What is cola and how is it made?

The most important facts summarized for you:

• Coke is a caffeinated, non-alcoholic soft drink
• The caffeine content is responsible for the fact that cola can be called the world's first energy drink
• It tastes good neat and is best chilled. Cola is also popular for mixed drinks
• Since its invention in 1886 by the pharmacist John Stith Pemberton, numerous other variants have been added
• While "das Cola" is used in southern Germany, "die Cola" is common in eastern and northern Germany - according to the Duden dictionary, both variants are acceptable

Coke, the perennial favorite among soft drinks

Curious about how Coke is made, what it tastes like and why you either love it or don't like it at all? We have the answers for you.

Knowledge makes you thirsty? Here you can buy cola from small manufacturers! To the cola range

Both 'das' and 'die' can be used as articles for cola.

How cola got its name

First of all: you can say das or die Cola, even the Duden dictionary allows both articles. There are regional differences: In Bavaria, Austria and Switzerland, the cola is neuter; in northern German and eastern regions, the cola is feminine. The name is derived from the ingredient kola nut, which the "inventor", pharmacist John Stith Pemberton, used together with other ingredients in 1886.

Pemberton originally wanted to develop a syrup that would act as a medicine for headaches. In addition to the caffeine-rich kola nut, it also contained extracts of Erythroxylum species - coca bushes. The cocaine-containing leaves were supposed to give the cola a stimulating effect. However, as this led to serious side effects and cocaine addiction, the cocaine-containing species Erythroxylum coca was removed from the list of ingredients as early as 1902. Since then, coca bush species that do not contain cocaine but are rich in caffeine have been used instead.

The global brand Coca Cola in particular is often drunk in conjunction with fast food.

Pemberton gave the syrup the name Coca-Cola as an abbreviation of the two ingredients coca leaf and cola nut. The hoped-for medicinal effect did not materialize, but the syrup was popular when mixed with soda water. A few years later, pharmacy wholesaler Asa Griggs Candler bought the rights to the recipe and the name. He founded the Coca-Cola Company in 1892, which developed into a global brand over the following decades.

Recipe and production

The actual recipe is top secret. In addition, there are now several manufacturers who produce cola and create their own flavors. However, most of the ingredients are still known: The main ingredients are water, sugar and carbonic acid. Phosphoric acid (diluted as orthophosphoric acid) is partly responsible for the typical cola taste. Cola also contains caffeine, which either comes from caffeine-containing plant extracts or is produced chemically.

In addition to the cola nut, the coca bush is also an ingredient that gives cola its name

Kola nut leaves are also an ingredient. To round off the taste and aroma, producers use other ingredients such as lemon, lime, cinnamon oil, clove oil or vanilla. There are also differences depending on the country in which cola is produced. There are further regional differences due to the different water qualities in the various countries.

Beet sugar is usually used for sweetening in Europe, cane sugar in Asia and corn syrup is a preferred sweetener in the United States of America. The typical color of cola, a dark reddish brown, comes from the ingredient sugar couleur.

Cola drinks also have an invigorating effect for some, but the caffeine content is lower than that of coffee and black tea.

How do you drink cola?

Either pure or mixed, but always as cold and fresh as possible! A bottle that has been open for a long time loses carbon dioxide. And warm cola really doesn't work.

So it's best to store it in the fridge, possibly with ice cubes. You can enjoy your cola as a non-alcoholic mixture if you mix half cola and half orange soda. Then you have Spezi, which is particularly popular in German-speaking countries.

Coke tastes good on its own as well as in mixed drinks with and without alcohol

Alcoholic variants are available with beer or red wine as a lighter version - and mixed with spirits, mainly rum, as a stronger cocktail. Mixtures with beer are commonly referred to as bog water, diesel or dirty beer. If you use wheat beer, the result is called Colaweizen.

A mixture with red wine is called Cola rot or Calimocho (formerly also known as Kahle or Kalte Muschi - although language-sensitive people no longer use these terms). In some regions, the red wine cola mix is called Mussolini or Bambule.

Rum or whisky cola are very popular long drinks. And of course always lots of ice! Adding ice cubes keeps the long drink nice and cool, but it can quickly become watered down. A small remedy: freeze the cola in an ice cube tray so that the taste is retained until the last sip.

The type of rum or whisky used often results in special names, such as Jackcola or Bacardicola. The gold standard is the famous Cuba libre, which is said to have been created in 1900. Legend has it that an American soldier in the American Bar in Havana combined cola with rum and added the juice of fresh limes. The new creation was accompanied by the toast "¡Por Cuba libre!", which translates as "To a free Cuba!" The Cuba libre is without doubt the most popular long drink with cola.

A classic cocktail with cola is the Long Island Ice Tea

A very well-known cocktail is the Long Island Iced Tea, which looks like iced tea but contains five clear spirits instead of tea and is topped up with cola.

What are the main types of cola?

Original cola

• Typical cola taste
• Fresh and sweet
• Caffeine content: approx. 10 mg/100 ml
• Calorie content: 38 per 100 ml

Sugar-reduced and sugar-free cola

• Also good cola taste
• Slight change in taste due to sugar substitutes
• Calorie content: 0.3 kcal per 100 ml
• Zero calories for zero variants

Many different cola variations have been created over the years

Children's cola

• Good cola taste
• Contains no caffeine
• Calorie content: 44 kcal per 100 ml

Flavored varieties

• Taste depends on the added flavoring
• Common variants: Cherrycola with cherry flavor
• Vanillecola with vanilla flavor
• Very fresh with lemon or lime flavor

Coke fans love everything about the caffeinated soda: the fizz when you open a can or bottle, the fresh taste and the intense color. But did you know that there are even white or bright yellow cola variants? The drink is widely available around the world, which is why you can find uncolored versions that are crystal clear without the addition of sugar couleur. The yellow version comes from Peru, is called Inca Kola and contains ingredients that come from the lemon bush.

If you love cola, it doesn't matter whether it's with or without sugar, with or without flavoring: just choose your favorite variety, add ice cubes and take a little time out! After all, the best-known cola manufacturer was already advertising this refreshing drink in the 1950s with the slogan "Take a break". And breaks are always good, aren't they? Take a look around our store, discover Coke and everything that goes perfectly with it!

Discover our non-alcoholic range now! To the lemonade & cola range