Has the Secret Formula For Coca-Cola Finally Been Discovered?

On February 18th, 1979, there's an article about Coca-Cola founder John Pemberton, with some photos of his hand-written journal.  And one of them shows what they BELIEVE is the secret formula for Coke.  It's been right there, all along.

The recipe contains everything from sugar, vanilla, and caramel, to lime juice, alcohol and cinnamon.

The researchers reproduced the recipe, and some people said they couldn't tell the difference.  But it never tasted quite right.

Yesterday, Coca-Cola spokeswoman Kerry Tressler said a company historian tested the recipe, and that it wasn't quote, "the real thing ...our formulation is our company's most valued trade secret, and we will not be coming forward with that formula."

She also addressed some famous rumors about the recipe:  Yes, it exists, hand-written on a piece of paper, and it's kept in a bank vault.  But no, it's not true that only two people in the company know the recipe at any given time.

Kerry says that one's false, and that, quote, "We cannot confirm the number of people who are familiar with the formulation, but it is only a small handful."

Here's the Secret Recipe For Coca-Cola…Supposedly

The main syrup:

--Fluid extract of Coca:  3 drams USP.  ('USP' stands for United States Pharmacopeia...they set standards for the preparation of medicine.)

--Citric acid:  3 ounces

--Caffeine:  1 ounce

--Sugar:  30  (30 what?  The quantity on that one remains a mystery.)

--Water:  2.5 gallons

--Lime juice:  2 pints, one quart

--Vanilla:  1 ounce

--Caramel:  1.5 ounce or more, for color

The secret "7X" flavor…Every five gallons of syrup gets two ounces of flavor.

--Alcohol:  8 ounces

--Orange oil:  20 drops

--Lemon oil:  30 drops

--Nutmeg oil:  10 drops

--Coriander:  5 drops

--Neroli:  10 drops

--Cinnamon:  10 drops

UPDATE!

Coca-Cola's Archivist Confirms That Their Secret Recipe Has Not Been Leaked

John Pemberton is the inventor of Coca-Cola, and back in 1979, a few pages of his journal were printed in the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution".  And one of them seemed to list all the ingredients in the recipe for Coke.

I also told you that a spokeswoman from Coca-Cola announced that no, that ISN'T the secret recipe.

She wouldn't say if it was an early attempt at the recipe, or if ingredients were missing, or if it was something else entirely…just that it's not the recipe, and the real recipe is hand-written and kept in a bank vault.

(Of course, my cynical side thinks it USED to be the recipe, but all the ingredients like lemon oil, caramel, and real sugar were replaced by chemicals a long time ago.)

Phil Mooney has been the archivist for Coca-Cola since 1977, and yesterday he said that the recipe floating around isn't just wrong…it's the same old wrong list that everyone always shows him when they think they've cracked Coke's secret.

He says that over the past 34 years, three or four dozen people have approached him, allegedly with the secret formula, and it's always the same, incorrect list as the one that's making the rounds this week.

(Time)