New Colombian soda made with coca leaves

by Nick Vagnoni, Posted Dec 22nd 2005 @ 11:01AM

A small company in southern Colombia has recently started manufacturing a carbonated soda made with the extract of coca, the stimulating shrub from which cocaine is made. The company, Empresa Colombiana de la Coca, is owned and operated by a group of Nasa Indians, an indigenous people that have used coca leaves for centuries. The soda, called Coca-Sek, has apparently won the approval of local tasters and the "tea-like" flavor is supposedly somewhere between 7-Up and ginger ale, according to a recent AP story. The name is Nasa for "coca of the sun."

The soda's release is also a political statement, as area stores have refused to sell Coca-Cola in protest of the company's treatment of local union leaders. While the soda is legal to distribute in some areas in South America, its producers are doubtful that it will reach the U.S. anytime soon. They currently have a limited distribution outfit and are in the process of acquiring a truck of their own.

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Tags: coca, coca sek, colombia, leaves, soda, south america