Cola II
Serves 5 Time 30 minutes Difficulty 1/5 Ingredients 16 Steps 3
Cola is a type of soda that flavored with citrus and spices. The word "cola" derives from kola nuts, a plant originating in West Africa and originally used as a source of caffeine to make this soda. Most modern recipes do not contain kola nuts.
Ingredients
- 2 oz (60 ml) 150+ proof unflavored spirit OR a mixture of 10 tsp (50 ml) water with 2 tsp (10 ml) gum arabic
- 1 drop coriander oil
- 3 drops cinnamon oil
- 3 drops neroli oil
- 3 drops nutmeg oil
- 5 drops orange oil
- 8 drops lemon oil
- ⅔ cup (160 ml) water, heated to 122°F (50°C)
- 25 mg caffeine (optional)
- 3 drops caramel color
- 4 drops tea extract or a mixture of 2 parts water to 1 part matcha
- 2 drops vanilla extract
- 1½ tsp (7.5 ml) strained lime juice
- ¼ tsp (1.25 ml) citric acid
- 10 fl oz (300 ml) white sugar
- Carbonated water, as needed
Steps
- Combine the spirit or gum arabic water and the oils in a small cup. Mix well. Set aside.
- Combine the hot water, caffeine, caramel coloring, green tea extract, vanilla extract, lime juice, citric acid, sugar and ¼ tsp (1.25 ml) of the oil mixture in a heat-safe container. Stir to dissolve into a syrup.
- Combine 1 volume of syrup with 5 volumes of carbonated water.
Notes from the original
- Use a clean eye dropper to measure drops. Do not use a pipette, an eye dropper previously used for dispensing medication, or a spoon to measure drops.
- Use water from a carbonating machine or a brand of pure carbonated water such as Polar Original Sparkling Water, Great Value Seltzer Water, or Signature Select Seltzer Water. Do not use a brand of mineral water such as Perrier, San Pellegrino, or Mineragua because the added minerals will ruin the taste. Avoid flavored sparkling water such as La Croix or Spindrift because the preexisting fruit flavors will ruin the drink.
- You can substitute the caramel color with browning the sugar in a saucepan and immediately adding the other syrup ingredients immediately afterward.
- You can omit the caramel color and use brown sugar, coconut sugar, or piloncillo instead.
- You can substitute the neroli oil with 14 makrut lime leaves boiled in the water.
- You can make cherry cola by adding 1 tsp (5 ml) of cherry extract in step 2.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Cola II” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2026-05-17, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.