Coca-Cola's 1886 Secret Formula Shared With The World

Coca Cola Secret Recipe Found

Everett Beal's Recipe Book In Feb 28, 1979 Article Atlanta Journal and Constitution Newspaper	Pemberton's Notebook Published in the 1992 History: For God, Country & Coca-Cola
FE Coca (Fluid Extract of Coca)	3 drams USP	4 oz FE Coco
Citric Acid	3 oz	3 oz
Caffeine	1 oz	1oz Citrate Caffein
Sugar	30 #	30 #
Water	2.5 gal	2.5 gal
Lime Juice	2 pints (1 qrt)	1 qrt
Vanilla	1 oz	1 oz
Caramel	1.5 oz or more to color	Color sufficient
	Use 2 oz flavor (below) to 5 gals syrup	2.5 oz flavor
7X Flavor
Alcohol	8 oz	1 qrt
Orange Oil	20 drops	80
Lemon Oil	30	120
Nutmeg Oil	10	40
Corriander Oil	5	20
Neroli Oil	10	40
Cinnamon Oil	10	40
(The Pemberton formula for 7X is the same as the Beal, just four times as much.)

Coca-Cola’s secret recipe has been a fiercely guarded trade secret since the creation of the carbonated beverage way back in 1886. But a US radio show claims to have sensationally uncovered the ingredients and quantities used to make the iconic American soft drink.

This American Life has unearthed a 32-year-old article from the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Coca-Cola’s hometown paper, which it claims shows a photograph of a hand-written recipe purported to be an exact replica of Coca-Cola creator John Pemberton’s. According to research undertaken by This American Life, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution journalist came across the recipe in dusty book of recipes once owned by pharmacist Everett Beal, Pemberton’s fishing buddy. Coca-Cola historian Mark Pendergrast told the radio show the recipe is “certainly a version of the formula.”

If the recipe does turns out to be the real thing it will send shockwaves around the US firm which has kept stony silent about the recipe for over 100 years. “The only official written copy is supposedly held in a U.S. bank vault and only two company employees at any one time are said to know the whole formula that gives the fizzy drink its distinctive flavour,” reported The Daily Mail, which added that, “Asa Candler, one of the first presidents of the company, was so worried that the ‘Holy of Holies’ would fall into the wrong hands he made sure it was never written down. He removed all the labels from the containers of the ingredients so they were identified only by the sight, smell and where they were put on the shelf.”

Somewhat unsurprisingly, Coca-Cola have denied the secret formula has been made public. “Our formulation is our company’s most valued trade secret, and we will not be coming forward with that formula,” a cagey spokesperson told The Los Angeles Times’ Daily Dish blog.

Currently, a can of Coke lists its ingredients as: “Natural flavourings including caffeine’ alongside carbonated water, sugar, phosphoric acid and colour (Caramel E150d).” But it has long been known that the drink contains a mysterious “7X” flavouring. “The company has always said, and as far as I know it’s true, that at any given time only two people know how to mix the 7X flavouring ingredient,” Coca-Cola historian Mark Pendergrast told This American Life. “Those two people never travel on the same plane in case it crashes; it’s this carefully passed-on secret ritual and the formula is kept in a bank vault.”

So, what’s in a can of Coke? It has two parts. The first includes “fluid extract of coca,” citric acid, caffeine, sugar, water, lime juice, vanilla, and caramel. The second, called “7X,” includes alcohol, orange oil, lemon oil, nutmeg oil, coriander, neroli, and cinnamon. Budding soda makers keen to make megabucks can check out the original recipe here. Thisamericanlife.org said all ingredients are available online.

“Mostly through all this I feel bad for poor Pepsi, about whose secret formula no one cares,” quipped Max Read at Gawker. “When was the last time you wondered about the secret recipe for Pepsi? They probably would just give it to you, if you asked!”