How to Chew Coca Leaves
You grind them into to powder then snort them up your nose! Well, of course not. Although many people make the mistake, the centuries-old tradition of chewing coca leaves has absolutely nothing to do with cocaine. In their natural form, coca leaves provide nothing more than a mild stimulant, akin to coffee. Brewing the leaves into tea is popular among all levels of Bolivian society, but among the working class, and especially for those whose labor is physically demanding, coca is usually chewed.
While “chewing” is the popular term for it, the leaves should never actually be munched upon. Instead, they should be placed one-by-one into the cheek, forming a small saliva-generating ball which you just leave there. Because the stems of the leaves can hurt the inside of your cheek, you should remove them first. Some remove the stems by sliding the leaves between their two front teeth, while others use a lick-fold-tear method.
After you’ve got a good amount of leaves squirreled away inside your cheek, you need to activate their alkaloids inside them to feel any effect. Some people use bicarbonate powder, but a more pleasant option is lejía: a sweet-tasting combination of ash and flavor. A tiny nip every fifteen minutes or so, and the mild stimulant effects of the coca can last for hours.
Chewing coca leaves acts as an appetite suppressant, helps with altitude sickness, provides energy and improves digestion. It also mildly numbs your cheek. It’s impossible to get “addicted” to chewing the leaves, and they don’t provide any sort of high. Making cocaine out of coca leaves is a complicated, chemical process, and chewing the leaves is no more an act of “drug consumption” than eating a poppy-seed bagel.
While we were on the ferry over to the Isla del Sol, we were subjected to a monologue from a self-impressed British guy wearing colorful over-sized sunglasses and a shark’s tooth necklace. All the awesome places he’s been! All the incredible things he’s done! He had a bag of coca with him, and shoved a handful into his mouth, actually chewing them like a cow chews grass. As he did so, he bragged about how awesome coca was and how he felt an instant buzz. We had to stifle our urge to push him off the boat. Please, don’t be that guy.
- The Unfairly Maligned Coca Leaf
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August 16, 2011 at 4:04 pm
July 7, 2012 at 10:52 amMike
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I have told that this leaf can cure all types of ailments. Insomnia, depression, ADD etc. I am interested in finding out whether the teas or the actual leaves would be better for increasing mental focus and fighting depression. Anyone have any feedback as to which I should try?..and is there any legalities I should know about when attempting to purchase this stuff?…I really dont want the prescription drugs my doctor has to offer, but i dont want to find myself in the back of a squad car either.thanks
July 9, 2012 at 12:15 amMike Powell
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I think that coca tea is illegal in the USA, unless it’s been “de-cocanized”. In which case, you might as well just drink normal tea. It’s a real shame, because the leaf is great for a lot of minor problems. Chewing the leaf, in our experience, was a lot stronger — with an effect you could notice almost immediately, but drinking the tea was great too, akin to coffee. Definitely healthier than many of the drugs that doctors routinely prescribe (but if people start feeling better w/ natural products, who would buy all the wonderful medication our pharma industry produces?)
August 8, 2012 at 10:57 pmFred Runkel
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The assertion that chewing coca leaf has nothing to do with the absorption of cocaine is just plain silly.Once the saliva is made alkaline and thoroughly mixed with crushed (chewed) leaf at body temperature, cocaine and several other alkaloids are very rapidly released and very efficiently absorbed through the oral mucosa. It is a rapid and efficient process. No lab with beakers and flasks and organic solvents are required. That numbing sensation in your mouth? The local affect of cocaine. The CNS effects also take place of course. Chew enough leaf properly and one gets plenty of cocaine. The indigenous Bolivians I have been friends with and chewed with were very respectful of this whole process and their relationship with Mamma Coca. They typically added one or two leaves at a time to what they had in their mouths. When I chewed in this fashion, I felt wonderful, but it is true, not exactly high. The main thing I would notice was that I didn’t want anything i.e. I was content as I was.The effects of rapidly chewing huge mouthfuls of it (and yes, one does chew it; without crushing the leaf and mixing it with alkalinized saliva, no alkaloid extraction takes place), and then repeatedly chewing more and more leaves produces a very different effect. If greedy and aggressive chewing is engaged in, plenty of cocaine is released and absorbed, with all the resulting euphoria and other affects generally associated with snorting a line.When I chew in this fashion, rather than being content and experiencing a lack of wants, all I want is to chew a little more leaf. Just a little. Just one more wad. The thing is, this is how it will go all day – more, then more, then more. Hard a heck to stop. Then one feels unpleasantly wired. There is more tIndeed, I have many times experience distinctly greater cocaine effects from aggressive chewing than from snorting a line or two of the white powder. I agree that many people, even with farly aggressive chewing, do not develop a drug problem. However, even for very experienced students of consciousness and drugs, if chewing is done in this highly aggressive manner, it is indeed very, very difficult to control and drug dependency is definitely a possibility. I clearly see changes in the personality and habits of people I know that use it this way. I have been there myself more than I like to admit. It has disrupted my life and practice of mindfulness, to say the least. I find living like a lab rat desperate to keep pushing the reward bar to be a frustrating and not-so positive existence.Use this plant with respect and restraint and it is good. There are good reasons many native people consider it sacred. Use it greedily, and you might not find the same kind of experience. Either way, the often heard assertion that chewing coca involves insignificant amount of cocaine is simply not true.
August 22, 2012 at 1:11 amMike Lee
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I recently bought a good amount of coca leaves at a local bolivian market as I recalled enjoying them during my time in Bolivia and Peru (on treks and long bus rides) a few years back. Anyway, after chewing a half a dozen times and varying the amount of leaves and the amount of bicarbonate, I must agree with Fred. A lot of the information I read keeps saying that it’s harmless and actually healthy. Well, the debate will go on. One interesting thing I have noticed is that since chewing the leaves and feeling the numbing and stimulatory effects — I have also noticed that the lining of my inner cheek on the lower half (where I chew the leaves) feels differently than the upper lip (not as smooth/slimy). I worry a bit if there is a negative effect just as tobacco leaves cause damage to the lips/mouth/etc? I would assume the risks could be similar?Anyway, great summary Fred, to the otherwise “coca leave has nothing to do with cocaine and it’s healthy, no need to use caution, etc” Thanks for your post
June 6, 2013 at 7:22 ammana
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agree with comments and it should be chewed in the same sacred way as bolivians.a good substitute for betel quid (betel leaf,tobacco,areca nut and lime together.SACRED way as red wine in Church.I use fresh leaves and lime and irregularly.