coca leaves Europe

If you are a coca tea lover who has tried coca leaves in Peru, Colombia or Bolivia, then you may have tried importing coca tea into United States.

However, you are literally breaking the law if you try and bring coca tea leaves over the border from South America into United States, Canada, Europe, Asia or Australia. The problem is that the entire coca plant and its leaves are classified as an illegal narcotic or drug by the international customs and law enforcement.

As silly as it sounds, in the United States alone, whole coca leaves are a Schedule II Controlled Substance and importing it into US is forbidden unless you are the Coca Cola company that holds permit for import.

What the law makers have done is put whole coca leaves along with cocaine, as illegal drugs. It all happened thanks to a 1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs that has classified a natural plant as an illegal drug.

Refusing The Classification

This off course, did not go down without a fight from a few South American countries. Bolivia for instance, has refused to bow down and protested the international classification of whole coca leaves as a narcotic substance aka a drug. Along with Peru, Bolivia regard coca tea and leaves as a spiritual, medicinal and legal substance for anyone who visit their countries. Bolivia has been fighting to remove coca from the UN list of controlled substances for a few decades now. Surely this would have made it much easier for importing coca tea into United States by now, however, not so at all.

Evo Morales, the Bolivian President send a letter to the New York Times in 2009. These are his words: “For the last 8 years, millions of people who decided to follow the traditional coca chewing methods have been, according to the UN convention, bad criminals who violate international law regarding coca leaves. This is completely unacceptable and absurd for Bolivians and other Andean cultures.”

It is completely irrational and delusional for visiting tourists also. Hardly anyone would consider bringing or importing coca tea into United States could be of criminal nature.

The other important element to consider is that visitors and tourists to Peru and Bolivia can test positive for cocaine after drinking or chewing coca tea. This can last for up to 36 hours after consuming coca leaves as tea or chewing them. So even though coca leaf tea is a very popular medicinal remedy for high altitude illness in Peru and Bolivia, importation of coca tea leaves, which are freely available in Peru and Bolivia, is illegal when importing coca tea into United States.

Whole Leaves vs Coke

So how do you link coca leaf and cocaine together? Well, they do both come from the same coca plant. Coca tea leaves come from this natural, medicinal plant and when drunk or chewed in its natural form, natural alkaloids including cocaine, help to increase energy, promote weight-loss, euphoria and general well-being. In reality, cocaine alkaloids in coca, make up around 0.5-1% in total.

What authorities and United Nations fail to mention is that whole coca tea leaves do not cause an addiction, even when used daily for weeks on end. While one can certainly feel great and even euphoric when chewing large doses of coca tea powder, it’s not the same as cocaine high. Cocaine is a completely different substance to coca leaves. One is natural, the other one is a Frankenstein synthetic drug.

Cocaine is highly addictive and has negative health effects on the brain and the heart. Funnily enough, Cocaine is completely illegal in Peru and Bolivia.

When I first tried chewing and drinking coca tea powder and leaves, I had no idea about the legalities surrounding this amazing medicinal plant. My first cup of coca tea was delicious, warm and completely natural like matcha green tea. After trekking all day in the Andean mountains, feeling ravaged and exhausted, after downing my first cup of coca leaf tea, I started feeling great again. My headache disappeared, my energy came back, and I felt like I could climb another mountain or 5.

We Ship From US & Australia

The great news is that if you want to have access to the most potent, fresh and already imported coca tea inside United States and Australia, then you have come to the right place.

Simply visit our store to order coca tea “ORGANIC ENERGIZER MATE PERU TEA” today! We ship from United States and Australia so you will never have to worry about customs seizing your parcels ever again.

To your health and success,

Alex