Costa Rican Guava / Guayaba agria

Guayaba agria is a small, evergreen tree native to Mexico, Panama, and Colombia whose height reaches about 10 meters. This tree is sometimes cultivated for its fruit, usually as an ornamental plant. Its small, sour, and aromatic fruits are 3 to 5 cm in diameter on average. Its flesh is hard, crunchy, and green when young and becomes soft and grainy with a yellow color when ripe.

Guayaba agria is an excellent vitamin C and fiber source and contains vitamin A, potassium, iron, calcium, B vitamins, and phosphorus. At the same time, they are natural antioxidants high in polyphenolic chemicals.

Young green guayabas can be sprinkled with salt and eaten as a crunchy snack. Ripe, sour guavas can be added to salads, water, smoothies, and cocktails. Guava can also be incorporated into jams, jellies, syrups, and honey; used to flavor cakes, flans, pastries, ice cream, and syrups; and used in spicy sauces for roast meats and seafood.

Guayaba agria shows a robust and rapid transition from seedling to maturity. Its adaptability to different soil conditions, coupled with its resistance to drought, underlines its ease of cultivation. Given its evergreen nature, Guayaba agria makes a significant contribution to environmental enrichment and sustainability. 

The fruit of this plant is used in the food industry to prepare jam and fruit juice. 

Annual Yield

A tree can produce about 22 to 130 kg of fruit annually. 

• Guayaba agria strengthens the immune system,  
• It produces collagen,   
• It also reduces inflammation,  
• Due to its abundant fiber, it is effective in regulating the digestive system,  
• Its vitamin A helps maintain the healthy function of the body,  
• Its potassium is effective in balancing the fluid level in the body,  
• It is taken with drinks as a natural diuretic & also facilitates the elimination of toxins,
• It has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity and is effective for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.