Chewing Coca leaves is a common practice in the Andes mountain range, especially Peru. It has a slight numbing effect to the central nervous system, nothing like the narcotics we know. It helps when your doing backbreaking farm labor all day. The Spanish Conquistaors also fed their native mine-workers(slaves) coca leaf so they could work until they died.

I wonder why Coke is being so tight-lipped.... I thought it was well-known that when they first started making Coke it had coca extract in it. I even seem to remember seeing a show recently on the food channel that said so.

Here's a good run-down of just exactly how much cocaine Coca-Cola did have in it:

http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/cocaine.asp

Basically, early on, yes, it did. It was removed as awareness started to spread that it might not be good if your soft drink has blow in it.

But you'd be surprised at what was sold as over-the-counter medicine back then.

Isn't that just Mate de Coca by another name... like everyone drinks in Columbia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia?

That is a tea, this one is a soft drink.

Indeed, I know. It's just cold (fizzy) water...

about time those columbians took back the title of cocaine beverage makers.

somebody better call tyrone.

When I was in Peru last this spring they had this energy drink called vortex. It was like a red bull with coca in it.

Sorry to be petty, but can we start spelling the country as "Colombia" instead of "Columbia;" as Columbia, interestingly enough, according to Wikipedia, is "a poetic name for the United States and its nineteenth century female personification?"

Thanks. Carry on the thread. I've tasted coca-infused drinks in ColOmbia before -- and they're great!

[Edited on Dec 18, 2005 3:12AM]

my bad...sorry.

Drinkable coke kills all the fun... snoring it is so much trendier ah!

Secret recipes always make me think of "Soilent Green"

As far as secret recipies go, I've been there for a few years and coca leaves aren't part of the mix. Yeah you wish.