AUDIO – COKE ADDS LIFE –

March 2, 2023 – The name Coca-Cola is so familiar that, according to Bart Elmore, the author of Citizen Coke, it’s the second most-recognized word in the world (“okay” is the first). But you might not realize that the two conjoined words that make up the brand actually mean something. In fact, they’re the names of two ingredients used in the secret recipe for the famous soda since the late 1800s: cola comes from kola, an African nut known for its caffeine content, and coca comes from the coca leaf — which, of course, is the plant source for the drug cocaine. In the latest episode of Gastropod, co-hosts Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twilley uncover Coca-Cola’s real secret formula, while exploring the lengths Coke has gone to in order to source its ingredients.

Coca leaf has been used in its native South America in medicinal, spiritual, and recreational contexts for centuries. When chewed or brewed into tea, the leaf has a mild stimulating effect, and has been used traditionally to treat stomach issues, suppress appetite, and relieve the physical effects of high altitudes. But, in the 1800s, cocaine — a powerful stimulant isolated and extracted from the coca leaf by the power of chemistry — became Europeans’ drug du jour. It found its way into medicine as well as the enthusiastic embrace of Sigmund Freud, it was written into the plot of Sherlock Holmes, and it was also added to an array of popular foods and drinks.

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