Cola

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This article is about the beverage; Cola may also refer to the accounting term Cost-of-living adjustment or the Cola plant.

Several different brands of cola. (Pepsi, TAUfrisch Cola, Pepsi Max, River Cola, Coca-Cola, Sinalco Cola, Afri-Cola, Coca-Cola light)

Glass of Cola with ice and lemon

Cola is a sweet carbonated drink, usually with caramel coloring and containing caffeine.

The flavor of the soft drink comes from a mixture of citrus flavorings such as orange, lime and lemon and spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. The name comes from the kola nuts that were originally used in early soft drinks as the source of caffeine.

Cola drinks may be sweetened with sugar, high fructose corn syrup, stevia or an artificial sweetener depending on product and market. Caffeine-free cola drinks are also available.

Major brands of cola include Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Virgin Cola, Royal Crown, Dr Pepper, Smirnoff Cola and various local producers. Among colas, German brand Afri-Cola had a higher caffeine content (about 250 mg/L) until the product was relaunched with a new formulation in 1999, and has it again since a second relaunch with the original formulation in April 2006. Thums Up is a popular cola brand in India. Inca Kola is another brand that is marketed in many countries by the Coca Cola group; it is the major cola in some South American countries. tuKola and Tropicola are brands from Cuba; the former is also sold in Italy. Cuba Cola on the other hand is the native cola of Sweden. Star cola is a brand from Gaza-Palestine. There is also an open source recipe for a cola drink, OpenCola.

Being carbonated, colas are acidic (carbonic acid is formed when carbon dioxide dissolves in water), and so can react violently with basic chemicals, such as baking soda. Many colas also contain phosphoric acid and/or citric acid, which further increases the acidity. Mentos and many crystalline powders such as sugar and salt cause fizzing by providing many micronucleation points for the carbon dioxide to leave solution. Dry ice provides additional carbon dioxide and can force some of the carbon dioxide present in the drink out of solution. Mixing these substances with cola (or any other carbonated drink) causes the drink to bubble, creating foam and greatly increasing the pressure in the bottle, resulting in either the bottle or the cap giving way.

[edit] Etymology

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The word cola may have been introduced into the mainstream by the major producer Coca-Cola, as they saw their trademark slipping into common use, like other genericized trademarks. They successfully defended the exclusive use of their name and its diminutive form "Coke" by suggesting the alternative of "cola drink" as a generic name for similar types of carbonated soft drinks. The word cola as part of the Coca-Cola trademark may have originated from the kola nuts that were originally used as the source of caffeine.