Re-Creating the Coca-Cola Recipe

Remember a while back when Glen and Friends Cooking tried re-creating the recipe for KFC? Another project he tackled, and ultimately didn't succeed with, was re-creating the recipe for Coke.

Now a chemist from the internet claims to have cracked it, more or less.

The Coca-Cola recipe being secret has always been a fascination to me. I imagine a hundred large trucks pulling up to the Coke factory, loaded with cinnamon extract (for instance) every single day and it's all a big mystery what the recipe is. This video doesn't really get into that aspect but it at least clears up the other thing I was wondering - why not just analyze it chemically. Pretty interesting.

As with the KFC recipe, I'm disappointed that it's not doable at home (or at least, it would take a lot of money).

[I just realized my illustration above is not my own, it's basically in the "Flaming Homer" episode of "The Simpsons." The point stands though]

Lemon and Paeroa (L&P)

It may be the most expensive soda I've ever bought.

L&P is a lemon-flavored soda from New Zealand. The name, Lemon and Paeroa, comes from the fact that it is lemon flavored and was first created in Paeroa, New Zealand.

Even though it's now owned by Coca-Cola, it is not easily obtained. Or, it is, but it's going to cost you the shipping expense of traveling from New Zealand. I did some shopping and some deep thinking and basically figured the cheapest I could get it was to buy a single can for $3 plus $31 shipping. So one can of soda for $34.

How is it? Well, from the branding I had it in my head that it was something like ice tea. Nothing of the sort. It tastes like lemons (as has been said) but I have something more accurate than that. I can tell you, it tastes like the candy Lemonheads. This is Lemonheads in soda form. And I like Lemonheads so I enjoyed it.

Christmas Cola

A while back, I mentioned that I found Vanilla coke to be increasingly more difficult to obtain. Now Coca-Cola has released a new limited edition "Holiday Creamy Vanilla" flavor. Is this taking a "discontinued" item and making it a special event - a McRib situation? Well first off, Vanilla Coke still hasn't officially been discontinued though I continue to not see it around. Secondly, an online review claims this isn't Vanilla Coke re-packaged, it's distinctly different. I am both skeptical and keeping an open mind - I don't detect anything significantly different such that it warrants a new flavor but I acknowledge I could be in the wrong.

What I want to know is: what is Holiday Creamy Vanilla? This is not a thing. Do you remember spending time with friends and family in the Christmas Days of yesteryear, sitting around enjoying some Holiday Vanilla? What are we talking about? My mind goes immediately to Egg Nog but I don't think that's what they intend.

What is the real official soda of Christmastime? Who is the real hero?

While admittedly there is no such thing as a Christmas soda, I have one suggestion: Fentiman's Curiosity Cola. It tastes like Coke mostly - classic cola taste - but it adds a heightened cinnamon flavor that's just right. If you're looking for a soda for Christmas (quite a niche), that's my pick for the Official Soda of Christmas 2025.

You can get it on Amazon (not a sponsor).

Vanilla Coke Discontinued?

 A few weeks ago, I got the inexplicable urge to buy a Vanilla Coke.

I first visited a pharmacy, but it wasn't there. No surprise, this particular location is slowly going out of business. Then I went to another pharmacy, then another, then a Wawa. On this fourth location, I found one. 

Since then I've been curious. I looked for it at a Wegman's then a Weiss, then a 7-11. None available. Not a big deal, I just went back to the Wawa... not there this time.

Though I see no official word anywhere online, I theorize that Vanilla Coke is being discontinued. Everywhere where I might have found it, I see Coke Zero or the NEW Orange Coke, which is pretty good. It's possible that Coke is slowly and quietly phasing it out so as not to create a panic - a run on the bank if you will. 

Or not. But if you're a fan of Vanilla Coke, maybe keep an eye out and stock up. My impression is nobody really likes it much. It came out when I was in college so I suppose maybe I only like it due to some nostalgia. 

Pepperoni Pizza Soda

 

Oh, I don't know...

https://drinkperfy.com/products/pepperoni-pizza

Wild Bill's Rocket Pop Soda

 

Celebrating Independence Day with a Wild Bill's Rocket Pop soda. As suggested by the side of the can, this is soda that's meant to taste like a Rocket Pop (or Bomb Pop) which is a name I only recently learned. Bomb Pops are the red, white and blue popsicles sometimes shaped like rockets.

Does it succeed? It does! It absolutely succeeds in simulating that Rocket Pop taste and it independently succeeds in being a great tasting soda.

If I'm being a soda critic, it comes in a taller, thinner can that's in-style these days, which I don't like and I think the carbonation could be bumped up a bit higher. It's made with sugar, which is nice and it's caffeine-free. One of the things I was curious about with a soda that's supposed to be red, white and blue is what color would it be? And it's clear, so that's as it probably should be.

Happy Independence Day to you.

8.5/10. Very good, recommended.

Weird Soda Reviews #2

 1) Rocket Fizz - Cotton Candy Soda

Let's start out with the fact that making a soda that tastes like cotton candy is an impossible task. Cotton candy is pretty much all texture and sodas don't do texture. So with that out of the way, what do we got? We got nothing.

There is a certain "softness" here. They did try, I can see what they were going for. The taste is like the Bazooka Joe Gum Soda from #1. Not good, not bad, not recommended.

2) Duff (Soda)

Duff soda is not made to taste like beer, but rather is Orange (titled "A L'Orange"). And so although you don't really feel you're in the world of The Simpsons, it's pretty great.

I couldn't figure out why Orange, but now I see they wanted it to look like beer when poured in a glass.

The taste is almost as good as a Sanpellegrino but lighter. And the lightness can be explained or excused by the fact that it's only 20 calories. They're doing a semi-La-Croix kind of thing. They've also added B-Vitamins for some reason. I would highly recommend it for everyday drinking if it was more widely available.

3) Rocket Fizz - Marshmallow Soda

Most of what I said about Cotton Candy Soda still applies here. Marshmallow is mostly about texture but I will give this one respect in that it's a little closer - I see where they're going with this one even more than the last.

There's a taste of - not raw marshmallow - but slightly burned, roasted marshmallow. That's pretty good. So I give this the edge above the Cotton Candy. This one is not bad, some goodness in there. Still, in the flavor there is somehow a commonality between this, the Cotton Candy and the Bazooka Joe... which is weird.

4) Flaming Moe (Energy Drink)

The main thing I wish to do with this is light it on fire. Realistically, I accept that that's off the table. The second thing I wish is that it would have the taste of cough syrup. That also didn't happen.

So what are we left with? Well, it's an energy drink so I can't drink it. But, I need something to review so I took one or two sips and that was as far as I could safely go. It tastes bad. I don't it's bad at all within context of energy drinks though. I can't be be entirely sure. It's slightly fruity and fizzy but also bitter and way too much caffeine for me. 

I wouldn't recommend it unless you're an energy drink person and then I don't know how it ranks. It's fun for the branding, obviously.

All of these are available at Vat19.com.

Weird Soda Reviews #1

 1) Bazooka Joe Bubble Gum Soda

Actually, scratch that, there is no "Joe" in the name for some reason. Suspicious. And it should be noted that Bazooka Joe Soda does not come with a comic.

I applaud how accurate this is and yet it falls a little short for me. This is 95% Bazooka Joe flavor with just an aftertaste that feels like something else indescribable (but not good). Still, very close and impressive.

What's really interesting is the website description. They describe Bubble Gum flavor as the combination of "strawberry, banana, and fruit punch." Never in my life have I heard anyone breakdown what Bubble Gum Flavor actually means. I would love to experiment with that to see if I can recreate it. One problem is: "fruit punch" itself has a lot of wiggle room.

Why is bubble gum pink? Because pink was the only color that the inventor, Walter Diemer, had on hand.

2) Canadian Maple Syrup Soda

I initially ordered this thinking, "I wonder what Maple Syrup Soda tastes like." One sip and I realized how dumb that was. It tastes like maple syrup, of course. Just imagine Maple Syrup (Log Cabin for instance) but watered down and carbonated and that's it exactly. It's not bad but I don't think it's going to be a new staple for me.

3) Chocolate Soda with Banana & Real Cocoa

Though not eating chocolate currently, I'm a big fan of Banana Splits, historically speaking. When I was a kid I would sometimes cut up a banana and add it to a glass of chocolate milk. It seemed to me that, at its essence, that was the main taste of banana splits.

And that's exactly what this tastes like. They are not fooling around with the labeling - this is EXACTLY chocolate and banana in soda form. It tastes great. Holy moley and wow. It's so spot-on that I wonder if I run a risk drinking it - how much chocolate can a soda really contain? I have no idea.

4) Chocolate Soda with Strawberry

I don't know about you but I'm not a big fan of chocolate covered strawberries. Chocolate is great and strawberries are great but you combine the two together and I don't think the result is greater than the sum of its parts.

But what of the soda? Well, we already established that the chocolate part is strong, but the question is the chocolate/strawberry combo. I don't taste it. I'm not getting a strawberry taste. Maybe it's me but I'm not getting it.

If you want to try for yourself, I got all of these from Vat19.com. Not a sponsor.

Diet Soda

 
In college I was made aware of a study that had one group drink regular soda for a certain amount of time and another group drink diet soda. At the end of the study they had found that the people drinking the regular soda had lost more weight (or gained less weight, I don't remember) than the people drinking diet soda. I remember thinking it was an interesting example of experiment proving counter-intuitive results.

One of the ways the apparent paradox could be explained is psychologically - yes, the diet soda is technically better but people are prone to thinking "I'm drinking the diet soda so I might as well have two slices of pizza" etc. and in the end they ruin the gainz.

Aside from thinking it was a fascinating experiment, it never had much effect on my life because I just don't see the point in drinking diet soda. 

Fast forward to today.

Recently I ordered caffeine-free coke and what actually got delivered was caffeine-free diet coke. As someone who drinks caffeine-free coke this is an annoyingly common occurrence. I don't know what it is but for some reason people confuse the two with reckless abandon. To me, diet coke is cheap swill but I didn't want to be wasteful and also figured I'd re-check my assumptions.

To my surprise, I've found it to be a tastier beverage than I had anticipated but here's the thing... Switching to diet soda and keeping everything else constant, I've found that I'm eating more and the reason I'm eating more is not because I'm lying to myself. I don't count calories and I don't make bargains about what I can eat and what I can't. No, I'm eating because I'm insanely hungry almost all the time now and it's a pretty clear direct relationship to the soda itself.

So, I don't have a scale and haven't measured my weight and so maybe I'm hungrier and eating more but have some how lost more weight than I would have otherwise. I'm not suggesting anything about this experience is purely scientific and, in case you're wondering, some studies have shown diet soda increases appetite though there are conflicting studies. Still, the contrast has been so stark and so surprising, at least in terms of subjective experience, that the conclusion is clear - sugar tastes better than artificial sweetener and I don't enjoy being hungry so it's regular soda or water and that's it.

Amazon UnMystery UnBoxing

Previously on Lost, we learned that a box of mysterious contents was headed my way. Today that box arrived. As I opened it, the Schrödinger's cat particles in superposition collapsed to...

A 12 Pack of Sunkist Cherry Limeade. Amazing.

This is in contrast with what my original order was, which was....

A 12 Pack of Sunkist Cherry Limeade. 

You know, I made a big deal about the randomness of what a wrong order meant but just when you think you have a handle on randomness, you have no concept of what true randomness means. In trying to guess what the wrong order might be, I would never have guessed the random selection would be the same as the very thing I had ordered. What are the chances?!

According to the email, they're still sending my original order to make up for the mixup so I better  like this stuff.