Coca Sek is a carbonated beverage that the

Páez people Páez may refer to: Places Colombia * Páez, Boyacá, a municipality in Boyacá Department * Páez, Cauca, a municipality in Cauca Department * Páez River Venezuela * Páez, Apure, a municipality in the state of Apure * Páez, Miranda, a municip ...

of south-western

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

began producing and selling in December 2005. The drink is based on

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. Coca leaves contain cocaine which acts as a mild stimulant when chewed or ...

leaves, which native Colombian peoples have been consuming for centuries to adapt to high altitudes and aid in manual labor. The drink is

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the Fermented drink, fermented Apple juice, juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and Ireland. The United Kingdom has the world's highest ...

-colored and smells like

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of south-western China and nor ...

. Its taste is described as a mixture of

lemonade Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored drink. There are many varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In some parts of the world, lemonade refers to an un-carbonated, traditionally, homemade drink, using lemon juice, water, and a sw ...

and

ginger ale Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavoured with ginger. It is consumed on its own or used as a mixer, often with spirit-based drinks. There are two main types of ginger ale. The golden style is credited to the Irish doctor Thomas Joseph ...

. In May 2007, the government of Colombia started to remove Coca Sek forcibly from supermarket shelves, although it can still be found in

health food store A health food store (or health food shop) is a type of grocery store that primarily sells healthful foods, organic foods, local produce, and often nutritional supplements. Health food stores typically offer a wider or more specialized selectio ...

s.Coca-Cola Vs Coca Sek in Colombia - By SERGIO DE LEON, May 10, 2007

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

References

Colombian cuisine Carbonated drinks {{soft-drink-stub