In the whole world this was the only cure for malaria, for centuries. The bark contains actually four cures for malaria, of which one is quinine.
The British Raj invented tonic water as a means of helping staff dose themselves with cinchona bark.
The world has struggled to replant the cinchona tree outside Peru and Ecuador. A few plantations have endured, but most efforts have been failures. It is so important that in the 1940s the Allies devised a chemical copy of quinine so as not to be dependent on these trees, and later, a copy of the copy of quinine was devised, reducing side effects, known as HCQ.
Today at La Carniceria, I found on sale a new artisanal tonic water being made in Ecuador using water from the Andes and bark from Loja.
How cool is that.
The brand is Cinchona Drinks; the bottle is charming, and the tonic tastes good.
Address: La Carniceria, Avenida Ordonez Lasso between los Cedros and los Laureles, Cuenca
Contact information: elcuadril.cuenca@hotmail.com
Recommended by Lucy Hancock: lohancock@aol.com
