Despite all the technological advances, knowing the exact composition of the famous refreshing drink is very difficult because of the way in which their ingredients have been mixed.The basic elements of colas, in addition to water, are lemon, lime, cola nut and cinnamon, which can be accompanied by hundreds of minor ingredients, some in really small quantities, which give these sodas their characteristic flavor.
Many of these ingredients, such as lemon oil, are themselves complex mixtures of dozens of organic chemicals. For this reason and because of its different sources of origin, the analysis and identification of the ingredients of the Coca-Cola formula becomes so difficult, rather impossible. For example, Florida lemon oil has certain specific characteristics that differentiate it from that of California or Veracruz in Mexico.
Analytical techniques such as gas chromatography and mass spectrography have long been used by the industry, but they are not advanced enough to reveal the exact and complex combination of ingredients that give the popular soft drink its unmistakable flavor.
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