It is very difficult to identify, with 100% accuracy, all the ingredients responsible for the taste of soda. Firstly, because some elements may appear in the formula in a tiny percentage, well below 1%. Second, because even an isolated ingredient in the mixture, such as lemon essence, is already the result of a mixture of hundreds of other elements. To obtain an essence that is surely the same, just by detecting all these components. “Theoretically, this is a possible challenge. Recent techniques are capable of showing the exact composition of mixtures even more complex than Coca-Cola, such as pigments in works of art and extracts from medicinal plants”, says chemist Flávio Maron Vichi, from USP. Anyway, anyone who wants to venture out to solve the puzzle of this century-old gaseous formula needs to be prepared to spend a lot of money.
“In a free estimate, it is estimated that at least US$850,000 a year would be needed to finance research of this type, which would not have a deadline to finish”, says American chemist Charles Löchmuller, from Duke University, in the United States. Furthermore, producing an exact clone of the soda is another tricky challenge. A natural lemon essence produced in Florida would be very different from one made in São Paulo – this is because the climate and soil where the lemon trees are grown, for example, can influence the flavor of the fruit. The summary of the story is that, even spending lots of money to unravel the formula, there is a risk of creating something more similar to a cheap copy than the original Coca-Cola. Not to mention that the copy obviously could not use what the American soda has most precious: its brand.
After more than 100 years of advertising, the name Coca-Cola is now the most valued on the planet, with an estimated value of 70 billion dollars. Anyway, the little piece of paper with the secret mixture is still kept in a bank vault in Atlanta, in the United States, the company’s headquarters.
READ TOO:
– How did soft drinks come about?
– How many flavors of Coca-Cola are there?
– What are the most disgusting scandals in the food industry?
– What is the cola in “cola” soft drinks?