An edgy public radio show has revealed what it purports to be the secret recipe for Coca Cola — a formula which has become the stuff of legend after decades of careful marketing by one of the world’s most recognizable brands.
The handwritten formula was discovered in a pharmacist’s old book of recipes and published in the company’s hometown paper — the Atlanta Journal Constitution — in 1979, the host of “This American Life” Ira Glass said.
The book apparently originally belonged to an acquaintance of Coke’s inventor, John Pemberton, and was then passed from one pharmacist to another before it was eventually discovered by the newspaper columnist.
What convinced Glass is that the formula matched — and filled out — a partial recipe found in Coke’s archives that also became public.
The secret “Merchandise Seven X” formula is allegedly made from: 20 drops of orange oil, 30 drops of lemon oil, 10 drops of nutmeg oil, five drops of coriander oil, 10 drops of neroli oil, 10 drops of cinnamon and eight ounces of alcohol.
Either two or 2.5 ounces of that flavoring is then mixed with: Two pints of lime juice, an ounce of vanilla, 1.5 ounces of caramel color, 30 pounds of sugar and fluid extract of coca leaf — “which includes a small amount of cocaine,” Glass said.
Unfortunately, the recipe tastes nothing like today’s Coke, with modern labs much better at simulating flavors, and the original recipe being known for tasting like fruity medicine.
A spokesperson for Coca Cola insisted that its secret was safe.
“The ingredients used in our beverages are listed on the product labels and many third parties — including ‘This American Life’ — have tried over time to crack the secret formula of Coca-Cola,” spokeswoman Kerry Tressler said in an e-mail.
1. acquaintance n.
友人 (you3 ren2)
例: He’s just an acquaintance, I don’t really know him that well.
2. allegedly adv.
據稱 (ju4 chen1)
例: Allegedly, he was the one who stole it, but we could never prove it.
3. try as they might v. phr.
不論他們如何努力 (bu2 lun4 ta1 men5 ru2 he2 nu3 li4)
例: Try as they might, they will never be able to find it.
“Try as they might to crack that formula, there truly is only one ‘real thing’.”
這項名為Merchandise Seven X的秘密配方，據稱內含：柑橘油二十滴、檸檬油三十滴、肉豆蔻油十滴、胡荽汁五滴、橙花醇十滴、肉桂十滴與酒精八盎司。