While participating in a conference on drug policy in Buenos Aires last weekend, I had a chance to sample a can of "Coca Sek," the lightly carbonated soft drink made by an indigenous enterprise in Cauca, Colombia. It is being marketed as an energy drink, with coca leaves providing the kick.
Coca Sek is part of a larger effort underway throughout the Andes to promote legal, marketable uses of the coca leaf – used by indigenous groups in the region for centuries, if not millennia, before the Spanish conquest – and to distinguish it from cocaine. It received much media coverage when it was first marketed earlier this year, and this is the second conference at which I’ve seen the drink, though I have yet to see it for sale in a store.
How to describe the taste? If you grew up in a temperate climate, did you ever jump into a pile of newly raked autumn leaves, only to get a bunch of dead, dried leaves in your mouth? The taste is sort of reminiscent of that, only with lots of added sugar.
The representative of the Coca Sek company (which, he said, may be facing trademark-infringement legal action from the Coca-Cola Company) assured me that the beverage will soon come in new flavors, like cola. He added that they are planning an energy drink that will combine coca and guaraná, a Brazilian fruit that contains a compound chemically identical to caffeine. (Hopefully it comes with a spatula to help the consumer scrape himself off the ceiling afterward.)
The can of Coca Sek woke me up quite noticeably, which was greatly appreciated because my plane to Buenos Aires had arrived at 5:00 that very morning, and I still had a dinner engagement (and they eat dinner late in Buenos Aires). Not only did it keep me awake, it also made it a bit easier to string words together in Spanish.
If given a drug test, however, right now I would produce a big, huge "positive."
October 13th, 2006 at 12:46 pm
So it will be a big success then. Not many people will care about taste, they only want to be high.
October 13th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
Guarana is currently being used as a tasty soft drink in Brazil, so perhaps that will improve the taste.
October 13th, 2006 at 2:15 pm
Guarana is currently being used as a tasty soft drink in Brazil, so perhaps that will improve the taste.
October 13th, 2006 at 3:20 pm
It must not be widely available then, from the looks of things, and it’s rather curious that Coca-Cola is going to potentially sue them for trademark infringement…apparently for the use of the word “Coca”?
October 13th, 2006 at 7:49 pm
Adam Isacson writes, “(Coca Sek) also made it a bit easier to string words together in Spanish.” This is reminiscent of the experiment which showed improved 2nd language fluency after ingesting 1 oz. of alcohol. However, additional alcohol negatively impacted language ability.
In the interests of science, perhaps Adam could drink 3 or 4 Coca Seks to see how it affects his Spanish.
October 17th, 2006 at 3:14 pm
Now now, moderation in all things, right? I like coffee but you won’t see me drinking 3 or 4 cups. And yes, the legal action apparently would have something to do with the word “coca” in their name.
November 22nd, 2006 at 1:30 pm
I have had Coca Sek a couple of times when meeting with indigenous communities and organisations in Cauca. I enjoyed it! No dry leaf taste for me and the slight buzz I felt was definitely milder than coffee. I look forward to having it again sometime.
September 19th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
I wouldn’t mind promoting the drink.
In business everything means to be a challenge.
Lets bring it to the EU !