Cola IV

Cola is a type of soda that flavored with citrus and spices. The word “cola” derives from kola nuts, a plant originating in West Africa and originally used as a source of caffeine to make this soda. Most modern recipes do not contain kola nuts.

This recipe is derived from a LabCoatz video where he tries to replicate modern Coca-Cola through mass spectrometry.

Note that consuming high levels of caffeine can be very dangerous. If you are scaling the recipe up or down, make sure you scale the caffeine accordingly so that the per-serving caffeine amount stays the same or is lower. Absolutely do not use more than triple the listed proportion of caffeine.

Ingredients

Flavor solution A:

  • 1 drop coriander oil
  • 1 drop fenchol
  • 2 drops orange oil
  • 4 drops nutmeg oil
  • 7 drops cassia oil
  • 12 drops tea tree oil
  • 61 drops lime oil
  • 76 drops lemon oil
  • 50 ml 150+ proof unflavored spirit or a mixture of 25 ml water with 25 ml gum arabic

Flavor solution B:

  • 0.08 g wine tannins
  • 0.0965 g caffeine (optional)
  • 0.1 ml or 2 drops vanilla extract
  • 0.1 ml or 2 drops 5% vinegar
  • 0.45 ml or 9 drops 85% phosphoric acid
  • 1.75 g glycerin
  • 3.2 ml or 64 drops caramel color

Syrup:

  • ½ cup (120 ml) white sugar
  • ½ cup (120 ml) water
  • Carbonated water, as needed
Cola IV

Photo: Gvdmoort / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

Procedure

  1. Mix the oils in flavor solution A in a container.
  2. Transfer 1 ml of flavor solution A into another container and dilute it with the spirit or gum arabic water.
  3. Mix flavor solution B in a third container.
  4. Combine 1 ml of the finished flavor solution A, 10 ml of flavor solution B, the white sugar, and the water to make the syrup.
  5. To make the finished soda, combine 1 volume of syrup with 5 volumes of carbonated water.

Notes, tips, and variations

  • Use a clean eye dropper to measure drops. Do not use a pipette, an eye dropper previously used for dispensing medication, or a spoon to measure drops.
  • Use water from a carbonating machine or a brand of pure carbonated water such as Polar Original Sparkling Water, Great Value Seltzer Water, or Signature Select Seltzer Water. Do not use a brand of mineral water such as Perrier, San Pellegrino, or Mineragua because the added minerals will ruin the taste. Avoid flavored sparkling water such as La Croix or Spindrift because the preexisting fruit flavors will ruin the drink.
  • You can make cherry cola by adding 1 tsp (5 ml) of cherry extract in step 4.
  • You can make vanilla cola by adding an additional teaspoon (5 ml) of vanilla extract in step 4.