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The exact ingredients of the popular soft drink, invented by a medicinal chemist called John Pemberton in 1886, have always been shrouded in mystery
It’s one of the most closely guarded trade secrets, supposedly only known by a handful of executives.
But a website claims to have uncovered the precise formula to make Coca-Cola.
The details of the recipe are said to be kept under 24-hour guard in a vault in Atlanta, Georgia.
But now Thisamericanlife.org claims to have uncovered a list, in a 1979 newspaper article, showing the ingredients and quantities used to make the drink.
The February 8 edition of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a photo of someone holding open a book showing a recipe which is purported to be an exact replica of Pemberton’s.
The US website has also published a similar list by Joe Jacobs, owner of the pharmacy where Coca-Cola was first served.
However, Jacobs list has extra ingredients such as prune juice and clover.
Thisamericanlife.org claims to have uncovered a list, in a 1979 newspaper article, showing the ingredients and quantities used to make the drink
Coca-Cola contains a number of essential oils and it is the precise way that these are blended together that is responsible for the drink’s unique flavour.
This blend makes up the secret ingredient, known as Merchandise 7X, which comprises less than one percent of the formula.
In 1993, author Mark Pendergrast published an exposé of the cola industry, For God, Country & Coca-Cola, and included what he said was the original formula.
The ingredients and quantities on this list are very similar to those seen in the photo, although the company has always said that Pendergrast’s recipe is not the same as the one it uses.
The soft drink, first sold in Atlanta in a single pharmacy in 1886, can now be bought in more than 200 countries around the world.
In 2010 Coca-Cola had become the first first brand to top £1 billion in annual UK grocery sales. — Daily Mail.
So is this how to make the famous drink?
Fluid extract of Coca 3 drams USP
Citric acid 3 oz
Caffeine 1oz
Sugar 30 (it is unclear from the markings what quantity is required)
Water 2.5 gal
Lime juice 2 pints 1 qrt
Vanilla 1oz
Caramel 1.5oz or more to colour
7X flavour (use 2oz of flavour to 5 gals syrup):
Alcohol 8oz
Orange oil 20 drops
Lemon oil 30 drops
Nutmeg oil 10 drops
Coriander 5 drops
Neroli 10 drops
Cinnamon 10 drops