By Subel Bhandari /Kabul
Green tea is not the default thirst quencher it used to be in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, as the past couple of years have seen an upsurge in the consumption of heavily caffeinated energy drinks.
The relatively new drinks are taking over, with brands like the macho-themed Black Toro, or Hot Star - aimed at the female market - taking the cities and countryside by storm, across all classes, tribes and political affiliations.
They feature in government meetings and on military patrols, in talks between tribal elders and the president, on university campuses, and even grace the tables of lavish society weddings.
Even Taliban fighters swig energy drinks to slake their thirst - but not Coca Cola - says a local insurgent commander, Mulla Wali, from Dasht-e-Archi district in the northern province of Kunduz.
According to a shopkeeper in Kabul, at least two dozen brands have emerged recently, with varying degrees of popularity.
The Austrian-made Red Bull, at $1.50 a can, is more favoured by young, urban consumers, while Thailand’s Carabao, at half the price, appeals more to less well-off workers and villagers.
Monster, the most expensive, costs up to $5 for a jumbo can of 650 millilitres.
Other brands include Big Bear, Shock, Gangster, Shark, Jaguar, Boom Boom, and 5 Hour Extra Energy. They are sold almost everywhere, from upmarket hotels to corner shops and street carts.
The local producer of Coca Cola has also released its own energy drink called Burn.
Overall sales figures were not available, but the rapidly growing market is evident.
Nasir Ahmad, a manager at Jam Supermarket in Kabul, says he has seen sales of energy drinks increase this year by almost a third compared with last year. They are now outselling soft drinks like Coca Cola, he says.
Abdul Waheed Wafa, the director of the Afghanistan Centre at Kabul University, says “the number of brands has doubled or tripled” over the past two years, due to the “chaotic free market” since the ouster of the Taliban regime in 2001.
But he expressed concerns for consumer health. “There is no regulation in the government,” he says, “no standard policy for food and medicines” and their monitoring or certification.
Whether or not they share his concerns, consumers appear undeterred.
Tamim, a 30-year old property dealer, says Red Bull gives him energy for his “mentally stressful job.” Fazlullah Shaheen, a Kunduz University student, says he consumes energy drinks “because we need it when are tired after classes.”
In Kabul it is widely believed, especially by young men, that the energy drinks provide a sexual boost, although none of the customers interviewed mentioned this as a motivation.
“The demand is growing daily,” says Ghulam Ghous Nikbeen, a promoter for the sport sponsorships by the German makers of Big Bear.
Sales are booming for the company, even in the restive southern province of Kandahar, but only after a marketing campaign to reassure consumers that the drink does not actually contain any bear, an animal whose flesh is considered haram, or forbidden, by Islam.
Local insurgents are also partial to “energy drinks like Carabao, Effect, and some others of which I do not know the name,” says Taliban commander Wali.
“We don’t get energy from these drinks, but these are very good when we are thirsty,” Wali says.
He also says they don’t prevent the local shopkeepers from selling the energy drinks. “I don’t think our enemies get a profit when we drink it.”
In the West, which has also seen a surge in the consumption of energy drinks, they have sparked a public debate about possible health risks, with several lawsuits against their producers in the United States.
In Afghanistan, consumers are less worried about their health impact, but more about their status under Islam as halal (permitted), or haram, like alcohol, due to their stimulant properties.
Young Afghans joke that some mullahs got hooked after tasting the drinks to test their status, and then declared them halal to defend their own habit.
“We care if they are alcoholic or not, and whether they are allowed according to Islam,” Wali says. “I think they are halal because they are free of alcohol,” he says.
“If they are not, the Ministry of Public Health would not have allowed it,” another Muslim cleric says.
“I don’t think they are haram. People in many Islamic countries consume them,” says Mullah Mohamed, adding he drinks them himself.
“They are really good when you are thirsty and when you are tired.”