OpenCola

OpenCola is unique in that the instructions for making it are freely available and modifiable. Anybody can make the drink, and anyone can modify and improve on the recipe as long as they, too, license their recipe under the GNU General Public License. The legal grounds for this are dubious however, as recipes are exempted from copyright as they are techniques, not artworks.
Ingredients
Flavoring formula
- ¾ tsp (3.50 mL) orange oil
- ½ tsp (2.75 mL) lime oil
- ¼ tsp (1.25 mL) cassia oil
- ¼ tsp (1 mL) lemon oil
- ¼ tsp (1 mL) nutmeg oil
- 0.25 mL (5 drops) coriander oil
- 0.25 mL (5 drops) neroli oil
- 0.25 mL (5 drops) lavender oil
- 2 teaspoons (10.0 g / 10 mL) food-grade gum arabic
- ⅔ teaspoon (3 mL) water
Concentrate formula
- 11 cups (2.36 kg / 5.2 lb) plain granulated white table sugar
- 9½ cups (2.28 L / 4.41 quarts) water
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) caramel color
- 3½ tsp (17.25 mL) 75% phosphoric acid or citric acid
- 2 tsp (10 mL) Flavoring Formula
- ½ tsp (2.5 mL) caffeine (optional)
Steps
Flavoring
- Mix oils together in cup.
- Add gum arabic. Mix with spoon.
- Add water. Mix well, with mixer 4–5 minutes or in blender.
- Store in sealed glass jar in refrigerator or at room temperature. Mixture separates; gum arabic is essential.
Syrup
- Combine 5 ml flavoring formula with phosphoric or citric acid in one gallon container.
- Mix in water, then sugar.
- While mixing, add caffeine if desired. Dissolve completely.
- Add caramel color. Mix thoroughly.
Cola
- Mix 1 part syrup with 5 parts carbonated water.
Notes from the original
- The sugar can be replaced with artificial sweeteners for a diet drink. The opensoda.org formula from 2009 calls for replacement with Splenda at ⅛ the mass of the original sugar amount.
- Try measuring the flavoring oils with an eyedropper.
- Alcohol can be used to aid with mixing the flavoring. Cube-cola instead uses a kitchen whisk attached to power tools.
- Use only food-grade flavoring oils. Note that these oils can cause skin irritation. Wear food-prep or surgical gloves. If oils come in contact with skin, wash with soap and water.
- It is very important that you get only food-grade gum arabic, as art-grade can be toxic.
- 75% phosphoric acid is corrosive to the eyes and skin. Handle with gloved hands, and use extreme caution. If comes in contact with the eyes or skin, immediately flush with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes. Get medical attention. Rinse any spills on clothing or other surfaces thoroughly. Store in a secure area. Do not store more than 50.0 ml.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:OpenCola” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2026-02-25, 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.
Photo. Opencola.jpg by Unukorno, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia. Resized; otherwise unchanged.






