Editing Coca-Cola formula

{{Short description|Coca-Cola Company's recipe for Coca-Cola syrup}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
[[File:Coca-Cola Glas mit Eis.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The recipe for [[Coca-Cola]] remains a closely guarded [[trade secret]].]]
 
[[The Coca-Cola Company]]'s formula for [[Coca-Cola]] syrup, which bottlers combine with [[carbonated water]] to create the company's flagship [[cola]] [[soft drink]], is a closely guarded [[trade secret]]. Company founder [[Asa Candler]] initiated the veil of secrecy that surrounds the formula in 1891 as a [[publicity]], [[marketing strategy|marketing]], and [[intellectual property]] protection strategy. While several recipes, each purporting to be the authentic formula, have been published, the company maintains that the actual formula remains a secret, known only to a very few select, and anonymous, employees.

==History==
[[File:Vault of the Secret Formula at the World of Coca-Cola.jpg|thumb|Vault containing the secret formula at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta]] 
Coca-Cola inventor [[John Pemberton]] is known to have shared his original formula with at least four people before his death in 1888.<ref name = snopes>{{cite web|url= https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/coca-cola-fomula/|title= Coca-Cola's Secret Formula fact check|date= November 17, 1999|website= Snopes.com|access-date= February 18, 2020|archive-date= May 26, 2022|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220526171703/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/coca-cola-fomula/|url-status= live}}</ref> In 1891, [[Asa Candler]] purchased the rights to the formula from Pemberton's estate, founded the Coca-Cola Company, and instituted the shroud of secrecy that has since enveloped the formula. He also made changes to the ingredients list, which by most accounts improved the flavor, and entitled him to claim that anyone in possession of Pemberton's original formula no longer knew the "real" formula.{{sfnp|Poundstone|1983|pages=30–31}}

In 1919, [[Ernest Woodruff]] led a group of investors in purchasing the company from Candler and his family. As collateral for the acquisition loan, Woodruff placed the only written copy of the formula in a vault at the [[Guaranty Trust Company of New York]]. In 1925, when the loan had been repaid, Woodruff relocated the written formula to the [[25 Park Place|Trust Company Bank]] ([[Truist Financial]]) in [[Atlanta]]. On December 8, 2011, the company placed it in a vault on the grounds of the [[World of Coca-Cola]] in Atlanta, with the vault on public display.<ref>{{cite press release|date=December 8, 2011|title=Coca-Cola Moves its Secret Formula to The World of Coca-Cola|url=http://www.coca-colacompany.com/press-center/press-releases/coca-cola-moves-its-secret-formula-to-the-world-of-coca-cola#TCCC|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130224024514/http://www.coca-colacompany.com/press-center/press-releases/coca-cola-moves-its-secret-formula-to-the-world-of-coca-cola|archive-date=24 February 2013|access-date=December 19, 2011|publisher=The Coca-Cola Company}}</ref>

According to the company, only two employees are privy to the complete formula at any given time and they are not permitted to travel together. When one dies, the other must choose a successor within the company and impart the secret to that person. The identity of the two employees in possession of the secret is itself a secret.<ref>{{Cite book
 |last=Poundstone |first=W. 
 |author-link=William Poundstone
 |title=Big Secrets
 |publisher=William Morrow
 |year=1983
 |isbn=0688022197
 |page=28
}}</ref>
However, the company's "secret formula" policy is more of a marketing strategy than an actual trade secret: any competitor in possession of the genuine Coke recipe would be unable to obtain key ingredients such as processed coca leaf, and even if all components were available, could not market the product as Coca-Cola.<ref name = snopes/>
[[File:Colcoca02.jpg|thumb|left|Coca leaves]]
[[File:Coca-Cola Advertisement.jpg|thumb|Coca-Cola Advertisement, 1886]]
During the late 19th century, Coca-Cola was one of many popular [[coca]]-based drinks with purported medicinal properties and benefits to health; early marketing materials claimed that Coca-Cola alleviated headaches and acted as a "brain and nerve tonic".<ref name="rielly">{{cite book |last=Rielly |first=Edward J. |title=Baseball and American Culture: Across the Diamond |publisher=Routledge |date=August 7, 2003 |page=[https://archive.org/details/baseballamerican0000unse_c3k4/page/133 133] |isbn=978-0-7890-1485-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/baseballamerican0000unse_c3k4/page/133 }}</ref><ref name="Boville Luca de Tena"/> Coca leaves were used in Coca-Cola's preparation; the small amount of [[cocaine]] they contained – along with [[caffeine]] originally sourced from [[kola nut]]s – provided the drink's "tonic" quality.<ref name="Boville Luca de Tena">{{cite book |title=The Cocaine War: In Context: Drugs and Politics |last=Boville Luca de Tena |first=Belén |publisher= Algora Publishing |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-87586-294-1 |pages=61–62 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QVrszTTSqasC&q=coca-cola+trace+cocaine&pg=PA61}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Greenwood |first=Veronique |date=2016-09-23 |title=The little-known nut that gave Coca-Cola its name |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160922-the-nut-that-helped-to-build-a-global-empire |access-date=2023-01-21 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en |archive-date=August 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808215627/https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160922-the-nut-that-helped-to-build-a-global-empire |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1903, cocaine was removed, leaving caffeine as the sole stimulant ingredient, and all medicinal claims were dropped.<ref name=rielly/><ref name="Boville Luca de Tena"/><ref name="hamowy">{{cite book |title= Government and public health in America|first=Ronald |last=Hamowy |edition= illustrated |publisher= Edward Elgar Publishing |year= 2007| isbn= 978-1-84542-911-9 |pages= 140–141 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=TSn0SVM3GRcC&q=143&pg=PA250 }}</ref> By one account, {{as of|1983|lc=y}} the [[Food and Drug Administration|FDA]] continued to screen random samples of Coca-Cola syrup for the presence of cocaine.{{sfnp|Poundstone|1983|page=34}}

Some sources claim that coca leaf chemically processed to remove the cocaine remains part of the formula as a flavoring.<ref name="benson">{{cite news |last=Benson |first=Drew |title=Coca kick in drinks spurs export fears |newspaper=The Washington Times |date=April 19, 2004 |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20040419-093635-4754r.htm |quote=Coke dropped cocaine from its recipe around 1900, but the secret formula still calls for a cocaine-free coca extract produced at a Stepan Co. factory in Maywood, New Jersey. |access-date=April 27, 2009 |archive-date=April 5, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060405190422/http://washingtontimes.com/world/20040419-093635-4754r.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title= The White Labyrinth: Cocaine and Political Power. A Foreign Policy Research Institute book |last=Lee |first=Rensselaer W. III |edition= reprinted |publisher=Transaction Publishers |year=1991 |isbn=9781560005650 |pages=24–25 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YmBkPjS53V0C}}</ref> According to these accounts, the company obtains the ingredient from the [[Stepan Company#Coca extraction|Stepan Company]] of [[Maywood, New Jersey]], which legally extracts cocaine from coca leaves for use in pharmaceuticals, then sells the processed leaf material for use in Coca-Cola.<ref>{{cite news|last1=May|first1=Clifford|title=How Coca-Cola Obtains Its Coca|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/01/business/how-coca-cola-obtains-its-coca.html?mcubz=1|access-date=July 9, 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|date=July 1, 1988|archive-date=November 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107112303/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/01/business/how-coca-cola-obtains-its-coca.html?mcubz=1|url-status=live}}</ref> {{as of|2006}} the company would neither confirm nor deny this, deferring to the secret nature of the formula.<ref name="langman">{{cite web |last=Langman |first=Jimmy |url=http://www.newsweek.com/id/45077 |title=Just Say Coca |work=Newsweek via MSNBC.com |date=October 30, 2006 |access-date=May 5, 2007 |archive-date=June 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611052534/http://www.newsweek.com/id/45077 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ceaser">{{cite news|last=Ceaser|first=Mike|date=February 1, 2006|title=Colombian farmers launch Coke rivals|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4623350.stm|access-date=April 27, 2009|archive-date=January 7, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107051705/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4623350.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1911, the United States government [[United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola|sued the Coca-Cola Company]] for violations of the [[Pure Food and Drug Act]], claiming that the high concentration of caffeine in Coca-Cola syrup was harmful to health.<ref name="apa">{{cite journal |last=Benjamin |first=Ludy T. |date=February 2009 |title=Pop psychology: The man who saved Coca-Cola |journal=Monitor on Psychology |volume=40 |issue=2 |page=18 |access-date=October 24, 2012 |url=http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/02/coca-cola.aspx |archive-date=November 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106072732/http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/02/coca-cola.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> The case was decided in favor of Coca-Cola, but a portion of the decision was set aside in 1916 by the [[United States Supreme Court|Supreme Court]].<ref name=hamowy/><ref name=scotus>{{cite court |litigants=United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola, the Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia |vol=241 |reporter=U.S. |opinion=265 |court=U.S. |date=May 22, 1916 |url=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=us&vol=241&invol=265 |access-date=October 24, 2012 |quote=The judgment is reversed and the cause is remanded for further proceedings in conformity with this opinion.}}</ref> As part of a settlement, the company agreed to reduce the amount of caffeine in its syrup.<ref name=apa/><ref>{{cite book|last=Pendergrast|first=Mark| author-link = Mark Pendergrast |title=For God, Country and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company that Makes it|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bSAChoqpnHUC&pg=PA121|year=2000|edition=2nd |publisher=Basic Books|isbn=978-0-465-05468-8|pages=121–}}</ref>
{{Clear}}

Joya Williams, a secretary to Coca-Cola's global brand director, conspired to sell the Coca-Cola formula in 2006. Williams, along with her accomplices Ibrahim Dimson and Edmund Duhaney, conspired to sell the confidential trade secret to Pepsi for $1.5 million USD. However, Pepsi reported the illegal offer to Coca-Cola and the [[FBI]]. The FBI conducted a sting operation posing as Pepsi executives, leading to the arrest of Williams and her accomplices. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/coca-cola-insider-tried-selling-secrets-to-pepsi-what-happened-next-6778659 | title=Coca-Cola Insider Tried Selling Secrets to Pepsi. What Happened Next }}</ref> Public prosecutor David Nahmias praised Pepsi for doing the right thing: “They did so because trade secrets are important to everybody in the business community. They realize that if their trade secrets are violated, they all suffer, the market suffers and the community suffers.” <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/jul/07/marketingandpr.drink | title=The real sting: How plot to betray Coke fell flat after Pepsi called in FBI | work=The Guardian | date=July 7, 2006 | last1=Clark | first1=Andrew }}</ref>

== Current ingredients ==

The company protects the secrecy of its syrup recipe by shipping ingredients to its syrup factories in the form of anonymous "merchandises", numbered 1 through 9. Factory managers are told the relative proportions of each numbered merchandise, and the mixing procedure, but not the ingredients in the merchandises, some of which are themselves mixtures of more basic ingredients. Merchandise no. 1 is known to be sugar, in the form of [[high-fructose corn syrup]] or [[sucrose]] (see variations, below); caramel coloring is no. 2, caffeine is no. 3, and [[phosphoric acid]] is no. 4. The identities of merchandises 5 through 9 are a matter of debate – particularly "merchandise 7X" (the "X" has never been explained), which is thought to contain a mixture of essential oils such as [[orange (fruit)|orange]], [[lime (fruit)|lime]], [[lemon]], and [[Lavandula|lavender]].{{sfnp|Poundstone|1983|pages=33–41}}

Despite the implications of its name, there is no evidence that the current version of Coca-Cola syrup contains [[kola nut]] extract, which was originally included for its caffeine content. The modern source of that additive is probably [[caffeine citrate]], a byproduct of the decaffeination of coffee.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=D'Amato |first1=Alfonsina |last2=Fasoli |first2=Elisa |last3=Kravchuk |first3=Alexander V. |last4=Righetti |first4=Pier Giorgio |date=April 1, 2011 |title=Going Nuts for Nuts? The Trace Proteome of a Cola Drink, as Detected via Combinatorial Peptide Ligand Libraries |journal=Journal of Proteome Research |volume=10 |issue=5 |pages=2684–2686 |doi=10.1021/pr2001447 |pmid=21452894 }}</ref>

The primary taste of Coca-Cola is thought to come from [[vanilla]] and [[cinnamon]], with trace amounts of essential oils, and spices such as [[nutmeg]].{{sfnp|Poundstone|1983|page=38}} A 2014 study identified and measured 58 [[aroma compound]]s in the top three US brands of cola, confirming significant amounts of compounds found in the essential oils of cinnamon, lemon, orange, [[neroli]], coriander, nutmeg and vanilla.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lorjaroenphon|first1=Yaowapa|last2=Cadwallader|first2=Keith R.|title=Characterization of Typical Potent Odorants in Cola-Flavored Carbonated Beverages by Aroma Extract Dilution Analysis|journal=Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry|date=January 28, 2014|volume=63|issue=3|pages=769–775|doi=10.1021/jf504953s|pmid=25528884}}</ref>

==Formula variations in the United States==
During the 1980s, most U.S. Coca-Cola bottlers switched their primary sweetening ingredient from [[cane sugar]] (sucrose) to the cheaper [[high-fructose corn syrup]]. {{As of|2009}}, the only U.S. bottler still using sucrose year-round was the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of [[Cleveland]], which serves northern Ohio and a portion of Pennsylvania.<ref name=cr/> Many bottlers outside the U.S. also continue to use sucrose as the primary sweetener. {{convert|12|USoz|ml|adj=on|spell=In|0}} glass bottles of sucrose-sweetened Coca-Cola imported from Mexico are available in many U.S. markets for those consumers who prefer the sucrose version (see "Mexican Coke", below).<ref name="huff">{{cite web| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/07/coca-cola-taste-test_n_1324282.html| title=Coca-Cola Taste Test: High Fructose Corn Syrup vs. Sugar| publisher=Huffpost| date=April 15, 2013| access-date=May 14, 2013| archive-date=April 29, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130429110427/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/07/coca-cola-taste-test_n_1324282.html| url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Passover ===
Coca-Cola was certified [[kosher]] in 1935 by Rabbi [[Tobias Geffen]] after [[beef]] [[tallow]]-derived [[glycerin]] was replaced with vegetable glycerin. However, the high-fructose corn syrup used by most U.S. bottlers since the 1980s is [[kitniyot]] (derived from grain/seeds/legumes) by the definitions of Jewish [[kosher]] law, and therefore forbidden to [[Ashkenazi Jews]] during [[Passover]] according to certain traditions. Each year, in the weeks leading up to Passover, bottlers in markets with substantial Jewish populations switch to sucrose sweetener in order to obtain [[Kosher for Passover]] certification.<ref name="jfna">{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishfederations.org/page.aspx?id=80335 |title=Beyond Seltzer Water: The Kashering of Coca-Cola |last=Feldberg |first=Michael |work=The Jewish Federations of North America |access-date=October 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102020707/http://www.jewishfederations.org/page.aspx?id=80335 |archive-date=November 2, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== "New Coke" ===
{{Main|New Coke}}
In April 1985, in response to marketing research suggesting that a majority of North American consumers preferred the taste of rival [[Pepsi]] to Coca-Cola, the company introduced a sweeter, less effervescent version of Coca-Cola in the U.S. and Canada. Although the new formulation had beaten both Pepsi-Cola and the old Coke formula in multiple blind taste tests, consumer response was overwhelmingly negative. The company quickly reintroduced the original beverage, rebranded as "Coca-Cola Classic", while continuing to market the new version as simply "Coke".<ref name="MR">[https://web.archive.org/web/20171214065136/https://archive.ama.org/archive/ResourceLibrary/MarketingResearch/documents/9602193014.pdf The Real Lesson of New Coke]. ''Marketing Research'', December 1992. Retrieved June 21, 2017.</ref>

The new version remained on the market, in North America only, for 17 years—the last 10 as "Coke II"—until it was quietly discontinued in 2002.<ref name = "MR"/> The "Classic" designation remained on the original product's label, its prominence gradually decreasing over the years, until it was removed entirely in 2009.<ref name="delclass">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/31/business/media/31coke.html |newspaper=The New York Times |title=Coca-Cola deleting "Classic" from Coke label |last=Clifford |first=Stephanie |date=January 30, 2009 |access-date=June 10, 2015 |archive-date=July 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705133320/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/31/business/media/31coke.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Mexican Coke ===
{{Main|Mexican Coke}}
In the early 2000s, cane-sugar-sweetened Coca-Cola produced in Mexico began to appear in [[Bodega (store)|bodegas]] and Hispanic supermarkets in the [[Southwestern United States]]; in 2005, [[Costco]] began offering it. All were obtaining the Mexican product—which was not labeled in accordance with U.S. food labeling laws—outside the official Coca-Cola distribution network.<ref name="cr">{{cite web|date=June 2009|title=Coke vs. Coke: A tale of 2 sweeteners|url=http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/june-2009/food/coke-vs-coke/overview/coke-vs-coke-ov.htm?loginMethod=auto&copyrightYear=2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130625001158/http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/june-2009/food/coke-vs-coke/overview/coke-vs-coke-ov.htm?loginMethod=auto&copyrightYear=2012|archive-date=25 June 2013|work=Consumer Reports}}</ref> In 2009, [[the Coca-Cola Company]] began officially importing Coca-Cola produced in Mexico, with proper labeling, for distribution through official channels.<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/magazine/11fob-consumed-t.html?_r=1 |title=Cult Classic |last=Walker |first=Rob |work=The New York Times |date=October 8, 2009 |access-date=February 24, 2017 |archive-date=May 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520154858/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/magazine/11fob-consumed-t.html?_r=1 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Morran |first=Chris |url=http://consumerist.com/2010/10/coca-cola-we-dont-need-to-make-a-cane-sugar-version-because-you-already-have-mexican-coke.html |title=Coca Cola: We Don't Need To Make A Cane Sugar Version Because You Already Have Mexican Coke |work=Consumerist |date=October 7, 2010 |access-date=March 26, 2013 |archive-date=September 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110921052245/http://consumerist.com/2010/10/coca-cola-we-dont-need-to-make-a-cane-sugar-version-because-you-already-have-mexican-coke.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Purported revelations of the secret recipe==

===Pemberton recipe===
Coca-Cola inventor John Pemberton is said to have written the following recipe in his diary shortly before his death in 1888.<ref>Pendergrast, [https://books.google.com/books?id=bSAChoqpnHUC&q=Pemberton+recipe pp. 456–57] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408084921/https://books.google.com/books?id=bSAChoqpnHUC&q=Pemberton+recipe |date=April 8, 2023 }}.</ref><ref>[http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/427/original-recipe/recipe The Recipe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217180930/http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/427/original-recipe/recipe |date=February 17, 2011 }} and [http://www.thisamericanlife.org/sites/default/files/TAL_original_recipe.pdf image] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211230160957/https://www.thisamericanlife.org/sites/default/files/TAL_original_recipe.pdf |date=December 30, 2021 }} (pdf), ''[[This American Life]]''. See [http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/427/original-recipe Radio episode and notes] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005053328/http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/427/original-recipe |date=October 5, 2011 }}.</ref> The recipe does not specify when or how the ingredients are mixed, nor the flavoring oil quantity units of measure (though it implies that the "Merchandise 7X" was mixed first). This was common in recipes at the time, as it was assumed that preparers knew the method.

Ingredients:
*{{convert|1|oz|0|abbr=on}} [[caffeine citrate]]
*{{convert|3|oz|abbr=on}} [[citric acid]]
*{{convert|1|USoz|0|abbr=on}} [[vanilla extract]]
*{{convert|1|USqt|0|abbr=on}} [[lime (fruit)|lime]] juice
*{{convert|2.5|oz|0|abbr=on}} "flavoring" (i.e., "Merchandise 7X")<!-- The original conversion made no sense whatsoever!! -->
*{{convert|30|lb|0|abbr=on}} [[sugar]]
*{{convert|4|USoz|1|abbr=on}} fluid extract of coca leaves (flavor essence of the [[coca]] leaf)
*{{convert|2.5|USgal|abbr=on}} [[water]]<!-- The original conversion made no sense whatsoever!! -->
*[[Caramel color|caramel]] sufficient to give color
*"Mix caffeine, citric acid and lime juice in 1 quart boiling water add vanilla and flavoring when cool."

Flavoring (Merchandise 7X):
*1 qrt [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]]<!-- Source: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/427/original-recipe/recipe -->
*80 oil [[Orange (fruit)|orange]]
*40 oil [[cinnamon]]
*120 oil [[lemon]]
*20 oil [[coriander]]
*40 oil [[nutmeg]]
*40 oil [[neroli]]
*"Let stand 24 hours."

===Merory recipe===
Recipe is from ''Food Flavorings: Composition, Manufacture and Use''. Makes {{convert|1|usgal}} of [[syrup]]. Yield (used to flavor carbonated water at {{convert|1|USoz|abbr=on}} per bottle): 128 bottles, {{convert|6.5|USoz|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite book|last=Merory|first=Joseph |title=Food Flavorings: Composition, Manufacture and Use|publisher=AVI Publishing|location=Westport, CT|year=1968 |edition=2nd}}</ref>

* Mix {{convert|5|lb|abbr=on}} of sugar with just enough water to dissolve the sugar fully. ([[High-fructose corn syrup]] may be substituted for half the sugar.)
* Add {{convert|1+1/4|oz|0|abbr=on}} <!--37g--> of caramel, {{convert|1/10|oz|0|abbr=on}} <!--3.1g-->caffeine, and {{convert|2/5|oz|0|abbr=on}} <!--11g--> [[phosphoric acid]].
* Extract the [[cocaine]] from {{convert|5/8|drachm|1}} of coca leaf (''Truxillo'' growth of coca preferred) with [[toluol]]; discard the cocaine extract.
* Soak the [[coca]] leaves and [[kola nut]]s (both finely powdered); {{convert|1/5|drachm|abbr=on}} <!-- we need 0.037 g of kola nuts --> in {{convert|3/4|oz|0|abbr=on}} <!-- 21 g is OK --> <!--22g--> of 20% alcohol.
** California white [[wine]] fortified to 20% 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 {{convert|1|oz|abbr=on}} lime juice (a former ingredient, evidently, that Coca-Cola now denies) or a substitute such as a water solution of citric acid and [[Trisodium citrate|sodium citrate]] at lime-juice strength.
* Mix together
**{{convert|1/4|drachm|2|abbr=on}} orange oil,
**{{convert|1/10|drachm|2|abbr=on}} [[Cinnamomum aromaticum|cassia]] (Chinese cinnamon) oil,
**{{convert|1/2|drachm|2|abbr=on}} lemon oil, traces of
**{{convert|2/5|drachm|2|abbr=on}} nutmeg oil, and, if desired, traces of
**coriander,
**neroli, and
**[[lavender]] oils.
* Add {{convert|1/10|oz|1|abbr=on}} water to the oil mixture and let stand for twenty-four hours at about {{convert|60|°F|abbr=on}}. A cloudy layer will separate.
* Take off the clear part of the liquid only and add to the syrup.
* Add {{convert|7/10|oz|0|abbr=on}} [[glycerine]] (from vegetable source, not hog fat, so the drink can be sold to [[Judaism|Jew]]s and [[Muslim]]s who observe their respective religion's dietary restrictions) and {{convert|3/10|drachm|2|abbr=on}} of vanilla extract.
* Add water (treated with [[chlorine]]) to make a gallon of syrup.

===Beal recipe===

In 2011, [[Ira Glass]] announced on his [[Public Radio International]] show, ''[[This American Life]]'', that show staffers had found a recipe in "Everett Beal's Recipe Book", reproduced in the February 28, 1979 issue of ''[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]'', that they believed was either Pemberton's original formula for Coca-Cola, or a version that he made either before or after the product was first sold in 1886. The formula is very similar to the one found in Pemberton's diary.<ref>Katie Rogers, [http://voices.washingtonpost.com/blog-post/2011/02/this_american_life_bursts_coca.html "'This American Life' bursts Coca-Cola's bubble: What's in that original recipe, anyway?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609050804/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/blog-post/2011/02/this_american_life_bursts_coca.html |date=June 9, 2012 }}, ''[[The Washington Post]]'' BlogPost, February 15, 2011, retrieved February 16, 2011.</ref><ref>Brett Michael Dykes, [https://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110215/ts_yblog_thelookout/did-nprs-this-american-life-discover-cokes-secret-formula "Did NPR’s ‘This American Life’ discover Coke’s secret formula?"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217232118/http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110215/ts_yblog_thelookout/did-nprs-this-american-life-discover-cokes-secret-formula |date=February 17, 2011 }}, The Lookout, [[Yahoo!]] News, February 15, 2011.</ref><ref>David W. Freeman, [https://www.cbsnews.com/news/this-american-life-reveals-coca-colas-secret-recipe-full-ingredient-list/ "'This American Life' Reveals Coca-Cola's Secret Recipe (Full Ingredient List)"], [[CBS]] News Healthwatch blogs, February 15, 2011.</ref> Coca-Cola archivist Phil Mooney acknowledged that the recipe "could be a precursor" to the formula used in the original 1886 product, but emphasized that the original formula is not the same as the one used in the current product.<ref name = "TAL recipe">[http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/427/original-recipe/recipe The Recipe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217180930/http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/427/original-recipe/recipe |date=February 17, 2011 }} and [http://www.thisamericanlife.org/sites/default/files/TAL_original_recipe.pdf image] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211230160957/https://www.thisamericanlife.org/sites/default/files/TAL_original_recipe.pdf |date=December 30, 2021 }} (pdf), ''[[This American Life]]''.</ref>

*Fluid extract of [[Coca]]: 3 [[Dram (unit)|dram]]s USP
*[[Citric acid]]: 3 oz
*[[Caffeine]]: 1 oz
*[[Sugar]]: 30&nbsp;lbs
*[[Water]]: 2.5 gal
*[[Lime (fruit)|Lime]] juice: 2 pints (1 quart)
*[[Vanilla]]: 1 oz
*[[Caramel color|Caramel]]: 1.5 oz or more for color

The secret 7X flavor (use 2 oz of flavor to 5 gals syrup):
*[[Alcohol (drug)|Alcohol]]: 8 oz <!--Source: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/427/original-recipe/recipe-->
*[[Orange oil]]: 20 drops
*[[Cinnamon]] oil: 10 drops
*[[Lemon]] oil: 30 drops
*[[Coriander]] oil: 5 drops
*[[Nutmeg oil]]: 10 drops
*[[Neroli]] oil: 10 drops

== See also ==
{{portal|Drink}}
* [[List of brand name soft drink products]]
* [[List of soft drink flavors]]
* [[Open-source cola]]
* [[OpenCola (drink)|OpenCola]]

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMctmMin9vM ''Secret Formula of Coca-Cola''], documentary by National Geographic, March 9, 2011

{{Varieties of Coca-Cola}}
{{Coca-Cola}}
{{Colas}}

[[Category:Coca-Cola]]
[[Category:Trade secrets]]