Is it the real thing?
It doesn't take a rocket scientist and a lab to work out the ingredients we use to create our great Coca-Cola t-shirts but should you want to know the secrets behind the world famous fizzy drink you can buy the original recipe.....
An American antiques dealer claims to have stumbled across the top secret recipe for Coca-Cola. Cliff Kluge said he discovered the 1943 formula in a box of personal papers and letters he purchased from the estate of a respected chemist in his hometown of Georgia.
"Whoever had typed this letter had seen the original recipe. The letter always references Coke and products and stuff," he said. He is convinced it is the real thing and has posted the paper on eBay for a starting price of $5million (£3.2million) or a âbuy nowâ price of $15million (£9.6million). So far, the only bid has come from a 15 year old but is not thought to be legitimate.
The recipe for Coca Cola, which is sold in every country except Cuba and North Korea, is believed to include cinnamon, nutmeg, citrus oils and vanilla.
Kluge believes that Coca-Cola might have sent the ingredient list to the pharmacist because the company was having trouble obtaining everything necessary during the war. The 19th century recipe for the fizzy drink is a tightly kept secret and is safely tucked away in a vault at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta.
Ted Ryan, the archivist for Coca-Cola believes the recipe is a formula for a âcolaâ type drink but not Coca-Cola.
Kluge, whose copy is in a safety deposit box, acknowledged: "I can't prove this is the original recipe. No one can because only two people (both executives of Coca-Cola) in the world know it."
In 2011, the public radio show "This American Life" came out with what it believed to be a handwritten original recipe for Coca-Cola, which in its earliest form had cocaine among its ingredients.
Farmer Jimmy Doherty attempted to make his own Cola on his TV show Jimmy's Food Factory. Jimmy manages to recreate the taste of cola by using water, sugar, natural plant oils, gum arabic, caramel colouring, phosphoric acid and caffeine. Click the image below to see how he got on.
If you can't quite stretch to purchasing the original recipe why not treat yourself to a nice t-shirt, hoodie or jacket to show your love for the original Thirst-Quencher.... We have a large selection of Coca-Cola Clothing but here's some of my favourite.
T-Shirt - £19.99
T-Shirt - £19.99
University Scoop Neck - £24.99
Varsity Jacket - £39.99