Projects:Making cola

I (Sjors) recently saw this video by LabCoatz reverse engineering the Coca-Cola recipe using (among other techniques) a mass spectrometer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDkH3EbWTYc

Now I'm a bit of a Coca-Cola addict, so I'm intrigued and want to reproduce it.

Perhaps once we've done this we can also make other kinds of cola, like Toyen Cola, which has its recipe on the back. We could even do a taste test!

Overview

LabCoatz calls the end product of their recipe LabCola. One liter of LabCola is built off of four components:

• around 100g sugar
• 1mL of flavor solution A
• 10 mL of flavor solution B
• around 1 liter of carbonated water

Flavor solution A is made by adding the following components together (~100mL), then taking 20 mL from that and diluting to 1L using 95% ethanol:

• 45.8mL lemon oil
• 36.5mL lime oil
• 8mL tea tree oil (from Australian tea tree, Melaleuca Alternifolia)
• 4.5mL cassia cinnamon oil
• 2.7mL nutmeg oil
• 1.2mL orange oil (regular sweet orange)
• 0.7mL coriander oil
• 0.6mL fenchol (any version of alpha-fenchol should work)

Flavor solution B is made by adding the following components together (~400mL), then diluting to 1L using water:

• 185mL Durkee caramel color
• 150 grams food-grade vegetable glycerin
• 43mL 85% phosphoric acid
• 10 grams wine tannin
• 9.65 grams caffeine
• 10mL 5% vinegar
• 10mL vanilla extract (or a solution containing 0.95 grams per liter of vanillin)

It's important to note that this is not the Coca-Cola recipe, which uses coca leaf extract. It is supposed to be quite close, though.

Tools

• Mass scale
  • Max measurement is 150g, most precise measurement is 9.65g
  • possible source: Michiel may have one, Mats as well
  • possible source: €14,20 https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/precisie-weegschaal-0-01-gram-keukenweegschaal-digitaal-milligram-precisieweegschaal-pocket-weegschaal-sieraden-weegschaal/9300000031220365/
  • possible source: €139,15 https://www.labshop.nl/schoolweegschaal-efs-500-2/
• micropipette + tips
  • ideally an adjustable micropipette, but these are quite expensive (€100+)
  • fixed 100µL micropipette is cheaper, €25 https://www.merkala.nl/minipet-microliterpipet.html
• 50 mL graduated cilinder
  • €14,74 https://www.labshop.nl/maatcilinder-hoog-model-klasse-a-bruine-schaalverdeling/?attribute_pa_volume=10-ml
• some 1L storage bottles
  • solution A is normally produced 5L at a time, solution B normally 1L at a time, so six?
  • https://www.labshop.nl/labfles-glas-blank-gl45-blauw-simax/
  • €12,40 * 6 = €74,40
• heat-resistant glassware for preparing the syrup (1L)
  • €9,23 https://www.labshop.nl/bekerglas-laag-model/
  • Ø 105mm, dus dekglaasje ~€16 https://www.labshop.nl/horlogeglas-10-stuks/ maar afdekken kan misschien ook wel met folie?
• magnetic stirrer for mixing
  • €133,10 https://www.labshop.nl/mini-magnetische-roerder-rotilabo-m-3/
  • possible source: Michiel has one
• 1L volumetric flask to make the dilution steps easier
  • €39,87 https://www.labshop.nl/maatkolf/?attribute_pa_volume=25-ml-ns12-21-klasse-a
• water carbonator / sodastream
  • Sjors has this at home

If we don't need to buy the mass scale nor magnetic stirrer, tools come out to approximately €180.

Ingedients

Ingredient	Source link	Quantity	Quantity necessary	Order amount	Price per piece	Price total	Makes L solution12	Makes L cola	Price per L cola
Overall
Sugar	Supermarket		Around 100g
Carbonated water	Self-made		Around 1L
Flavor solution A
Food-grade 95% alcohol	Topdrinks.de	1L	1L	1	€23,50	€23,50	1L	1 kL	2.35 cents
Lemon oil	Bodystore	30mL	45.8mL	2	€7,59	€15,18	6,55L	6,55 kL	0,23 cents
Lime oil	Bodystore	30mL	36.5mL	2	€7,99	€15,98	8,22L	8,22 kL	0,19 cents
Tea tree oil	Bodystore	30mL	8mL	1	€9,99	€9,99	18,75L	18,75 kL	0,05 cents
Cassia cinnamon oil	Bodystore	30mL	4,5mL	1	€8,90	€8,90	33,33L	33,33 kL	0,03 cents
Nutmeg oil	iHerb	30mL	2.7mL	1	€13,97	€13,97	55,56L	55,56 kL	0,03 cents
Orange oil	Bodystore	30mL	1.2mL	1	€4,99	€4,99	125L	125 kL	<0,01 cents
Coriander oil	bol.com	5mL	0.7mL	1	€20,95	€20,95	35,71L	35,71 kL	0,06 cents
Fenchol	Pellwall (UK)	5g (~5mL?)	0.6mL	1	£7 + shipping	~€8 ?	42L	42 kL	0,02 cents
Total flavor solution A						~ €120	1L	1kL	€0,03 when produced at scale €0,12 for first liter
Flavor solution B
Durkee caramel color	Pantryful	32 oz. (946 mL)	185mL	1	$14 + shipping	~€12?	5,11L	511L	2,3 cents
Food-grade vegetable glycerin	Labshop	1L	150g (~150mL?)	1	€12,04	€12,04	6,66L	666L	2 cents
85% Phosphoric acid	Labshop	1L	43mL	1	€20,27	€20,27	23,26L	2326L	0,8 cents
Wine tannin	Brouwland	20g	10g	1	€5,99	€5,99	2L	200L	3 cents
Caffeine powder	VoordeelkruidenIf we want more: Woele	50g	9,65g	1	€2,60	€2,60	5,18L	518L	0,5 cents
5% vinegar	Supermarket (Double check 5%!)	1L	10mL	1	€0,99	€0,99	100L	10kL	<0,01 cents
Vanilla extract	Makro.nl	50mL	10mL	1	€15,19	€15,19	5L	500L	3 cents
Total flavor solution B						~ €70	2L	200 L	€0,11 when produced at scale €0,35 for first liter

(1) The essential oils in solution A, quantities as under "Quantity necessary", together make 100mL of pre-solution. "Flavor solution A" then consists of 20 mL of pre-solution, diluted to 1L using alcohol. So for each mL of essential oil in the pre-solution, a fifth (0.2 mL) goes into a liter of the actual solution. So quantity times order amount is the amount of ingredients we have, divided by quantity necessary is the amount of 100mL pre-solution we can make with the order. We can make 5L of solution with that, so the formula is: (quantity * order amount * 5) / (quantity necessary). Since 1mL of solution A goes into a L of cola, 1L solution makes 1000L cola.

(2) For solution B, the ingredients together make about 400mL of pre-solution. "Flavor solution B" then consists of those 400 mL, diluted to 1L using water. So the "quantity necessary" goes directly into 1L of "Flavor solution B". Since order amount is 1 for all of these, the formula is: quantity / (quantity necessary). Since 10mL of solution B goes into a L of cola, 1L solution makes 100L cola.