Coca Colla is an energy drink produced in Bolivia with the use of

coca Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine. The plant is grown as a cash crop in the Argentine Northwest, Bolivia, ...

extract as its base. It was launched on the Bolivian market in La Paz, Santa Cruz and

Cochabamba Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa; qu, Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 630 ...

in April of 2010. Both the name and ingredients are similar to

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

. The release of this product is part of the process of the industrialization of coca followed by the Morales Administration. The "Colla" component of the name comes from ''

Qullasuyu Qullasuyu (Quechua and Aymara spelling, ; Hispanicized spellings: ''Collasuyu, Kholla Suyu'') was the southeastern provincial region of the Inca Empire. Qullasuyu is the region of the Qulla and related specifically to the native Qulla Quechuas w ...

'', the southern area of the

Inca empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...

which included the western part of Bolivia. The term ''

Qulla The Qulla (Quechuan for ''south'', Hispanicized and mixed spellings: ''Colla, Kolla'') are an indigenous people of western Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina living in west of Jujuy and west of Salta Province. The 2004 Complementary Indigenous Survey r ...

'' is nowadays used to name the

Aymara Aymara may refer to: Languages and people * Aymaran languages, the second most widespread Andean language ** Aymara language, the main language within that family ** Central Aymara, the other surviving branch of the Aymara(n) family, which today ...

and

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

, indigenous people of Bolivia which make a traditional use of coca leaves.

Description

The drink has a red label with white writing, is dark caramel in color, tastes sweet, and comes in 500 ml bottles priced at $1.50 (around £1.23 GBP or €1.45 EUR). It is made from

leaf extracts, a plant also known for its use as the base of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

powder. This is a restricted substance in many countries and illegal to sell, buy, or distribute in North America and Europe. They use this to flavor the drink.

Use and export

Evo Morales Juan Evo Morales Ayma (; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero activist who served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Widely regarded as the country's first president to c ...

, Bolivia's first indigenous Aymara Indian president, announced last year he will make efforts to support the peoples of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

who have been using coca leaves for traditional use such as medication and rituals for thousands of years. of the Andes region is set aside for coca bush growth annually. This area is set to increase to with the increase of the government's drive for a legitimate use for the coca plant, such as toothpaste, pharmaceuticals, and

coca tea Coca tea, also called mate de coca, is an herbal tea (infusion) made using the raw or dried leaves of the coca plant, which is native to South America. It is made either by submerging the coca leaf or dipping a tea bag in hot water. The tea is mo ...

. The International Narcotics Control Board of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

has had the coca leaf on the list of dangerous drugs since 1961. Exporting the drink worldwide will not be possible unless drug laws are changed, including local Bolivian law which prevents exporting any coca based product from the country. However, importers from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, Bolivia's economic and political ally, have already expressed an interest in over 2 million units of the drink when large scale production starts.

Advertising

A joint collaboration between the Bolivian-based drink's manufacturer and the European-based advertising guerrilla group has been launched to increase the global mass media awareness of the new Coca Colla drink. The launch has sparked worldwide interest in the questionable nature of the product's globally illegal ingredients, even though the use of coca leaf is acceptable by the indigenous cultures which have traditionally cultivated it. In a press release, the manufacturer OSPICoca's President Victor Ledezma stated "Coca is ours, coca is a Bolivian product and mostly occurs in the ''Qullasuyu''."

References

{{Reflist Energy drinks Cola brands Bolivian drinks Bolivian brands Preparations of coca

Description

Use and export

Advertising

See also

References