Amazon Thunder, the makers of the finest açai berry products in the world, is here to inform you about the açai berry. Açaí Palm Euterpe is a genus of 25-30 species of palms native to tropical Central and South America, from Belize south to Brazil and Peru, growing mainly in floodplains and swamps. They are tall slender attractive palms growing to 15-30m tall, with pinnate leaves up to 3m long. The açai fruit is a small, round, black-purple berry similar in size to a grape. They are produced in branched panicles of 700-900 fruits. Its appearance is similar to that of a grape, but it has a smaller amount of pulp and a single large seed about 7–10mm in diameter. The genus is named after the muse Euterpe of Greek mythology. The vernacular name is also sometimes spelled Assai Palm in English.

Açaí berries are used (particularly Euterpe edulis) for their 'palm heart' eaten as a steamed dish, and (particularly Euterpe oleracea) for their highly-prized fruits that are rich in B vitamins, minerals (particularly iron)fiber, proteins and anthocyanin, a member of the flavonoid class of antioxidants (anthocyanins). The removal of the açai palm's heart (the soft inner growing tip) involves the inevitable death of the palm as its growing tip is removed, and it cannot recover. Some species are self suckering, not single stemmed, and produce multiple stems, sometimes up to 40 on one plant, so harvesting açai palm heart is not such an environmental problem as the original stock plant can live on. Açai berry harvesting is still an expensive and labor-intensive task, and so açai palm heart dishes are regarded as a delicacy more than a staple diet due to their high price, and therefore, palm's heart is sometimes called 'Millionaire's Salad'.

The juice and pulp of açaí fruits are used in delicious deep purple ice-cream resembling chocolate and are frequently used in various beverages. It can also be eaten raw or used as a condiment, most commonly with shrimp or manioc. It is considered one of the most nutritious fruits of the Amazon river and possibly the world, second to none! The açai palm leaves are often used in weaving and basket making.