Coca tea, known as “mate de coca” in South America, is an herbal infusion made by steeping the leaves of the coca plant in hot water. It has been consumed in the Andes for over 3,000 years and remains a daily staple in countries like Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia, where it’s as common as coffee or green tea. The same plant is the source of cocaine, which makes coca tea a straightforward beverage with a complicated legal and chemical backstory.
How Coca Tea Is Made
The tea comes from the leaves of two species in the Erythroxylum family, most commonly the variety known as “Bolivian” or “Huanuco” coca. In Andean markets, cafes, and hotels, it’s typically served one of two ways: a tea bag containing dried, crushed leaves steeped in hot water, or a handful of whole dried leaves placed directly in a cup or pot. The water is brought to near boiling (around 200°F) and the leaves steep for about five to seven minutes, producing a mild, slightly bitter, yellowish-green drink. Some people add sugar or honey. The flavor is often compared to green tea, though earthier and less astringent.
What’s Actually in a Cup
Each cup of coca tea brewed from a single tea bag contains an average of about 4 to 5 milligrams of cocaine. Peruvian tea bags yield roughly 4.14 mg per cup, Bolivian bags about 4.29 mg. That’s a tiny fraction of the amount found in recreational cocaine use, where a single “line” typically contains 20 to 50 mg or more. About 81% of the cocaine in a tea bag transfers into the water during normal steeping.
Cocaine isn’t the only compound in the leaf. Coca leaves contain a complex mixture of other alkaloids, flavonoids, and nutrients. Dried coca leaves are notably rich in calcium (around 990 to 1,033 mg per 100 grams of dry weight), iron (about 29 mg), magnesium (roughly 200 to 225 mg), vitamin E, and beta-carotene. They also contain about 20 grams of protein per 100 grams of dry leaf. Of course, a single cup of tea extracts only a fraction of these nutrients, so the nutritional contribution from a cup or two is modest.
How It Feels
Coca tea is a mild stimulant. The cocaine and related alkaloids work by slowing the reabsorption of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain, which produces a gentle lift in energy, alertness, and mood. The effect is far subtler than coffee for most people, closer to a weak black tea. Cocaine from the leaves is detectable in the bloodstream within about five minutes and reaches peak levels between 25 minutes and two hours after consumption, depending on the amount used.
Physiologically, the tea produces effects consistent with mild stimulation: a slight increase in heart rate, a modest rise in blood pressure, and elevated blood sugar. Research on regular coca users has found that these cardiovascular changes generally stay within normal ranges and don’t indicate harm in healthy people. Some users also report a mild numbing sensation on the lips and tongue, which is the local anesthetic effect of the cocaine alkaloid.
One of the more interesting metabolic findings is that coca appears to shift the body toward burning fat for energy rather than carbohydrates. Studies on coca users during exercise found increased levels of free fatty acids and glycerol in the blood, suggesting greater fat utilization. This metabolic shift may help delay exhaustion by preserving the body’s glycogen stores, which could partly explain why Andean workers have relied on coca during long days of physical labor at high altitude for centuries.
Coca Tea and Altitude Sickness
The most common reason travelers encounter coca tea is altitude sickness. Hotels and guides throughout the Peruvian and Bolivian highlands routinely offer it to visitors arriving at elevations above 10,000 feet. Andean communities have used coca for centuries specifically to cope with the demands of high-altitude life and physical work.
Research supports that chewing coca leaves induces biochemical changes that enhance physical performance at altitude, with benefits that extend over prolonged periods of sustained activity. The mild stimulant and metabolic effects (increased blood glucose, greater fat burning, and slight cardiovascular adjustments) likely all contribute. That said, coca tea hasn’t been rigorously tested against a placebo specifically for preventing acute mountain sickness in controlled clinical trials, so its reputation is built more on centuries of traditional use than on modern clinical evidence.
Legal Status
Coca tea is legal and widely available in Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, and parts of Argentina. You can buy it in supermarkets, drink it in restaurants, and find it in hotel lobbies. It occupies a cultural position similar to coffee in these countries.
In the United States, the situation is very different. The coca leaf is classified as a Schedule II controlled substance because it’s the source of cocaine. It is illegal to bring coca leaves into the U.S. for any purpose, including brewing tea or chewing. U.S. Customs and Border Protection will confiscate coca products at the border, and attempting to bring them in can result in legal penalties for smuggling contraband. This applies even to commercially packaged tea bags purchased legally in South America.
Decocainized coca products (with the cocaine alkaloid removed) are technically legal in the U.S., but they’re not widely available and must come from authorized importers. The Coca-Cola Company famously uses a decocainized coca leaf extract as a flavoring ingredient, processed through a single authorized facility in New Jersey.
Drug Testing Risks
This is the detail that catches most travelers off guard. Drinking even a single cup of coca tea will cause you to test positive for cocaine metabolites on a standard urine drug screen. The body processes the cocaine in coca tea the same way it processes cocaine from any other source, producing the same metabolites that drug tests look for. There is currently no reliable way for a lab to distinguish between someone who drank coca tea and someone who used cocaine recreationally, since both produce positive results in urine, oral fluid, and hair testing.
If you have an upcoming employment drug test, athletic competition screening, or any situation requiring a clean drug test, this is worth knowing before you accept that welcoming cup at a Cusco hotel. Cocaine metabolites can remain detectable in urine for several days after a single exposure.
Cultural Significance in the Andes
Coca’s role in Andean life goes far beyond a warm drink. Archaeological evidence from mummified remains in northern Chile dates coca use to at least 1000 BC, establishing a tradition spanning more than 3,000 years. Under Incan rule, coca served ritual, social, and practical purposes. After the Incan empire’s decline, the practice of providing agricultural workers with a daily ration of coca leaves alongside their wages became standard, a custom that persists in some regions today.
For the Aymara and Quechua peoples of the Andes and Altiplano, coca is deeply woven into daily life, traditional medicine, and spiritual practice. The tension between this cultural heritage and international drug control laws remains one of the more contentious issues in South American politics. Bolivia formally withdrew from the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs in 2012 and rejoined with a reservation protecting the right of its citizens to chew coca leaves and drink coca tea.