Clear cola

Cola

A glass of cola served with ice cubes and two lemon slices.
Type	soft drink
Country of origin	United States
Introduced	1886
Color	Caramel
Flavor	Cola (kola nut, citrus, cinnamon and vanilla)

Cola is a sweetened, carbonated soft drink, derived from drinks that contain caffeine from the kola nut and non-cocaine derivatives from coca leaves, flavored with vanilla and other ingredients. Most colas now use other flavoring (and caffeinating) ingredients with a similar taste. Colas became popular worldwide after pharmacist John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in 1886. His non-alcoholic recipe was inspired by the coca wine of pharmacist Angelo Mariani, created in 1863.

Modern colas usually contain caramel color, caffeine, and sweeteners such as sugar or high-fructose corn syrup.

Despite the name, the primary modern flavoring ingredients in a cola drink are sugar, citrus oils (from oranges, limes, or lemon fruit peel), cinnamon, vanilla, and an acidic flavorant. Manufacturers of cola drinks add trace ingredients to create distinctively different tastes for each brand. Trace flavorings may include nutmeg and a wide variety of ingredients, but the base flavorings that most people identify with a cola taste remain vanilla and cinnamon. Acidity is often provided by phosphoric acid, sometimes accompanied by citric or other isolated acids. Coca-Cola's recipe is maintained as a corporate trade secret.