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Revealed: The secret recipe for Coca-Cola
This American Life claims to have uncovered the "secret formula" behind the coun
try's favorite soft drink. Is it truly the real thing?
posted on February 15, 2011, at 3:44 PM
The long-held secret formula behind Coca-Cola reportedly includes a mix of oils,
coriander, nerol, and cinnamon.
The long-held secret formula behind Coca-Cola reportedly includes a mix of oils,
coriander, nerol, and cinnamon. Photo: CC BY: Maks Karochkin
Ira Glass' radio show This American Life claims to have stumbled across a secret
that has eluded generations of soft drink manufacturers: The confidential formu
la for making Coca-Cola. Here, a quick guide to the discovery:
First things first, what is the secret formula?
Every cola from Pepsi to supermarket knock-offs starts with a basic recipe: A mi
x of coca, citric acid, caffeine, sugar, water, lime juice, vanilla, and caramel
. What gives Coca-Cola its unique taste, however, is a compound known as "Secret
7x flavor," which, according to This American Life, is concocted by mixing alco
hol, orange oil, lemon oil, nutmeg oil, coriander, nerol, and cinnamon. Five gal
lons of the basic mix plus two ounces of Secret 7x produces Coca-Cola, claim Gla
ss and company.
How did This American Life discover the recipe?
Reporters at the radio show uncovered a 1979 newspaper article about the soft dr
ink's history, illustrated with a photo of a hand-written copy of the drink's or
iginal recipe, created in the 1880s by John Pemberton as a rescue remedy. This A
merican Life simply copied the recipe from the photograph. "This supposedly secr
et recipe has been hiding in plain sight for 30 years," says Glass. (Listen to t
he radio program here)
How "secret" was this, then?
Plenty secret. Asa Candler, an early president of the Coca-Cola Company, forbade
anyone from writing down the recipe. Pemberton's original book of recipes is no
w under lock and key, reportedly kept in a bank vault beneath Coca-Cola's Atlant
a headquarters. The recipe is considered "one of the biggest secrets in business
history."
Could This American Life's revelation hurt Coke's business?
Not likely. Beverage analysts now say that anyone with access to a "sophisticate
d chemistry laboratory" could figure out what they put in Coke. The one thing ri
vals can't replicate, says soda expert John Sicher, is Coke's branding. "The val
ue today is the brand, not the formula."
So this is definitely the real thing?
Coca-Cola doesn't think so. "This American Life, along with many other third par
ties, have tried over time to crack our secret formula," says Coca-Cola spokeswo
man Kerry Tressler. "At the end of the day, there is only one "'real thing.'" St
ill, This American Life gathered a panel of experts and amateurs to taste-test t
heir brew and reports that many of them "couldn't differentiate it from the real
thing."
Should I have a go at making some myself?
Are you kidding? says Kim Conte at The Stir. "Just reading the ingredient list i
s [exhausting] enough to make you want to buy a can of Coke for the caffeine boo
st alone." It does sound like "a lot of work for something we can all buy for le
ss than a bottle of water," says Wall Street Cheat Sheet. And if you're thinking
of selling your home brew to compete with Coke, then "think again." The company
's "army of lawyers" won't let you get far.
Sources: This American Life, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Time, Wall Street Che
at Sheet