• AP, Wednesday, December 14, 2005 11:45 AM

We've heard of energy drinks, but this is taking things to a whole new level. There is news out of Bogota, Colombia, that a soft drink marketer there plans to launch an alternative to the ubiquitous Coca-Cola that contains a certain ingredient particularly indigenous to that nation. The drink, called Coca Sek, is a golden, carbonated drink made from coca leaf extract, the plant from which cocaine is refined. The product goes on sale this week in parts of Colombia, but its makers said they probably won't be able to export to the United States or most other countries, due to rules blocking the entry of raw coca.

"Six years ago we took on the job of trying to reestablish the good name of the coca leaf, which is a plant with enormous medicinal properties," said David Curtidor, a Colombian who heads the community company that produces the drink in the tiny southwestern town Calderas. The soda looks like apple cider, has a tea-like fragrance and tastes vaguely like a cross between 7-Up and ginger ale. The physical effect of drinking it --even after several bottles--is minimal. "It's an energizing drink," Curtidor said. "It's like coffee, since it is lightly stimulating." He added that the drink also is a political statement against transnational companies such as the Coca-Cola Co., which "symbolizes imperialist domination."

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