Agwa de Bolivia, often shortened to AGWA, is a herbal liqueur made with Bolivian coca leaves and 37 other natural herbs and botanicals including green tea, ginseng, and guarana,[1] distilled and produced in Amsterdam by BABCO Europe Limited. The coca leaf content of the drink, like that in Coca-Cola, has the cocaine alkaloids removed during production, and does not contain the drug.
While the coca leaf has been used for thousands of years by the native South American population in the Andean region, traditional uses typically have included chewing the leaf or brewing it into tea.[2] The distillation of coca leaf liqueur is more recent, likely dating to the early-to-mid 1800s. Agwa de Bolivia Liqueur dates its establishment to 1863 in Amsterdam. Vin Mariani, a coca wine, was another prominent example of a coca-infused alcohol also developed in 1863. Its inventor, chemist Angelo Mariani, steeped coca leaves in Bordeaux wine in order to produce a "tonic" that mellowed the leaves' bitter flavor.[3]
BABCO states that the leaves used for the production of AGWA are picked at 2000 meters above sea level in the Bolivian Andes. The leaves are then shipped to Amsterdam, where they are macerated into a tea extract and then distilled to a strength of 82% alc./vol.[4] This distillation process naturally removes the plant's psychotropic effects. The final AGWA herbal liqueur is marketed as a blend of the coca distillate with 36 other botanical elements including: African mint, French lavender, red ginseng, guarana, green tea, juniper, cinnamon, bitter orange, yerba mate, and maca root powder.[5]
Agwa de Bolivia has been approved for consumption by the European Union Narcotics commission, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and TTB (Homeland security finished liquid & label).