Are Coca Leaves an Ingredient in Coca-Cola?

[Euphoriet]

http://www.narconews.com/Issue35/article1159.html

So... does anyone know for sure if the coca leaves are an actual ingredient of the soft drink? I'm not saying its all a big deal.. but I would like to know.. because it seems kind of funny to me.

 

[russ_watters]

Usedta be, but not anymore.

 

[brewnog]

Caffeine's where it's at.

We tried to make our own cola a few years back, the recipe for Coca Cola was published somewhere on t'interweb and we spent a few weeks trying to get all the ingredients. We didn't have any problems, except for caffeine, which seems to be pretty regulated! Good old pro-plus.

Anyway, it tasted like Panda Cola, we've got shedloads left if anyone wants some?

 

[BobG]

I never tried making Coca Cola.

Hire's Root Beer used to sell the extract to make your own root beer, and we used to make that (back when they still sold pop in bottles so you collect enough to make a batch). The results tended to vary, probably because of errors in measuring the indredients (7 kids mixing the same batch of root beer is just asking for mistakes). I think one batch actually tasted something remotely close to Hire's Root Beer, but almost all of them tasted good enough to be drinkable.

 

[Moonbear]

We made homemade root beer as kids too! Yummy!

I'm not sure what Panda Cola is...does that mean it didn't work very well?

 

[brewnog]

Panda cola is that horrible cheap stuff you get at school fetes. A bit like the 'Rolla Cola' made famous by Peter Kay ("why do mums buy crap pop?").

Yeah, it mung.

Is root beer like ginger beer? Made with ginger and yeast and sugar and stuff?

Real beer is definitely the way to go, as far as homebrew goes.

 

[Moonbear]

Is root beer like ginger beer? Made with ginger and yeast and sugar and stuff?

Nope. I'm not sure what it's made out of, but I've never known a Brit who liked it. They all make faces and claim it tastes like medicine. It's the revenge us American's get on you for trying to tell us marmite is edible.

 

[brewnog]

Marmite is gorgeous! I had a marmite and cheese toastie for my tea tonight. Mmmmm!


Do you 'mericans have Dandelion & Burdock?

 

[cepheid]

Drank coca tea when I was in Peru...quite a popular beverage. In fact, I would even say that it is Peru for which coca tea is famous. They consider it one of their natural resources/valuable commidities. It is supposed to energize you during those high alititude climbs...but maybe they just tell that to tourists. I didn't like the taste, but I drank it anyway. It was part of the experience. Supposedly, a *very* small percentage of it is actual cocaine, or consists of the "alkaloid" (I think that's the word they used) that makes up cocaine. Forgive my ignorance in organic chemistry. Maybe someone can clarify this?

Edit: my apologies for mentioning the original subject of the thread. ::

 

[iansmith]

Real beer is definitely the way to go, as far as homebrew goes.

I'll second that

Drank coca tea when I was in Peru...quite a popular beverage. In fact, I would even say that it is Peru for which coca tea is famous. They consider it one of their natural resources/valuable commidities. It is supposed to energize you during those high alititude climbs...but maybe they just tell that to tourists. I didn't like the taste, but I drank it anyway. It was part of the experience. Supposedly, a *very* small percentage of it is actual cocaine, or consists of the "alkaloid" (I think that's the word they used) that makes up cocaine. Forgive my ignorance in organic chemistry. Maybe someone can clarify this?

I think the native at high altitude chew the coca leaf to give more energy and keep them going. One guy at my old work place came back from peru with leafs and tea, I didn't try the tea but I try the leaf. It gives you a physical buzz. Your head is clear but your body is kind numb. I bet the coca leave remove part of the physical pain associated with physical activities at high altitude and kept the workers doing their job.

As far as coca in coca cola, ask my grand mother. She used to take an aspirin and coke to cure headaches and she later ask my mom why this trick did not have any effect anymore.

 

[Euphoriet]

My questions is.. what coca cola did with the "left overs" with all the alkaloids...?

 

[Moonbear]

My questions is.. what coca cola did with the "left overs" with all the alkaloids...?

They don't use the coca leaves anymore, so there are no leftovers to deal with. The alkaloids used to go into Coca Cola years and years and years ago, back when Coke syrup was used as a remedy for a number of things (made you feel real good ).

 

[Bladibla]

funny..I always thought coca cola kept the ingredients of their drink secret, no?

 

[tribdog]

I read once the Kentucky Fried Chicken's 11 herbs and spices are: salt and pepper

 

[Moonbear]

I read once the Kentucky Fried Chicken's 11 herbs and spices are: salt and pepper

LOL! I know I don't taste any other herbs and spices in it. No hint of anything green in the batter (herbs). It doesn't even have much spice to it, so even with black pepper, it probably means the calculated it so each piece of chicken has 5 grains of salt and 6 grains of ground black pepper.