification is a guarantee that food products and ingredients meet all kosher requirements.

This ingredient does not to contain genetically modified material.

This ingredient does not to contain Gluten.

Halal certification states that the food or the products are permissible for the followers of Islam and no haram product or procedure is used while it's manufacturing or processing.

The United Natural Products Alliance (UNPA) is an international association representing more than 100 best-in-class natural products, dietary supplement, functional food, and scientific and technology and related service companies that share a commitment to providing consumers with natural health products of superior quality, benefit and reliability.

Applied Food Sciences is a member of American Botanical Council (ABC) in the interest in herbal research and education. ABC is an independent, nonprofit research and education organization dedicated to providing accurate and reliable information for consumers, healthcare practitioners, researchers, educators, industry and the media.

Safety First

Applied Food Sciences achieved a historical first for a natural caffeine-containing botanical when they received a “no questions letter” from the FDA recognizing the safe use of guayusa in approved food and beverage applications through its GRAS analysis (Generally Recognized as Safe).

Think our premium ingredients are a right fit for your next formulation? Submit an inquiry and let us help you succeed with your next project.

Applied Food Sciences is a supplier and wholesaler of bulk organic, functional ingredients for the natural products industry. AFS manufactures its specialty botanical extracts for use in food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and nutritional supplements. Whether you are seeking extracts, powders, or concentrates, you can rest assured that, with over 20 years of experience, AFS can support your project needs.

Inquiry Form

Enhancing Nootropics – Study Shows Cognitive Benefits from Guayusa and Lion’s Mane

Apr 1, 2024

Effects from Guayusa and Lion’s Mane were evaluated on 40 healthy adults in attention, working memory, mental processing speed, and mood.

The Story of Guayusa

Apr 13, 2022

We want to share our story about the broader impact that sourcing botanicals can have on communities. This article tells the story of a novel Amazonian tea and its incredible impact on the indigenous people that...

You also might like:

Organic Green Coffee

+ DETAILS

Organic Green Tea

+ DETAILS

Functional Mushroom

+ DETAILS

Functional Mushroom

+ DETAILS

More Ingredients

Citations

^[i] La Monica MB, Raub B, Ziegenfuss EJ, Hartshorn S, Grdic J, Gustat A, Sandrock J, Ziegenfuss TN. Acute Effects of Naturally Occurring Guayusa Tea and Nordic Lion’s Mane Extracts on Cognitive Performance. Nutrients. 2023 Dec 6;15(24):5018. doi: 10.3390/nu15245018. PMID: 38140277; PMCID: PMC10745489.

^[ii] Chronic Supplementation on Physically Active Females. The University of Iowa. Unpublished data available upon request.

^[iii] Acute, Dose-Response Effects of Organic Guayusa Extract on Mood, Cognitive and Motor-Cognitive Performance, and Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, and Ventricular Repolarization. The University of Iowa. Unpublished data available upon request.

^[iv] Bloomer RJ, Martin KR, Pence JC. Impact of AmaTea® Max on physiological measures and gaming performance in active gamers: A placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized study. J Clin Transl Res. 2022 Mar 1;8(2):93-102. PMID: 35392125; PMCID: PMC8983391.

^[v] Krieger DR, Kalman DS, Feldman S, Arnillas L, Goldberg D, Gisbert O, Nader S. The Safety, Pharmacokinetics, and Nervous System Effects of Two Natural Sources of Caffeine in Healthy Adult Males. Clin Transl Sci. 2016 Oct;9(5):246-251. doi: 10.1111/cts.12403. Epub 2016 Jun 20. PMID: 27320048; PMCID: PMC5350996.