How cola is made
A cola company sells only a syrup concentrate, and local bottlers add the water, sweetener and bubbles.
- stations
- 7
- things upstream
- 70
- raw sources
- 23
- steps from the ground
- 9
The short version
Cola is built from a flavored syrup. Sugar or another sweetener, caramel color, phosphoric acid and a blend of citrus oils, cinnamon, vanilla and other flavors make a concentrate. At a bottling plant it is diluted with filtered water, charged with carbon dioxide under pressure, and sealed into cans or bottles.
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Blend the flavor oils
Citrus oils from orange, lime and lemon peel are combined with cinnamon, vanilla and trace flavorings. The exact proportions are a corporate trade secret.
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Tint it brown
Caramel color is made by heating sugars, often with acids, alkalis or salts. It is more fully cooked than caramel candy and gives cola its dark brown shade.
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Add the acid
Phosphoric acid gives cola its tang. Food-grade acid is made from phosphate rock, and it also helps preserve the syrup.
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Sweeten into syrup
Sugar, high-fructose corn syrup or an artificial sweetener goes in, depending on region and cost. In the US corn syrup has long been the main choice, while Europe leans toward sugar.
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Dilute the concentrate
At a bottling plant, the concentrate from the cola company is diluted with filtered water. Syrup and water are typically mixed at about one part syrup to five parts water.
about 1:5
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Charge with gas
Chilled water takes up the most carbon dioxide, so carbonation happens cold and under high pressure. Colas are carbonated to around 3.5 volumes of gas per volume of liquid. Food-grade carbon dioxide often comes from ammonia plants.
3.5 volumes of CO2
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Fill and seal fast
Cans and bottles are filled and capped quickly so the bubbles stay dissolved. Pressure inside the container keeps the gas in solution until you open it.
Worth repeating
- The kola nut contains about 2.0 to 3.5% caffeine and gave the original recipe its name.
- In the 1940s Coca-Cola made a clear version called White Coke at the request of Soviet marshal Georgy Zhukov.
Back to the ground
Follow every input upstream and cola starts as these 23 raw sources.
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Sources
Cite this page: "How cola is made." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/cola