The formula for Coca-Cola currently is not provided by the company (that Pemberton, who is the subject of a patent, is however now in the public domain … but banned manufacturing in view of its ingredients).
The firm, since its inception, carefully maintains the mystery of its revenue, the secret recipe has become a sacred document. Its composition is protected as if it were a quasi-military secret. It is based in a safe located in the basement of the inviolable SunTrust Bank, Atlanta financial institution, a large shareholder of the Company. Only two or three employees, elected from among the elected officials, know the exact wording, as well maintaining the magic of the drink.
Nevertheless William Reymond who wrote the book Coca-Cola, L’enquête which was banned he found the recipe for the drink and included it his book it still can be found on the Internet.
However, this is not about a secret that the manufacturing process. Regarding ingredients, chemists have fully quantified the list since the invention of chromatographic techniques.
Its flavor comes mainly from the mixture of sugar and scents of orange, lemon and vanilla. The other ingredients (phosphoric acid …) intervene less in its taste.
Phosphoric acid, incorporated at a rate of 0.05%, gives the Coca pH 2.3. Be aware, however, that repeated ingestion of phosphoric acid is known in medicine to hamper the functioning of the kidneys and promote kidney stones. U.S. researchers interviewed 500 people for whom renal failure was recently diagnosed and found from the description of their diet only two glasses of coca-cola per day, the risk of renal failure is multiplied by two. It is with coca light. However, no association was found with other soft drinks, which strengthens the suspicion against the phosphoric acid.
Each licensed manufacturer of the drink, is concentrated in the big bottles and simply to add water, as water is not quite the same taste in different regions, one can find that Coca-Cola varies among different countries.
The original stimulus was produced by cocaine in coca leaves and caffeine cola nuts. In 1906, Coca-Cola, sold as a tonic for the brain, was almost deprived of cocaine (1/400e of grain per ounce of syrup), the proportion persisting until 1929. Technology has now abolished all cocaine in the Coca-Cola. Caffeine remain with a reduced rate for the beverage retains its exciting dimension.
The Coca-Cola is the biggest global consumer of natural vanilla extract. So when a new formula was used in 1984 for the New Coke, the economy collapsed Madagascar [6]. Indeed, the new formula uses a synthetic substitute (vanillin) and purchases of vanilla extract were divided by two. Conversely, the recent release of a formula with vanilla has driven up prices.
Vanillin exactly reproduces the main molecule of natural vanilla flavor. The greatest bunch of natural vanilla is due to the presence of other aromatic compounds.
Coca-Cola also uses gum arabic in large quantities.
Works Cited:
Mark Pendergrast (2000). For God, Country and Coca-Cola. Basic Books.
“History Of Bottling”
Mikkelson, Barbara & Mikkelson, David P. (2004). “Acid Slip”
“Brand Fact Sheet”. Coca-Cola official website
