I always wanted to write an article about Coca tea and Coca tea culture in Bolivia, Peru and around South America. But, the truth is, I am very bad in writing. I can easily deal with thousand pages of financial spreadsheet but writing a page memo is a punishment to me. Anyway, here I go with my bad writing skill.
The consumption of coca tea is a common occurrence in many South American countries. The tea is often packaged in individual servings as tea bags which contain approximately 1 g of plant material.
Coca tea is an illegal drink in the US but officially we are allowed to drink it here for health reason. La Paz, Bolivia, that touches the sky, is an apt description. Located high above sea level, La Paz sits in a bowl surrounded by the high altiplano. La Paz as it grows climbs the hills resulting in varying elevations from 3000 to 4100 m. or almost 13,000 feet. Overlooking the city is towering triple-peaked Illimani, always snow covered and majestic. Two years ago, when I arrived here, I felt light headed, couldn't breath normally, struggling with bad headache, couldn't sleep because of the high altitude where the oxygen layer is very thin. I felt awful and coming from Washington DC's sea level made my life more difficult. The Embassy left an oxygen cylinder and I was taking oxygen in every hour. One of my local Bolivian colleague came to visit me with some Coca tea bags. Before coming here, I start taking Diamox(is a medication that forces the kidneys to excrete bicarbonate, the base form of carbon dioxide, this re-acidifies the blood, balancing the effects of the hyperventilation that occurs at altitude in an attempt to get oxygen). However, It wasn't working for me. I called our medical unit and they start considering me to sent back to Florida for a medical evacuation. I was frustrated because I never compromised with any kind of hardship political or environmental situation overseas. Once, the medical unite informed me that Coca Tea helps and it is legal to consume this tea in Bolivia, moreover, our Embassy will not take any legal action against me for drinking coca tea. It is not a drug until it has been processed with some other chemicals as a cocaine. I start drinking Coca tea and with in 7 days my body start adjusting with the high altitude. I have lost 40 lbs here because of little sleep which was pretty good because I gained few extra pounds in Africa and in the US during my 4 months of heavy food and Starbucks latte bad habits. Anyway, Coca tea saved my life and I agree this is a proper drink for the Bolivians and for some Peruvians. The world famous Inca ruin Machu Pichu is 15,000 feet above sea level and the Peruvian city Cusco is also almost 12,000 feet. Coca tea is part of their daily life and people use it as a medicine.
A huge debate between the US Government and some South American countries is well known. DEA(Drugs Enforcement Agency) working around latin America to eradicate Coca plants. However, specially Bolivian point of view is- Coca leaves is part of their heritage and culture. Coca leaves had never been a drug issue here because they didn't invent cocaine. Coca leaves are like any other leaves until you process it as cocaine. Hard debate and no straight forward answer to it. I am not interested to talk about politics here rather than the fact about Coca tea.
Taste:
Well, it is really smelly, heavily salty but full bodied hot drinks. As a result, I end up drinking more Trimate which is a combination of Coca leave, Mate Vana(I will write about Yerba Mate Vana tea culture some other time) and Chamomile. Many Bolivians simply chew Coca leaves for extra energy and this coca leaf truly gives extra energy and kills regular apatite.
History:
History indicates that the Spanish encouraged the local indigenous people to chew Coca leaves so they didn't have to provide them full bowl of rice or other food. Slavery and Coca leave history goes hand in hand in Latin slavery history. Moreover, they were able to work longer hours. In some certain extend, I believe it but don't agree with it.
My personal experience and view:
During my stay in South America, one of my plan was to visit major Aztec, Maya(Mexico, Guatemala), Inca(Peru, Bolivia) and Tiwanaco (Bolivia) ruins and understand their culture and about these empires. Tiwanaco was the oldest then the Maya and Inca civilizations built their own might and huge empire. Though they are all part of the same people, however, the Inca empire was the largest, most powerful and won the largest geographic land. All of us must know about the golden "El Dorado" Inca city. Spanish never found it but still people believe El Dorado exists somewhere in between Peru and Bolivia. I have collected many replicas during my stay in South America. What a impressive history and culture which proudly existed from 1000 to 1572 according to many locals. The Spanish destroyed many major pyramids and places except the Peruvian machu Pichu because it was hidden
15,000 feet above sea level during the Spanish colonial period until an American explorer discovered it. The worst part is, if you ever visit Machu Pichu, you would see how the Spanish built many churches on top of many Inca establishment and used the stones from many Inca ruins.Sorry, I couldn't resist to share this information. Officially, the perfect clock was invented by the Arab Muslims but I was informed the Aztec calendar clock has been 5 seconds more precise than the Arab's clock. Well, every culture wants to proof their superiority but I got a replica curved on stone. It is beautiful and I couldn't figure it out how to read the Aztec clock calender. So, I still take the Arab's side which is more scientifically proven.
Now, back to the Coca tea. The reason, I mentioned little history because, after visiting all these Tiwanaco, Aztec, Inca, Maya and other ruins, pyramids, palaces I have discovered a very interesting thing. All of those civilizations had excellent skill to curve stone in different shapes and I found curved Coca leaves all of these places. That gives me a sense that the Coca leave culture existed before the Spanish arrival around Latin America. It was a regular ceremonial item as well as a drinks. As a proof, I just bought a stone curved local God "Pachamama" or "Mother Earth" statue which is a replica with curved of Coca leaves, anaconda, jaguar and eagle.
I am very sad to leave South America because I will miss their rich history, classic and stylish capital cities, good food and mostly the wonderful people. In the US, many(not all) of us possess very negative image about South America. The truth is, it is very middle class with dynamic economy. Some parts of South America is fully developed. People are simply wonderful, friendly and very curious about the United States, However, the recent trend is- they are trying to get out from heavy US influence and successfully united their political differences. I don't believe, all the Latin American political leaders are like Hugo Chavez, Rafael Correra or Morales. They have great leadership in Peru, Brazil Chile and other. Once, I fell in love with Africa and again I am in love with South America. The worst part in my life is leaving my great friends behind but I am also lucky and proud to have their genuine friendship which will last forever.
I am enjoying some free time and would love to talk more about my tea journey in latin America and the tea culture.
Ripon La Paz, Bolivia