bjones
|
Although this is a common myth, Coca-Cola was invented quite deliberately. The myth states that Coca-Cola syrup was originally intended to be mixed with tap water or flat water, but it was accidentally mixed with carbonated water, instead. The inventors of Coca-Cola knew exactly what they were doing every step of the way, and other carbonated beverages were already being sold years before, including Hires Root Beer and Dr. Pepper.
Coca-Cola was invented by Dr. John Pemberton. In 1886, he began working on the formula for his beverage. He would then conduct taste tests at a nearby soda fountain a few blocks from the workshop in his basement. The soda fountain was owned by Willis Venable. The legend states that during the final taste test, Venable accidentally mixed the syrup with carbonated water instead of flat water, and Coke was born.
The fact of the matter is that Pemberton had always planned to use carbonated water. The drink was made with a measured pump of syrup in the bottom of a glass over which cold carbonated water was spritzed.
A very specific reason also existed as to why Pemberton was inventing a new drink. You see, he was already in the beverage business, selling his French Wine Coca, a wine tinctured with coca compounds. Coca is a raw plant product from South America. It is best known as the source of cocaine.
In 1885, Fulton County, including Atlanta, passed a law that alcoholic beverages could no longer be sold. This meant Pemberton had to create a new formula for his drink that didn’t use wine. The taste of his coca preparation and the taste of one of the primary ingredients, kola, were not well suited on their own. Various other ingredients and lots of sugar were added to make it more palatable. Carbonated water was added because other carbonated drinks were becoming very popular at the time.
Despite documented proof that Coca-Cola was deliberately carbonated, the myth continues to live. It doesn’t help that many prominent publications have fallen victim to believing this falsity, including Consumer Reports, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the World Almanac of Inventions.
 Posted 4822 day ago
|