Peru was an amazing adventure. For me, I found the people full of color and the mountains full of wisdom. Scaling Machu Picchu was by far the highlight of this adventure. Travel is and always will be a huge part of my life. The experience of seeking out the far ends of this earth are what keep me going.
What does this have to do with tea?.......nothing. Yes I drank lots of tea while I was in Peru. No matter where we went, whatever hotel or restaurant it was always McCollins tea bags. No frills tea stuff - though admittedly their standard black tea was fairly tasty and had a unique flavor.And of course to deal with altitude sickness, I was drinking "coca tea", and also chewing the leaves for extra measure. I thought the coca tea tasted like yerba mate, very earthy and leafy. I even took the coca tea bags and added them into my water bottle each day. Here's a picture of me as a coca dealer. Contrary to belief the coca leaves themselves have no psychoactive or alterative affect - but it does keep headaches at bay. I don't think I saw loose tea anywhere....perhaps it's an untapped market.
Slowly but surely my feet are returning to their daily path.
Slowly but surely, my fingers are recalling their dance steps across my keyboard.
I love travel.....but it's good to be home.
4 comments:
East or West,
Home is best.
:-)
Hey love ! Sounds like an amazing trip !
I think that coca tea is the same thing is yerba mate : it's actually called "mate de coca" !
Which could explain why they taste the same ... :)
And, may I add that I hate it ? YUCK ! My best friend lived in Peru for a while and oh me, oh my ... She drank it out of nostalgia ... But I just felt sick when I tried :D
x x x
-m-
Did you know that McCollins is also owned by Unilever, just like Lipton and PG Tips? I uncovered that when compiling my recent list of unilever tea brands.
I've heard about coca tea and coca leaf, and have wanted to try some. Unfortunately, all the drug laws in the U.S. make them impossible to obtain here. I can't even find a straight answer online as to whether or not they're legal, but they're certainly not sold anywhere.
It blows my mind, our drug laws are so regressive, banning things like that while new and horribly unsafe designer drugs slip through the cracks of existing laws, I was just reading a recent article about a new class of very dangerous drugs that is being sold, legally, in the U.S.
I'd like to see us reform our drug laws a bit--to make an understatement.
Yes Alex - I agree that there is a irony that we can get designer drugs with no problem but can't get Mate de Coca tea!
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