Bolivian Spanish word
mate de coca
Meaning: coca-leaf herbal tea
Other meanings
- coca-leaf tea
Start with lesson 1
Greeting at any hour and saying your nameLesson 1, level A0
Start lesson 1How it is used in Bolivia
A long-standing highland custom: commonly offered as a warm welcome to arriving guests at check-in, in La Paz hotels as in Potosí hostals, and to newcomers in homes and offices. In the highlands you will also see people drinking it. Like being offered tea anywhere, you may accept it or politely decline, with thanks.
It is named here only as that hospitality custom, never as medicine or a remedy for the altitude: you still watch how you feel, describe it and, if needed, take it to a farmacia or a posta de salud, and ask a doctor if it worsens. Never self-treat.
Learn it in a real situation
Travel Health, Safety, and Emergencies