Editing OpenCola (drink)

{{short description|Brand of open cola where instructions for making are freely available}}
{{infobox beverage
| name = OpenCola
| image = Opencola.jpg
| type = [[Cola]]
| introduced = {{start date and age|2001}}
| related = [[Free Beer]]
}}

'''OpenCola''' is a brand of [[open-source cola]] whose list of ingredients and preparation instructions are freely available and modifiable. Anybody can make the drink, and anyone can modify and improve on the recipe. It was launched in 2001 by the now-defunct free software P2P company Opencola, to promote their company.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/400966/opencola-have-some-code-and-a-smile/|title=OpenCola-Have Some Code and a Smile|publisher=[[MIT Technology Review]]|date=9 April 2001|author=Paul Heltzel|access-date=5 September 2020|quote=A software company that happens to produce a soda, OpenCola uses peer-to-peer searching to find information on the Web. Its soft drink, OpenCola, helps to promote the company.}}</ref>

==Background==

The original version 1.0 was released on 27 January 2001 by Grad Conn, [[Cory Doctorow]], and John Henson. The current{{when|date=October 2024}} version is 1.1.3, released on 20 February 2001.<ref name="Soft Drink Formula" /> Although originally intended as a promotional tool to explain [[free and open source software]], the drink took on a life of its own and 150,000 cans were sold.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/118713|title=OpenCola - Open Source Coca Cola|author=Malyn|date=18 February 2007|access-date=13 February 2019|publisher=Digital Journal|quote=The soft drink was originally intended to be a promotional tool to help explain open source software but since its launch it's taken on a life of its own. The company that launched it has become more well known for the drink than the software they offer... the website selling the drink has sold over 150,000 cans!}}</ref> The Toronto-based company Opencola shut down in 2003, and had become better known for the drink than for the software it was supposed to promote. Laird Brown, the company's senior strategist, attributed its success to a widespread mistrust of big corporations and the "proprietary nature of almost everything".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wired.co.uk/article/trade-secrets-open-source-cola|title=Open source cola and the 'Napster moment' for the food business|publisher=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|date=13 April 2013|author=Ian Steadman|access-date=13 February 2019|quote=It's called Open Cola, a product first produced by now-defunct Toronto software company Opencola as something of a joke. Taking inspiration from Richard Stallman's famous dictum that free software was "free as in speech, not as in beer", it was meant as a kind of promotional tool. The recipe was published online for anyone to take and adapt. Version 1.0 was published on 27 January 2001 -- the latest version is 1.1.3. Opencola closed in 2003, but Open Cola's recipe is still around.}}</ref>

== Flavouring formula ==
[[File:OpenCola oils.jpg|thumb|Flavouring oils used in OpenCola]]
The flavouring formula for OpenCola is:<ref name="recipe">{{Cite web|url=http://www.opencola.com/download/3_softdrink/formula.shtml|title=OpenCola.com - Soft Drink Formula - Internet Archive|access-date=2008-12-28|year=2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010218075323/http://www.opencola.com/download/3_softdrink/formula.shtml|archive-date=2001-02-18}}</ref><ref name="Soft Drink Formula">{{Cite web|url=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/OpenCola_soft_drink_recipe.pdf|title=OpenCola Soft Drink Recipe|access-date=2008-12-28|publisher=OpenCola.com|year=2001|author=Amanda Foubister|format=PDF}}</ref>

* 10.0 g food-grade [[gum arabic]]
* 3.5&nbsp;mL [[orange oil]]
* 3.0&nbsp;mL [[water]]
* 2.75&nbsp;mL [[lime (fruit)|lime]] oil
* 1.25&nbsp;mL [[Cinnamomum aromaticum|cassia]] oil
* 1.0&nbsp;mL [[lemon]] oil
* 1.0&nbsp;mL [[nutmeg oil]]
* 0.25&nbsp;mL [[coriander]] oil
* 0.25&nbsp;mL [[neroli]] oil
* 0.25&nbsp;mL [[lavender oil]]

== Concentrate formula ==
[[File:OpenCola Ingredients.jpg|thumb|Ingredients of OpenCola]]
* 2.36&nbsp;kg plain granulated white table [[sugar]]
* 2.28 L water
* 30.0&nbsp;mL [[caramel coloring|caramel color]]
* 17.5&nbsp;mL (3.50 [[Teaspoon|tsp.]]) 75% [[phosphoric acid]] or [[citric acid]]
* 10.0&nbsp;mL (2.00 tsp.) flavouring formula
* 2.5&nbsp;mL (0.50 tsp.) [[caffeine]] (optional)<ref name="recipe"/><ref name="Soft Drink Formula"/>

== Dilution ==

After mixing up the concentrate to the prescribed recipe (including all recommended safety precautions), the syrup is diluted 5:1 with ("preferably [[sodium]]-free") [[soda water]] to make the finished drink; at this dilution, the above combination of ingredients will yield approximately 24 litres of OpenCola.

The full recipe also includes instructions for home-made soda water produced from basic ingredients such as [[yeast]] and [[sugar]] in order to make the entire process open source; otherwise there would be a need to use commercially produced bottled or canned soda, or consumer [[carbonation]] machines with commercially manufactured [[carbon dioxide]] canisters.<ref name="recipe"/><ref name="Soft Drink Formula"/>

== See also ==
{{portal|Drink}}
* [[Cube Cola]]
* [[Coca-Cola formula]]
* [[Free Beer]], open-source beer, formerly known as ''Our Beer'' ({{langx|da|Vores øl}})
* [[List of brand name soft drinks products]]
* [[List of soft drink flavors]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{cookbook|OpenCola}}
{{commons category|OpenCola}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090410064941/http://www.colawp.com/colas/400/cola467_recipe.html OpenCola soft drink]
* [https://cube-cola.org Cube Cola], [[Bristol, UK]]
* [http://www.wikihow.com/Make-OpenCola How to Make OpenCola] - [[WikiHow]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091112114019/http://web.media.mit.edu/~nvawter/opencola/ The recipe from Wiki-How], condensed into a single, easily printable page
* [http://opensoda.org OpenSoda.org], a defunct continuation of the OpenCola work for recipe and methodology
* [https://github.com/neuralsandwich/OpenCola OpenCola] on [[GitHub]]

{{Colas}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Opencola (Drink)}}
[[Category:Cola brands]]
[[Category:Open content projects]]
[[Category:Food and drink introduced in 2001]]
[[Category:Copyleft media]]
[[Category:Soft drinks]]