The Indonesian version of the characteristically-shaped Coca-Cola bottle.

Cola is a beverage usually containing caramel coloring, caffeine and a sweetener such as sugar or high fructose corn syrup.^[1]

Originally invented by the druggist John Pemberton in 1885, it has become popular worldwide. Coca-Cola has become the major international brand, leading to the drink often being seen as a symbol of the United States. Modern colas very rarely contain any kola nut—the origin of the name—as the taste of this nut is strongly bitter.

[edit] Flavorings

Despite the name, the primary flavoring ingredients in a cola drink are sugar, citrus oils (orange, lime, or lemon fruit peel), cinnamon, vanilla, and an acidic flavorant^[2]. Manufacturers of cola drinks add other trace ingredients to the drink in addition to these flavorings in order to create distinctively different tastes for each brand. Trace flavorings may include nutmeg, lavender, and a wide variety of ingredients, but the base flavorings that most people identify with a cola taste remain vanilla and cinnamon. Kola nuts, which have a bitter taste, although giving their name to the product contribute little or no flavor to most cola recipes, as they are rarely actually used as an ingredient. Acidity is often provided by phosphoric acid, sometimes accompanied by citric or other isolated acids.

Inexpensive colas may contain only vanilla and cinnamon as flavorings, which provide a simple cola taste^{[citation needed]}. Many cola drink recipes are closely-guarded secrets of their manufacturers^{[citation needed]}, with the recipe used by Coca-Cola being perhaps the most famous in this respect.

A variety of different sweeteners may be added to cola, with the common sweetener often being dependent on local agricultural policy. High-fructose corn syrup is predominantly used in the United States and Canada due to the lower cost of government subsidized corn. In Europe, however, HFCS is subject to production quotas designed to encourage the production of sugar; sugar is thus typically used to sweeten sodas.^[3] In addition, stevia or an artificial sweetener may be used; "sugar-free" or "diet" colas typically contain artificial sweeteners only.

Some consumers prefer the taste of soda manufactured with sugar. As a result of this, there is demand in the United States for imported Mexican Coca Cola^[4][5]. Kosher for Passover Coca-Cola sold in the U.S. around the Jewish holiday also uses sucrose rather than HFCS and is also highly sought after by people who prefer the original taste.^[6] In addition, PepsiCo markets a version of their Pepsi and Mountain Dew sodas that are sweetened with sugar instead of HFCS. These are marketed under the name Throwback.

[edit] Brands

A can of generic brand Cola

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The cola brands with the greatest global volumes are Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

[edit] Asia

A green glass bottle with arabic/urdu Coca-Cola, seen in the Pakistani market

• Alef Cola is a brand of cola in Israel, marketed specifically to Haredim. The kosher emblem is as large and prominent as the brand insignia.
• Mecca Cola, an Arab activist beverage, is sold in the Middle East and parts of Europe.
• Pakola is a popular beverage from Pakistan.
• RC Cola was popular in the Philippines with its franchisee Asiawide Beverages. RC was introduced to Israel in 1995 with the slogan "RC: Just like in America!"
• Zesto Cola was not so popular in the Philippines with the slogan "Ang Cola na may zest"
• Star Cola is a brand from Gaza-Palestine. However, there is also "Star Cola" in Myanmar. It is the most popular brand for cola in Myanmar since its introduction in 1997.
• Super Drink is a popular cola in the Palestinian Territories and the State of Israel.
• Thums Up is a popular cola brand in India.
• Campa Cola was India's most popular brand prior to the introduction of Pepsi and Coca-Cola to the Indian market in 1991.
• Zam Zam Cola, popular in Iran and parts of the Arab world.
• Parsi Cola, popular in Iran.
• Red Bull Cola, popular in Thailand.
• myCola, popular in Sri Lanka, is distinctly sold in small plastic bottles (the major other colas most widely available in glass bottles)
• 815 Cola was popular in South Korea in 1990s.

[edit] Europe

• Afri-Cola, a German brand, had a higher caffeine content (about 250 mg/L) until the product was relaunched with a new formulation in 1999, and has it again since a second relaunch with the original formulation in April 2006.
• Alter Cola is the native cola in Catalonia, (Spain).
• American Cola and Adria Cola are the local drinks in Romania.
• Barr Cola made by A.G. Barr (the makers of the popular Irn Bru drink) in the United Kingdom.
• Breizh Cola is a local brand from Brittany (France) it offers different and unique flavors like a cloves aroma^{[citation needed]}, bottled in an original cider bottle^{[citation needed]}.
• Cockta is a local brand from former Yugoslavia, originally produced by Slovenijavino company from Slovenia (then part of a Yugoslavia). A couple of years ago it was bought by Droga Kolinska. It is still popular in former Yugoslav republics, especially in Croatia.
• Cola Cola in Albania
• Cola Turka and Le Cola are two local brands in Turkey.
• Cuba Cola is the native cola of Sweden.
• In Denmark, the native Jolly Cola was more popular than Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola during the 1960s and 70s.
• fritz-kola is a cola soft drink from Hamburg, Germany. It uses the highest possible concentration of caffeine for beverages allowed by German law (25 mg / 100ml) and is available in most of Germany, as well as parts of western and central Europe.
• Harboe Cola is the native cola of Danmark
• Kofola is the third best selling soft-drink in Czech and Slovak, behind Coca-Cola and Pepsi.
• Red Bull Cola has been available throughout Europe since 2008.
• Tesco klasszikus kóla is highly popular in Hungary, usually mixed with koccintos^{[clarification needed]}.
• Virgin Cola was popular in the South Africa and Western Europe in the 1990s but has waned in availability.

[edit] North America

• Royal Crown (RC Cola) is widely available in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bangladesh.
• There is also an open source recipe for a cola drink, OpenCola.
• tuKola and Tropicola are brands from Cuba (also sold widely in Italy)
• Jones Soda makes a cola too. This is served on Alaska Airlines as an alternative to other American colas that contain corn syrup. Instead they use real cane sugar.
• Jolt Cola is sold by Wet Planet Beverages, of Rochester, New York. Originally, the slogan was "All the sugar and twice the caffeine." They dropped the slogan when they switched from cane sugar to high fructose corn syrup.
• Johnnie Ryan is a regional cola bottled in Niagara Falls, New York. Established in 1935, they make it with 100% cane sugar and also sell 22 other flavors.

[edit] South America

• Inca Kola is another brand that is now marketed in many countries by the Coca Cola group; it is the major cola in some South American countries. This bright yellow carbonated beverage is especially popular in Peru, which was once the heartland of the Inca (or Inka) Empire. Inca Kola was only recently bought by Coca-Cola.
• Schin Cola is a variety of cola produced in Brazil by Primo Schincariol.

[edit] Chemical and medical reactions

The carbonation in this cup of cola is evident from the bubbles.

Being carbonated, colas are acidic (carbonic acid is formed when carbon dioxide dissolves in water), and so can react violently with basic chemicals, such as baking soda. Many colas also contain phosphoric acid and/or citric acid, which further increases the acidity.^[7] Colas containing phosphoric acid have been linked to chronic kidney disease.^[8] Drinking two or more of these colas per day more than doubled the incidence of kidney disease, while colas containing citric acid did not have an effect.

Drinking more than 2l of cola a day may lead to hypokalaemia^[9] (potassium deficiency), leading to muscle wastage and paralysis.

The Diet Coke and Mentos eruption is a popular experiment. Mentos candies and crystalline powders such as sugar and salt, when added to cola (usually diet coke), cause fizzing by providing many micronucleation points for the carbon dioxide to leave solution. This, however, is a physical reaction resulting from the release of dissolved CO2 as opposed to a chemical reaction.

Another experiment involves adding dry ice. By providing additional carbon dioxide, some of the carbon dioxide present in the drink is forced out of the solution, creating an explosion and destroying the bottle.

In either case, mixing these substances with cola (or any other carbonated drink) causes the drink to bubble, creating foam and greatly increasing the pressure in the bottle, resulting in either the bottle or the cap giving way.^[7]

[edit] Etymology

The word cola may have been introduced into the mainstream by the major producer Coca-Cola, as they saw their trademark slipping into common use, like other genericized trademarks. They successfully defended the exclusive use of their name and its diminutive form "Coke" by suggesting the alternative of "cola drink" as a generic name for similar types of carbonated soft drinks. The word cola as part of the Coca-Cola trademark may have originated from the kola nuts that were originally used as the source of caffeine, or from when the original recipe contained coca (from which cocaine is derived).

[edit] See also

• Brands of Cola (shown below)
• Cola wars

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Look up cola in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Cola and Mentos mints trick
• OpenCola recipe (originally published by Cory Doctorow)
• Straight Dope article about caffeine levels on soft drinks