Coca-Cola's top secret formula discovered, claims website...

Is this the real thing? Site claims to have uncovered Coca-Cola's top secret formula

By JOHN MCDONNELL
Last updated at 2:42 PM on 14th February 2011

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 exact ingredients of the popular soft drink, invented by a medicinal chemist called John Pemberton in 1886, have always been shrouded in mystery.

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 U.S. website has also published a similar list by Joe Jacobs, owner of the pharmacy where Coca-Cola was first served.

However, Jacobs's 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

Teenagers sharing a bottle of Coke. 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

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

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 per cent 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, which was 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 brand to top £1 billion in annual UK grocery sales.

HISTORY OF THE WORLD'S MOST POPULAR SOFT DRINK

Jacobs' Pharmacy in Atlanta, where Coca-Cola was first sold in 1886

1886: Dr John Pemberton produced the syrup for for Coca-Cola and carried a jug down the street to Jacobs' Pharmacy, where it was sold for 5 cents a glass

1906: Countries outside the US - Cuba, Canada ana Panama - began bottling the drink

1916: The iconic contour bottle - so distinctive it could be recognised in the dark - was introduced to distinguish Coca-Cola from competitors

1931: Artist Haddon Sundblom's Santa Claus first appeared in ads for Coca-Cola. This image of Santa - shown as a plump, jolly, friendly man - helped shape the modern-day image of St. Nick

1969: The Beatles name-checked Coca-Cola in their song Come Together

1982: Soft-drink history was made with the introduction of Diet Coke, the most successful new soft drink since Coca-Cola itself. Within two years, Diet Coke had become the top low-calorie soft drink in the world

1985: The drink became the first soft drink to be consumed in space when astronauts tested the Coca-Cola Space Can aboard Space Shuttle Challenger

2006: Cheryl Cole signed up to promote Coca-Cola's sugar free drink Coke Zero

Present: The world's top soft drinks maker reported a net income of £3.58bn for the fourth quarter of 2010

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1356810/Is-Coca-Cola-recipe.html#ixzz1DwfbnwIA