Coca-Cola formula
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The Coca-Cola formula is The Coca-Cola Company's secret recipe for Coca-Cola. As a publicity marketing strategy started by Robert W. Woodruff, the company presents the formula as one of the most closely held trade secrets ever and only a few employees know or have access to it. In reality, experienced perfumers and food scientists—today aided by modern analytical methods—can easily identify the composition of food products.
The basic, generic “cola” taste of both Coca-Cola and other competing cola drinks results from a blend of vanilla and cinnamon flavoring. The small differences in taste that distinguish one cola-flavored drink from another result from the inclusion of small amounts of other flavoring ingredients. Contrary to popular belief, kola nut extract is not a prominent ingredient in cola-flavored drinks.[citation needed]
Published accounts say it contains or once contained sugar, caramel, caffeine, phosphoric acid, coca leaf and kola nut extract, lime extract, flavoring mixture, vanilla and glycerin. Merchandise 7X is the "secret ingredient" in Coca-Cola and has remained a secret since its invention in 1886. The description of the ingredient is kept in a security vault in a federal building in Atlanta, Georgia[citation needed]. Alleged syrup recipes vary greatly, and Coca-Cola reluctantly admits the formula has changed over the decades. The formula was changed in 1935 with the help of Rabbi Tobias Geffen of Atlanta to allow it to be certified kosher.
In a much-publicized corporate disaster, Coca-Cola introduced New Coke in 1985. After public outcry, the recipe was restored to the original "classic" formula.
Recipes for other soft drinks and products — such as KFC chicken and McDonald's special sauce — are also closely-guarded trade secrets, but the Coke formula certainly attracts the most attention[citation needed].
Amateur sleuths have tried to reverse-engineer the production process and ingredients. The secret formula is the subject of books, speculation and marketing lore. The company consistently claims that all published recipes are incorrect.
The Coca-Cola Company currently refuses to comment on the continued presence of coca leaf in Coca-Cola.[1][2] However, it is documented that the United States DEA oversees the importation of coca for Coca-Cola, and later sale of the extracted cocaine to the drug industry.<ref>Miller, M. "Quality Stuff: Firm is Peddling Cocaine, and Deals are legit" Wall Street Journal 27 October 1994.</ref>
There is some debate as to whether the coca leaf extract cocaine is still present in Coca-Cola. Cocaine is naturally present in coca leaves. Some argue that today's Coca-Cola uses "spent", or treated, coca leaves, those that have been through a cocaine extraction process, to flavor the beverage. Others contend that this process cannot extract the cocaine alkaloids at a molecular level, and so the drink still contains trace amounts of the stimulant.<ref>Rielly, Edward J (2003). Baseball and American Culture: Across the Diamond. Haworth Press, 133. ISBN 0-7890-1485-8.</ref>
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[edit] Purported secret recipes
[edit] Recipe 1
This recipe is attributed to a sheet of paper found in an old formulary book owned by Coca-Cola inventor, John S. Pemberton, just before his death (U.S. measures):
- Ingredients:
- Flavoring:
- Directions:
- "Mix caffeine acid and lime juice in 1 quart boiling water add vanilla and flavoring when cool. Let stand for 24 hours."
This recipe does not specify when sugar, coca, caramel or the rest of the water are added.
Source: Mark Pendergrast. For God, Country, and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company That Makes It. New York: Basic Books, 2000. ISBN 0-465-05468-4.
[edit] Recipe 2
This recipe is attributed to pharmacist John Reed.
- 30 pounds (14 kg) of sugar
- 2 US gallons of water
- 1 quart of lime juice
- 4 ounces of citrate of caffeine
- 2 US fluid ounces of citric acid
- 1 ounce of extract of vanilla
- 6 grams (3/4 US fluid ounce) of fluid extract of coca
[edit] Recipe 3
This recipe is from Food Flavorings: Composition, Manufacture and Use (2nd Ed.) 1968 by Joseph Merory (AVI Publishing Company, Inc., Westport, CT). Makes one U.S. gallon (3.8 L) of syrup. Yield (used to flavor carbonated water at 1 fl oz per bottle): 128 bottles, 6.5 fl oz (192 ml).
- Mix 2,400 grams of sugar with just enough water to dissolve (high-fructose corn syrup may be substituted for half the sugar).
- Add 37 grams of caramel, 3.1 grams of caffeine, and 11 grams of phosphoric acid.
- Extract the cocaine from 1.1 grams of coca leaf (Truxillo growth of coca preferred) with toluol;dry the cocaine extract.
- Soak the coca leaves and kola nuts (both finely powdered; 0.37 gram of kola nuts) in 22 grams of 20 percent alcohol.
- California white wine fortified to 20 percent strength was used as the soaking solution circa 1909, but Coca-Cola may have switched to a simple water/alcohol mixture.
- After soaking, discard the coca and kola and add the liquid to the syrup.
- Add 30 grams of lime juice (a former ingredient, evidently, that Coca-Cola now denies) or a substitute such as a water solution of citric acid and sodium citrate at lime-juice strength.
- Mix together 0.88 gram of lemon oil, 0.47 gram of orange oil, 0.20 gram of cassia (Chinese cinnamon) oil. 0.07 gram of nutmeg oil, and, if desired, traces of coriander, lavender, and neroli oils, and add to 4.9 grams of 95 percent alcohol.
- Shake.
- Add 2.7 grams of water to the alcohol/oil mixture and let stand for twenty-four hours at about 60 °F (15.5 °C). A cloudy layer will separate.
- Take off the clear part of the liquid only and add the syrup.
- Add 19 grams of glycerine (from vegetable source, not hog fat, so the drink can be sold to Jews and Muslims who observe their respective religion's dietary restrictions) and 1.5 grams of vanilla extract.
- Add water (treated with chlorine) to make 1 gallon of syrup.
One should be aware that today, Coca-Cola production employees do not dry the cocaine extract as listed above. Quoting from Early Years of Coca-Cola: "... the coca leaves used today are "spent" leaves - the leftovers of the cocaine-extraction process - and therefore the drink contains no trace of the stimulant." (See also Industrial uses of Coca). However, it is impossible to completely remove all traces of the coca stimulant and small amounts still exist in the drink today. [citation needed]
