Cola is a carbonated soft drink traditionally flavored with kola nuts, coca leaf, lime juice, vanilla, citrus oils, and other flavorings. The drink typically includes caffeine, and modern colas often use synthetic flavoring.

Coca-Cola was invented by Dr. John Pemberton, a pharmacist in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1886. He received a sabre wound in the US Civil War, and suffered from chronic pain which he treated with morphine, leading to an addiction. He attempted to alleviate this with a mixture of coca leaf extract and alcohol, similar to the French beverage of the time called coca wine.  He later adapted the recipe to make Coca-Cola. This syrup was sold to pharmacies and soda fountains, where it was mixed with carbonated water to make the familiar fizzy drink.

Kola

Kola nuts come from a  tree native to the tropical rainforests of Africa. High in caffeine, kola preparations have been traditionally used in ceremonies and as a flavoring ingredient.

Coca

Coca leaves, primarily from the Erythroxylum coca plant, have been traditionally used in medicinal preparations to alleviate altitude sickness, stomach pains, or hunger.

In the Andes, coca leaves are chewed, or brewed as tea as a social drink. Coca matcha is prepared by whisking leaf powder into hot water, creating a frothy green drink with a singular, unique taste. It is a mild stimulant similar to coffee.

Traditional cola

The basic cola recipe consists of three components. These are an extract of kola nut and coca leaf, a sweet syrup of water flavored with lime juice, vanilla and phosphoric acid, and an essential oil tincture known in Coca Cola parlance as “7X Flavor”. This version of cherry cola substitutes fruit juice for the water in plain cola.

Kola-coca extract

Amount	Ingredient
15 gr	Kola nut powder
28 gr	Coca matcha
200 ml	Vodka 50%  ABV

Mix the powders with the alcohol and let this mixture soak for several days to several weeks. The extract can be decanted off the top of the powders, which can be resoaked up to three times. Adjust the amount of extract added to the recipe to account for its lessening potency.

Kola powder is readily available for purchase online. Coca matcha can also be purchased online, though it may take a bit more hunting to find. Check your local laws as to its legality in your region. Coca matcha has a very distinctive flavor, and there’s no real substitute among natural herbs.

Cherry cola

Cherry-flavored sodas have been around since the late 1800s, when soda fountains would mix cherry syrup into their cola drinks. The official release of Cherry Coke as we know it today was in 1985 and it quickly became a favorite among cola enthusiasts.

Juice syrup

Amount	Ingredient
20 grams	Wild cherry bark
200 ml	Water
250 ml	Lime juice
9.5 grams	Phosphoric acid
10 ml	Vanilla
3 liters	Apple-cherry juice
1.25 kg	Cane sugar

Simmer the wild cherry bark in the water for 20 minutes, and strain out the solids. Heat the juice and sugar mixture to 75C (167F) and allow this  to cool under cover. Add together the juice syrup, the bark extract, lime juice, acid, and vanilla into a jug.

Flavor tincture

Amount	Ingredient
6 Drops	Lemon oil
4 Drops	Orange oil
2 Drops	Coriander oil
2 Drops	Nutmeg oil
2 Drops	Cinnamon oil
1 Drop	Neroli oil
50 ml	Neutral spirit (75-95% ABV)

Mix the oils with a neutral spirit such as Everclear, 24 to 48 hours prior to final mixing of the syrup. This will allow the oils to be fully dissolved into the spirit.

Kola Coca syrup

Amount	Ingredient
50 ml	Kola coca extract
About 3.5  liters	Juice syrup
17.5 ml	Flavor tincture

Add together the extract and tincture into the jug with the juice syrup. Top the mixture up to four liters. The kola coca syrup is now ready to mix with carbonated water. A ratio of 10% to 20% syrup to 80%to 90% water (adjust to taste.)