Did you know that Coca-Cola still uses coca leaf extract in their recipe?

[Kablooie]

Last edited Fri Feb 24, 2023, 04:29 PM - Edit history (2)

Coca-Cola was originally made with cocaine but it was eliminated around 1903.
Coca leaves, which cocaine is made from, are a Schedule II narcotic and illegal to bring into the US.

There is one exception: The Stepan Company has special authorization to import coca leaves specifically for Coca-Cola.
An extract is processed from them, which contains no cocaine, and sold to the Coca-Cola company.

This may be why other cola manufacturers can't duplicate precisely the taste of Coca-Cola.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Company

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. How interesting! Learn something new every day. n/t

[Irish_Dem]

2. No wonder I love drinking fountain coke so much. :(

[Shermann]

3. This pleases Dr. Rockso!

He does cocaine.

[jmowreader]

4. Almost exactly right

The "specifically for Coca-Cola" thing is not quite right: the leaf - 100 tons per year - is brought in for Coca-Cola and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. Cocaine is used by eye, ear, nose and throat doctors as an anesthetic. The drug goes to Mallinckrodt, the now cocaine-free leaf is sold to Coca-Cola.

[Sneederbunk]

5. Next you are going to tell me there is root in root beer.

[friend of a friend]

7. Sassafras root bark, sarsaparilla root bark, licorice root

[Chakaconcarne]

6. I chewed coca leaves quite often while in Bolivia and Peru

Works great for headache/fatigue associated with altitude sickness... No stronger than drinking your average energy drink.

What I never knew until I tried it is that you also break off a piece of coal (usually sweetened) and add it to the leaves, then just park the mixture in your cheek and chew/swallow. Lasts about about 30-40 min and the leaves are very inexpensive and found everywhere.

[Prairie_Seagull]

8. Does Coke make an original receipe in any other county?

As they say, asking for a friend?

[Kablooie]

10. Probably have a similar recipe in Peru.

[Prairie_Seagull]

11. I will check for my fiend.

[FakeNoose]

9. This is why their "super secret" recipe has remained secret (and patented) all these years

The Coca-Cola company is hoping that secret will never get out.

[Kablooie]

12. Oh! New Coke! Is this why?

Last edited Sat Feb 25, 2023, 01:12 PM - Edit history (1)

I wonder if the “New Coke” from the 80s dropped the coca extract from the recipe.
That might have been why they did it and why it didn’t taste right.
They might have wanted to eliminate the exotic ingredient, probably because it was expensive.
They were at the mercy of the Sepan Company because there were no other suppliers.