YouTuber LabCoatz claims to have “perfectly” recreated Coca-Cola, unravelling its well-kept ‘secret formula’ after a year of rigorous testing.
Although Coca-Cola has been around for over a century and has been one of the world’s most popular drinks since its creation, the exact components that make the soft drink have been kept under wraps.
As legend has it, only two Coca-Cola employees are ever in the know at any given time. When they die, their chosen successor is then informed. Much like KFC’s finger-licking chicken, it’s one of the most closely regarded secrets in modern history.
That didn’t stop YouTuber LabCoatz, however. The science and engineering content creator has set the internet ablaze with their allegedly “perfect” recreation of Coca-Cola. In just three days, accruing 2.6 million views by the time of writing, it has become their most-viewed video to date.
YouTuber makes “chemically identical” Coca-Cola at home
Where do you even start when tackling a secret recipe? For LabCoatz, it was an intense year wherein they “studied literally every aspect of the drink.”
The vast majority of ingredients are indeed listed on the label of any bottle you pick up at your local store. What’s unclear, however, is what makes up one particular ingredient on the list: ‘Natural Flavors.’
Trying to place these natural ingredients led YouTuber LabCoatz on a year-long investigation.
According to the YouTuber’s research, these natural flavors mostly consist of cocaine-free coca extract. In trying to order their own batch into the United States though, it was allegedly “seized” at the border. This meant they had to start from square one.
LabCoatz called on the aid of others in the field to utilize Mass Spectrometers. These devices were able to split Coca-Cola into individual chemical readings. From there, the YouTuber had a foundation to experiment around, and this led to “months” of frequently adjusting as they tried to get the recipe just right.
A ‘Yuereka’ breakthrough came after almost a year of struggling, and now, the replica recipe is available for the world to use. You’ll first need a whole swath of scientific equipment and a range of ingredients, but if you choose to follow along at home, LabCoatz claimed you can “easily” produce a bulk batch and make cost-effective Coca-Cola at home for years.
LabCoatz “perfect” Coca-Cola replica recipe
The full recipe, per liter, is as follows:
- Carbonated water
- 104g Sugar
- 1mL flavor solution A (Dilute 20-21mL of the following mixture to 1L using 95% ethanol)
- 45.8mL lemon oil
- 36.5mL lime oil
- 8mL tea tree oil
- 4.5mL cassia cinnamon oil
- 2.7mL nutmeg oil
- 1.2mL orange oil
- 0.7mL coriander oil
- 0.6mL fenchol
- 10mL flavor solution B (Dilute the following to a volume of 1L using water)
- 320mL Shank’s caramel color
- 175g glycerin
- 45mL 85% phosphoric acid
- 10mL vinegar (5% acidity)
- 10mL vanilla extract
- 8g win tannis
- 9.65g caffeine
In case you’re worried about Coca-Cola coming after LabCoatz for their work, as they disclosed in the video, the Coke recipe itself has never been protected by a patent. As such, the YouTuber is well within their right to create a replica.
