Cherry Kola Coca Soda

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.)

そば Soba Shochu: Japanese Buckwheat Liquor

Jan14

*Buckwheat is cracked and steamed to make groats*

Soba Shochu is a traditional Japanese liquor made from buckwheat. It’s a single-distilled liquor, of a type known as Honkaku Shochu.

The flavor of soba shochu is dominated by the nutty, grainy aroma of buckwheat. It has a mild sweetness, and a smooth finish. Umami notes of sesame, peanut butter, cereal, and peach are sometimes also present, along with herbal or vegetal tastes, particularly when its starter, or moto, uses rice or barley koji.

Soba shochu was first developed in the 1970s in Miyazaki prefecture, owing to the prominence of buckwheat farming there, as well as in Nagano prefecture, which also produces a buckwheat crop and soba shochu.

The process of making soba shochu involves steaming buckwheat groats, and then adding it to a moto (starter) to create a moromi (mash). After 30 days, the mash is typically completely fermented. The mash is strained to remove the solids, leaving a liquid of about 5% alcohol by volume. The liquid is then distilled once, concentrating the alcohol content and flavor components. The result is a distillate of about 30% alcohol. The distillate is diluted to 23-28% with spring water.

Soba shochu pairs well with food such as pork-based dishes, soba noodles, fried oysters, chicken karaage, sesame chicken, and agedashi tofu.

Making Soba Shochu

This recipe is 100% soba, and uses buckwheat groats, which are grains that have been sorted, hulled, and cut into smaller pieces. To kick it off well it is necessary to build a good sized starter by inoculating a batch of soba groats with the kojikin spores, growing them into a sizeable colony of fuzz on the surface of the grains. The resultant starter grains (koji) will turn the grain starches to sugar, feeding the yeast.

Ingredients for 800ml

2 kg buckwheat groats

5 gr Vision Brewing Japanese kojikin

15 gr Cooper ale yeast

5 gr Contessa hops

4 L soft, iron-free water

Method

Make koji moto

Prepare 500g buckwheat groats by placing them in a sieve; wash with a water shower until the water runs clear. Use your hand to rake the grains and agitate any flour into solution and down the drain.

Put the grain in a pot and cover it with soft, iron-free water or deionized water. Soak the grain for one to two hours. The objective is to raise the water content to about 25 to 35 percent by weight. When a grain will crumble to a mash between finger and thumb, it is ready.

Pour the grain back into the sieve and allow it to drain for an hour.

Using a lidded pot that is of a size that will just accept the sieve, steam the grain with enough water for about one hour. Do not allow the grain to touch the water, and place a dish towel over the grain and under the lid to prevent condensed water from dripping onto the grain. After an hour test the grain for doneness. It should be slightly sticky, and of a chewy texture when bitten. It is important to get the correct consistency.

Turn the grain out on to a sanitized baking sheet. Fluff the grains to separate them, and allow to cool to 30 °C (86 °F.)

Stir the grains into a pot, mixing in the kojikin well. Cover the pot with a lid and keep it warm for 30 hours, stirring once every 10 hours. An oven with the light on works well.

Moromi (main mash)

Steam the remaining 1.5 kg grains as described above, and stir this into the pot along with 4 liters of water and the hops and yeast. Keep this mixture at a steady 20 °C (68 °F) for 30 days. For the first 10 days or so, stir the mixture up once a day, until the grains sink beneath the surface by themselves. Then stir the mash once a week for another three weeks. Keep it warm.

Put the fermented mash into a fine mesh bag, and suspend it over the pot until the contents are well drained. Overnight or longer if you can. Transfer the contents of the pot into the still. It should be about 4 liters.

Distill this filtered wash one time, discarding the first 50 ml of output. Collect the still runnings in a 2 liter bottle until the still head temperature reaches 95 °C (204 °F), about 700ml. Adjust the alcohol content to 25%-28% with spring water. Age for one to three months, shaking the bottle occasionally to add oxygen.

Serving Soba Shochu

Serve soba shochu neat, on the rocks (rokkusu), or as a highball. Here’s a good one:

Fill a large highball glass with crushed ice, add:

40 ml soba shochu

10 ml yuzu juice

50 ml Calpis soda (also available as concentrate!)

乾杯! (Kanpai!)

Jasmine Rice Wine

Dec31

Making alcoholic beverages by using rice as a source of fermentable substances has been practiced for millennia. The catch is, rice does not come with built-in enzymes to convert its starchy parts into sugar. In her grace though, Gaia has provided a magical way to create the transformation, in the identity of an interestingly flavored and aromatic mold.

*Four ingredients make this jasmine rice wine: Thai sweet rice, Chinese jasmine tea, Cellar Science (R) Japanese white koji, and White Labs California ale yeast.*

Fermentations Using Rice

When the mold Aspergillus oryzae is grown on rice, it manufactures as part of its growth cycle the very enzymes needed to produce the sugars it will consume. And if a strong yeast colony is introduced into a watery mixture of moldy rice it takes these sugars instead, and turns them into alcohol.

The mold, however is quite particular about the condition of the rice it infects. To cultivate a thriving colony of malting mold careful attention must be paid to the process of cooking the rice.

Steamed Rice Instructions

For a four-liter batch of rice wine, start with about 1500 gr of rice. Place the rice in a large sieve and wash it with a water shower until the water runs clear from it. Use your hand to rake the rice and agitate any flour into solution and down the drain.

Put the rice in a pot and cover it with soft, iron-free water or deionized water. Soak the rice for one to two hours. The objective is to raise the water content of the rice to about 25 to 35 percent by weight. You can check this if you wish by weighing a quantity of rice before and after soaking. When it weighs 30 percent more, it’s done. Alternatively, if a grain of rice will crumble to a mash between finger and thumb, it is ready.

Pour the rice back into the sieve and allow it to drain for an hour.

Using a lidded pot that is of a size that will just accept the sieve, steam the rice with enough water for about one hour. Do not allow the rice to touch the water, and place a dish towel over the rice and under the lid to prevent condensed water from dripping onto the rice. After an hour test the rice for doneness. It should be translucent, slightly sticky, and of a chewy texture when bitten. It is important to get the correct consistency.

Turn the rice out on to a sanitized baking sheet. Fluff the grains to separate them, and allow to cool to 30 °C (86 °F.)

At this point the rice is ready to be inoculated with the aspergillus strain of your choice: Japanese sake strain koji, the Korean makgeolli strain nuruk, Chinese hóng qū mǐ, (red yeast rice) or Shanghai yeast ball.

Jasmine Rice Wine Recipe

1.5 kg Thai sweet rice

8 tbs Chinese jasmine tea, in 4L filtered water

White Labs California ale yeast.

280 gr Cellar Science (R) Japanese white koji,

Make a Moto (Koji starter)

To make the rice wine starter steam 300gr of the rice as previously described. Mix the white koji rice well into the cooled sweet rice, and turn the mixture into a pot. Cover with a cloth and keep warm for 24 to 48 hours, stirring occasionally, until a fine white fuzz appears on most of the grains.

Main Mash

*Strain the wine liquid from the rice solids.*

Steam and cool the remaining 1.2 kg of rice, and add this to the pot, along with the four liters of cooled jasmine tea, and the yeast. Keep the pot warm for 7 to 10 days, until any fermentation activity stops and the rice is liquified. Putting the pot in an oven with the light on works well.

Clarify

Strain the solid rice remains from the liquid, into a jug. Allow it to finish fermenting, and settle out the solids. This will take 2 to 3 months.

When the liquid is clear syphon it into a clean jug, leaving the sediment behind. It should be tart and tannic, with a fruity nose and hint of sweet.

Sweeten it further to your taste with brown rice syrup. If this causes an unwanted haze, use wine clarifier and rack it again.

The rice wine is ready to bottle. It will improve with age.

Boza: Ancient Fermented Sourdough Drink

Jan18

Boza is a fermented grain beverage widely popular in Turkey, from where it has spread to the Balkan States, the Levant, and even as far as Egypt. The history of boza, and its production from grains such as millet, barley, and wheat, and its fermentation with various sourdough starters, is fascinating.

What is Boza?

Boza is made from extant local grains cooked to a porridge, inoculated with a yeast or sourdough starter, and allowed to ferment for a short time. The porridge can also be made with various botanicals as flavoring agents.

After fermenting, the solids are strained out and a sweetener such as sugar or honey is added. It will contain about 1% or less alcohol by volume at this point, but also a rich strain of probiotics and vitamins. The consistency can vary from smooth like buttermilk, to a pudding that you eat with a spoon. The flavor is sweet/tart, and filled with umami.

Boza History

Records of making and consuming grain beverages go back at least 9000 years, with mentions of millet boza specifically, traced as early as the 10th Century CE among the Turkic peoples. Its popularity then spread to the Caucasus and Balkan regions.

The people of the Ottoman Empire notably became its very fervent fan base. From the 14th to the 16th Centuries boza making was a common trade. By the mid-1500s however, the custom of mixing boza with opium brought on the wrath of the Sultan, who banned its manufacture. With the rise of Islam, and prohibition of alcoholic drinks in the 17th century, boza was again prohibited and all boza shops were closed. This prohibition would be enforced, and then relaxed, several times in Ottoman Empire history. Still, travellers were able to find boza widely drunk, and at one time there were 300 boza shops employing over a thousand people in Constantinople alone.

Boza Ingredients

While boza from the the Balkans is usually made from millet, in modern Turkey bulgur (cracked parboiled wheat) is often used, and recipes can also contain rice. In Egypt, barley is commonly used. Some Balkan recipes call for baked wheat flour instead of bulgur, and sometimes maize (corn) is included.

Boza was traditionally a tart, and sometimes quite alcoholic beverage. After the prohibitive ruling by the Sultan, a sweet and non-alcoholic version was introduced in the 19th century and became much more popular than its sour and alcoholic predecessor. In 1876, brothers Hacı İbrahim and Hacı Sadık established a boza shop in Istanbul’s Vefa district that continues to serve sweet boza to this day. Modern Boza is allowed to ferment very briefly, perhaps 20 hours or so, and is sweetened with raw or turbinado sugar or honey before being refrigerated to inhibit further yeast activity.

*Turkish style boza from bulgur with chickpeas*

Botanicals

Historically boza was served with grape molasses (Greek: Petimezi) from Kuşadası, powdered cinnamon, cloves, ginger and grated coconut. Modern touches include garnishes such as mint, or pieces of fruit like pomegranate or persimmon. Some modern recipes may add a vanilla bean during the cooking process.

Fermentation Organisms

Traditionally, a sample saved from a previous batch was used to initiate the fermentation process, in a way similar to how sourdough bread is inoculated. Today the beginner can use a commercial sourdough starter, or create their own using a flour and water mixture exposed to the local ambient air.

Lacking these options it is possible to start a boza batch by adding yogurt and baker’s yeast. Alternately, mixtures of baker’s yeast and probiotic lacto/pedio bacteria blends can substitute.

Preparing Boza

Wash and cover the grains with fresh water

Soak the grains several hours or overnight

Drain the soak water from the grains and add more water to cover them

Cook the grains until they are soft adding water as needed

Liquefy the cooked grains in a blender with the some of the cooking water

Strain out the solids with a fine mesh strainer back into the cooking pot

Add the sugar, and more water to the desired finished quantity

Cool the liquid to lukewarm temperature and add the sourdough starter, (or yeast/yogurt) cover with a towel or cloth

Move the container to a warm place (such as an oven with the light on) at 21 – 27 ºC (70 – 80 ºF)

Ferment for 24 to 72 hours, stirring occasionally, and depending on how sour you wish to make it

Strain and transfer the liquid to a plastic jug, add finishing sugar, and refrigerate

Loosen the jug’s cap occasionally to release excess pressure

The boza will continue to ferment slowly and become carbonated and stronger in ABV

Serving Boza

In Turkey, boza is typically served cold in water glasses, perhaps ones with a handle like a mug. For additional flavor, it is often sweetened with sugar or grape molasses, topped with cinnamon and roasted chickpeas. A dessert spoon is sometimes supplied as well, as the boza can be as thick as a pudding, although it is usually about the consitency of milk kiefer.

*Egyptian Boza with Date Sugar, Date Syrup and Ajwain Seed*

Boza Health and Nutritional Benefits

Researchers that studied boza samples made from maize, wheat, and rice flours determined that on average they consisted of 12.3% total sugar, 1.06% protein, and 0.07% fat. Boza also contains vitamins A, B, and E, in a highly bioavailable form, and it provides the health benefits of a probiotic drink with its variety of lactic acid bacteria cultures.

A myth in the Balkan countries suggests that drinking boza regularly makes women grow bigger breasts! While there is no scientific support to this claim, some women are convinced that it works.

Balkan Boza Recipe 2 litres

250g Millet, 280g Turbinado sugar, 150ml Sourdough starter, 1.5 litres Water

Turkish Boza Recipe 2 litres

200g Bulgur, 55g Brown rice, 200g Raw sugar 150ml Sourdough starter 1.5 litres Water

Egyptian Recipe 2 litres

250g Pot Barley, 200g Date sugar, 150ml Sourdough starter, 1.5 litres Water, 100g Date syrup, Toasted Ajwain seed

Roasted Chickpea Recipe

1 can (398 ml) garbanzo (chickpea) beans, drained, skins removed, dried with paper towel. Coat with 1 Tbs cold-pressed grapeseed oil; roast 30 minutes at 190 ºC (375 ºF)) turning frequently. Toss with zest of 1 lime, 2 tsp white wine vinegar, sea salt to taste. Return to oven 3 minutes; cool. Store in airtight container.

Grape Molasses (Petimezi)

1.35 litres white grape juice reduced by boiling to 250 mililitres

The Internal Alembic Still

Dec6

A closer look at a primitive process.

Recall that the alembic still has three basic components: the retort, the condenser, and the receiver. The alchemists of old constructed finely crafted clay and glass instruments for their distillations. But their secret processes would inevitably become known, and attempts to duplicate them with household utensils would be many.

In Asian cooking, large pots and deep woks are common. As it happens, their size and shape make them ideal for constructing what is called an “internal alembic” still. In this configuration, the mash or wine is put into the large pot, which is heated and becomes the retort. For the receiver, a small wok is placed on a pedestal, centered inside the pot. A condenser is constructed from a wok large enough to span the top opening of the pot. Cold water is circulated through the condenser wok, and vapours from the heated wine or mash condense on its cold bottom surface. As this liquid accumulates, it drips off the surface and down into the receiving lower wok.

A look through many a modern kitchen, and some not so modern, will often find the basic materials for constructing a modest internal alembic. Soup pots of four to six liters make a retort. Stainless steel bowls of various sizes are commonly available at superstores. A tall stemmed glass makes a good pedestal. The trick is to assemble the parts, charge the still, heat on a stove, and with a few tweaks and techniques, harvest the liquor. The other trick being, of course, to make sure you live in a country where home distilling is legal!

Buccoleon Strong Ale

Oct21

This is a classic Belgian dark tripel. If you have tried Brouwerij Van Steenberge’s Gulden Draak, you know what I mean. Buccoleon Strong Ale is a tribute to that world-class beer.

Brewed with Belgian Strong Ale yeast, it offers flavors of raisins, plums and pears, together with spicy hints of cloves, rum, and nutmeg. Starting with a Pilsner malt base; wheat malt, cara-wheat, crystal malt, biscuit/aroma malts and caramely golden syrup provide a flaky crust for this virtual fruit tart. The yeast leaves its distinctiver mark.

As it is not a Gulden Draak clone, it is a bit drier and a little more bitter. Its original gravity of 24.5 Plato (1105) still leaves a lot of residual sweetness, so it is refermented in the bottle with Champagne yeast and no added bottling sugar. Age this one at least a year.

Gulden Draak is named after the golden dragon at the top of the belfry of Ghent. The story of how he got there is fascinating. Buccoleon was the dragon’s name. He lived in the swampy ground around Aleppo, one of the chief cities of the Saracens in northern Syria. He was such a tender-hearted old dragon that he was called The Weeping Dragon. He wept bucketfuls of tears when Belgian crusaders and the Saracens fell to fighting. Where his tears fell, beautiful flowers began to grow.

A crusader took their bulbs back to Belgium, where they became famous for being the most beautiful tulips of all. Hearing about their fame, Buccoleon, whose scales had turned to gold because the crusaders had left, flew to Belgium to see for himself. He decided to stay!

Rum Raisin Brown Stout

Oct8

This is a beer that answers the question “What would it be like to brew up a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies?”

In the past, the term “stout” referred to a beer that was extra strong. Thus, we had Porter, and we had Stout Porter, which eventually became just Stout for short. Interestingly, what is now known as Stout is oftentimes rather low in alcoholic content while Porters tend to have an ABV of 5.5% to 6% or more. But historically, Stout was any beer that was as strong as the drinkers that were expected to consume it.

To make this brown stout, start with the ingredients for cookies: wheat malt, oats, sultana raisins. Add to this Maris Otter base malt, crystal malt, a touch of caramel rye malt, and some Cara Munich. Mash at a fairly high temperature to encourage the production of unfermentable sugars that will keep the brew more sweet and full-bodied. Magnum and Amarillo hops are assertive without being overpowering. Add golden syrup at the end of the boil to contribute more caramel flavors. Ferment with a fruity yeast such as London Ale. Soak sultanas in dark rum until they are soft, then whirl the mixture in a blender. Add some to the primary fermenter, and another batch to the secondary, along with a hint of vanilla extract.

The result is not so much a beer that tastes like oatmeal raisin cookies as it is an oatmeal raisin cookie that tastes like beer.

Cascadia Nation Black Lager

Sep12

The Cascade Mountain Range extends from Southern British Columbia through Western Washington and Oregon, into Northern California. Part of the Pacific Ocean’s “Ring of Fire” its highest peak is the volcano Mount Rainier. To its west are the hipster havens of Seattle and Portland, famous for some of the finest craft beer in the world. To its east lies the fertile hop growing region of the Yakima Valley in Washington. South of Portland, at the western edge of the Cascades, another stretch of fine hop farms fills the Willamette River valley.

The Cascade Range and its surrounding hop and barley farms form the mythical country of Cascadia. A generous cartographer would include the barley-growing regions of the Columbia Basin, and the Palouse, stretching east and south from Spokane, Washington. It also makes sense to declare San Francisco an honorary member among Cascadia cities, for it is the birthplace of the modern craft beer movement in the United States, thanks to the visionary efforts of Fritz Maytag and his Anchor Brewing Company.

Grain harvesting in Whitman County, Washington

The strains of hops developed in Cascadia, fittingly often begin with the letter “C” themselves. The “Four C’s” as they are sometimes called, are Cascade, Centennial, Chinook and Columbus. More recently Citra ™ has joined the group. They are dominantly bright, piney, citrusy and resinous in taste and aroma, and form the basis of most American India Pale Ales. Recently, they have been incorporated into a style known as Cascadian Dark Ale.

As hop and barley production began to ramp up in Cascadia during the 1980s, another development took place 180 degrees away in the Ring of Fire. Japanese brewers were early to recognize the potential for product differentiation offered by creating all-malt lagers in their commercial operations. Kirin and Sapporo led the way with premium “black beer” (黒ビール), featuring roasted malts and a sweet finish.

The Cascadia Black Lager shown here pays homage to both sides of the Ring of Fire. It is hoppy (40 IBU) like a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, slightly roasty like a dark ale, with mildly sweet maltiness like Japanese black lager. It uses the San Francisco lager yeast to keep the finish drier than a typical ale. Cold-infused specialty grains, including debittered Carafa II, Munich malt and Breiss Special Roast maximize flavor while keeping away excessive burned harshness. A nice thick head leads to a moderately full mouth feel, and its 5.7% ABV is assertive, while keeping it well within the range of sessionability for the discerning and determined tippler!

Corny Comet Cream Breakfast Ale

Apr17

A cream ale for breakfast. Not meant to replace your double espresso, but rather to stand beside it, bracing you for the day to come.

Cream ale emerged in the late 19th Century United States when ale breweries, faced with immigrant competition from Bavarian brewers bringing lager to the market, devised a light and refreshing, yet bold concoction that combined the crisp, dry flavor of a lager with the rapid fermentation characteristics of an ale. In many of these renditions, a substantial ABV approaching 5.5% was a feature.

This cream ale uses 22 IBU of Comet hops, a variety that tastes and smells remarkably like pink grapefruit. Breakfast cereal included: organic corn grits, and steel-cut oats, along with some nice caramel notes from a variety of crystal malts. Starting gravity is 15 Plato, boosted by a late addition of rice syrup solids. White Labs WLP080 Cream Ale yeast blend provides crisp yet round fermentation notes. Dry hopping with Comet offers grapefruit aroma.

This is a fruity breakfast drink; cream of corn grits with fruit and oats, delivered with the full mouthfeel of an ultimate smoothie.

Kola\Coca Soda

Jan25

In the years after the Civil War in the United States, nostrums and remedies began to appear for sale in the cities and towns throughout the South. One of these was invented by a war veteran who had been injured in battle, and subsequently found himself addicted to morphine, which he had been using to relieve his pain. Marketed as Pemberton’s French Wine Coca, it was touted as a cure for the blues, as well as for morphine addiction. The alcoholic version of the drink was reformulated in response to temperance legislation enacted in the area, and eventually became the world’s top-selling soft drink.

Pemberton’s French Wine Coca

This recipe for a drink that contains both coca leaf and kola nut extracts looks particularly pale when compared to commercial cola products. That is because the coloring agent in those versions is caramel. Commercial caramel color is created by heat-treating sugars such as glucose in the presence of acids, alkalies, or salts. It’s there pretty much only for the color. Leave it out and you get a pale golden drink colored, in this case, by the kola nut, coca leaf, and raw cane ingredients. Lime juice and six essential oils complete the formula.

Kola\Coca Soda tastes amazingly like a fresh version of the familiar cola practically everyone knows. It is very aromatic, thanks to the fresh lime juice and combination of fruit and spice oils. If you add a shot or two of dark rum to this beverage you will undoubtedly find yourself soon shouting “¡Cuba Libre!”

The Umami Factor

Full-spectrum Fermentation for the 21st Century

Tag Archives: umami