THE POPULAR MATE DE COCA.

The coca mate or coca tea is a millenary infusion that was and still is considered a miraculous plant endowed with extraordinary virtues. It is made of coca leaves typical of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Colombia and its presentation is usually a tea packaged in filtered food paper that retains all its property.
It is traditionally used to relieve altitude thickness. The consumption of the mate, as well as the chewing of coca leaves increases the absorption of oxygen in the blood and helps to fight the altitude symptoms, as well as helping the digestion process (especially for its carminative effect for expulsion of the gas from the digestive tract). Diarrhea can be eliminated by the infusion of of four coca leaves in a cup of boiling water. Nausea and vomiting  can be addressed with the union of 5 coca leaves and two mint leaves in a jug of boiling water.
Likewise, infusions of these leaves are very useful to gargle for sore throats, for nervous pains, headaches, as well as to relieve infections and inflammations in the eyes, including conjunctivitis.
It is important to understand that the concept of  consuming the coca leaves and the drastically change of the plant when the Americans and the Europeans extracted cocaine, are two very different things. Cocaine is not a component of the tea that is made of only from selected and crushed leaves which keep 100 % of the healthy properties and vitamins that the coca plant has. Also when ingested in its natural way, it does not produce toxicity nor does it generate dependency. Cocaine as a drug is a totally different and much more recent phenomenon, not linked to any culture but rather to the enrichment of a few through the physical, psychological and social destruction of many. It is obtained when the plant is exposed to chemicals agents that when mixed together they evolve into a fatal weapon, a type of drug harmful to the human brain. Political and economic interests penalized the sacred plant, condemning it to disappear.
The coca leaf was and still is considered a divine plant. It was ritual component in ancient Andean cultures for millennia and has played a central role in the system of beliefs, customs and knowledge, embedded in the very peculiar and original world view. We must not forget that in the Andes, people lived and still they continue living at heights of over 4,000 meters above sea level. So coca was chewed by the ancient people to stimulate the normal function of their bodies in their long crossings between mountains and still is used as a natural, abundant and economic means to combat the effects of altitude and not for the mere pleasure of doing it.
The infusion of coca leaves contains vitamins A, E, B1, B2, B3, and C (ascorbic acid), proteins, macro and micro-elements (calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, and potassium), tannins and also a total of fourteen alkaloids that are responsible for its beneficial curative action. It helps to balance the biological instability produced by fatigue and stress.
The tea infusion is recommended for daily use as a preventive and curative product. It can be taken in the mornings, afternoons, or before going to bed.