Samstag, 13. Juli 1996 08:34:53 Uhr
Von: Steven M. Adelson,TMUG
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Making Your Own Original Coke
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Now we come to the nitty-gritty of this file -- how can you bring back the
taste of Original Coca-Cola? Well, complaining to the Coke company is the
easiest way to try to get back the taste we all loved, but given all the
publicity generated by the changeover, a turnabout on the part of Coca-Cola is
extremely unlikely. Drink something else. Many of the "store brands" of
supermarket chains feature decent-tasting colas, and dark horse brands like
Shasta and RC can hold their own. Become a Pepper for a while, and see how
that works out. If you live in Massachusetts or Maine, stock up on some Moxie.
Switch to Vernors or Canada Dry ginger ale. Do what comes naturally, but DON'T
BUY COKE OR PEPSI! If you buy New Coke then they'll think you LIKE it (if you
do, why are you reading this file?), and if you drink Pepsi, then you're
probably secretly giggling about this whole mess anyway.
Unfortunately, none of that lets you drink the old Coke here and now. The
first suggestion that will allow the taste of old Coke back into your life is
to make it yourself. Impossible, you say? Not at all! Just time-consuming,
but well worth a shot for the true Coke fanatic. I stole this recipe from the
excellent and highly informative William Poundstone book BIG SECRETS. Try
making it sometime!
The following recipe produces a gallon of syrup very similar to Coca-Cola's.
Mix 2400 grams of sugar with just enough water to dissolve (high-fructose
corn syrup may be substituted for half the sugar). Add 37 grams of caramel,
3.1 grams of caffeine, and 11 grams of phosphoric acid. Extract the cocaine
from 1.1 grams of coca leaf (/Truxillo/ growth of coca preferred) with
toluol; discard the cocaine extract [however you see fit! :-)]. Soak the
coca leaves and kola nuts (both finely powdered; 0.37 gram of kola nuts) in
22 grams of 20 percent alcohol. California white wine fortified to 20
percent strength was used as the soaking solution circa 1909, but Coca-Cola
may have switched to a simple alcohol/water mixture. After soaking, discard
the coca and the kola and add the liquid to the syrup. Add 30 grams of lime
juice (a former ingredient, evidently, that Coca-Cola now denies) or a
substitute such as a water solution of citric acid and sodium citrate at
lime-juice strength. Mix together 0.88 gram of lemon oil, 0.47 gram of
orange oil, 0.27 gram of lime oil, 0.20 gram of cassia (Chinese cinnamon)
oil, 0.07 gram of nutmeg oil, and if desired, traces of coriander, lavender,
and neroli oils, and add to 4.9 grams of 95 percent alcohol. Shake. Add 2.7
grams of water to the alcohol/oil mixture and let stand for twenty-four
hours at about 60 degrees F. A cloudy layer will separate. Take off the
clear part of the liquid only and add to the syrup. Add 19 grams of
glycerin (from vegetable sources, not hog fat, so the drink can be sold to
Orthodox Jews and Moslems) and 1.5 grams of vanilla extract. Add water
(treated with chlorine) to make 1 gallon of syrup.
Yield (used to flavor carbonated water): 128 6.5-ounce bottles.
