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Father Manuel Russo, rector of the San Marco convent on Via Cavour in Florence, was sorting through the pharmacy archives when he came across a yellowed promotional flyer he did not recognize. It described an elixir vinoso ricostituente — a restorative wine elixir — made from 10 grams of Bolivian coca leaves and 30 grams of kola nut, blended with wine, and promoted as a tonic against fatigue caused by illness and aging. The flyer is believed to date to the mid-to-late 19th century.
The ingredients were familiar. They
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