This recipe is the result of a year of experimentation, taste-testing via triple-blind sample group, and meticulous mixture adjustment to match the flavor profile of Coca-Cola as closely as possible, and its mass spectrolosis result, without actually being Coca Cola, and omitting ingredients that are difficult or impossible to obtain without actually being Coca-Cola themselves.
⚖️ This recipe was obtained via lab experimentation and legal reverse engineering means and discloses openly the "Natural Flavors" present in Coke. Further, the Coca Cola recipe isn't actually patented-- because it would reveal the secret formula.
⛔ This recipe does not use decocanized Cocoa Leaf extract, as there's only one company in the United States that makes it, and they pretty well only sell to Coca-Cola Corp. themselves. The resulting mass spectrogram is nearly identical to the original -- Thus it is not needed for this recipe.
All credit for this recipie goes to LabCoatz on YouTube -> 🖇 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDkH3EbWTYc
I have merely summarized it, cleaned it up, applied the modern changes described in the video.
⏰ Let finished soda rest 24 hours refrigerated for best flavor. Do not carbonate after mixing.
🧤 Please wear gloves and measure accurately, and do not taste unmixed ingredients
- Precision scale
- Adjustable micropipette (up to 1000 µL)
- 50 mL graduated cylinder
- Heat-resistant glassware (no metal)
- 1 L storage bottles
- Optional: magnetic stirrer, 1 L volumetric flask
- Lemon oil
- Lime oil
- Orange oil
- Tea tree oil
- Cassia cinnamon oil
- Nutmeg oil
- Coriander oil
- Fenchol
- Vanilla extract (or vanillin solution)
- Wine tannins
- Glycerin
- 5% vinegar
- 85% phosphoric acid
- Caffeine
- Caramel color (Durkee or equivalent)
- Food-grade ethanol
- Sugar (sucrose)
- Carbonated water
Combine the following essential oils:
- 45.8 mL lemon oil
- 36.5 mL lime oil
- 1.2 mL orange oil
- 8.0 mL tea tree oil
- 4.5 mL cassia cinnamon oil
- 2.7 mL nutmeg oil
- 0.7 mL coriander oil
- 0.6 mL fenchol
Optional: Age 1–2 days before use.
- Take 20 mL of the flavor oil
- Dilute to 1 liter with food-grade ethanol
Into ~200 mL hot water, dissolve in order, fully incorporating each before adding the next:
- 10 mL 5% vinegar
- 9.65 g caffeine
- 160 g glycerin
- 45 mL 85% phosphoric acid
- 10 g wine tannins
- 10 mL vanilla extract
- 190 mL Durkee caramel color
- (Use 320 mL only if using Shanks; Durkee is much stronger)
After everything is dissolved:
- Dilute to a final volume of 1 liter with water
- Dissolve 104 g sugar in a small amount of water
- Add:
- 10 mL Mixture B
- 1 mL Mixture A (7X solution)
- Heat until nearly boiling, then cover
- Allow to cool completely
- Dilute to 1 liter with cold carbonated water
- To mimic glass-bottle Mexican Coke, increase lime slightly in the final mix
- No other formulation changes appear necessary
- This shifts the profile toward the brighter, sharper citrus note characteristic of bottled Coke