OpenCola (drink) facts for kids
 |
|
| Type | Cola |
|---|---|
| Introduced | 2001 |
| Related products | Free Beer |
OpenCola is a special kind of cola drink. Its recipe is completely open, meaning anyone can see it, use it, and even change it! It's like a recipe that's free for everyone to share and improve. A company called Opencola launched it in 2001 to help people understand "open-source" ideas.
Contents
What is OpenCola?
OpenCola is unique because its recipe is open source. This means the list of ingredients and how to make it are available for anyone to see and use. You can even change the recipe to make your own version! This idea is similar to how some computer software is made, where the code is open for everyone to see and improve.
History of OpenCola
The first version of OpenCola was released on January 27, 2001. It was created by Grad Conn, Cory Doctorow, and John Henson. The goal was to show people what "free and open source software" was all about, but in a fun, drinkable way.
The drink became very popular, and about 150,000 cans were sold! The company, Opencola, was based in Toronto and closed down in 2003. Interestingly, the drink became more famous than the computer software it was meant to promote. One of the company's leaders, Laird Brown, thought its success came from people not trusting big companies and wanting to know how things were made.
How to Make OpenCola
Making OpenCola involves two main parts: creating the special flavouring and then mixing it into a concentrate.
OpenCola Flavouring
The flavouring for OpenCola uses a mix of different oils and other ingredients. Here's what you need:
- 10.0 grams of food-grade gum arabic (a natural gum)
- 3.5 mL of orange oil
- 3.0 mL of water
- 2.75 mL of lime oil
- 1.25 mL of cassia oil (similar to cinnamon)
- 1.0 mL of lemon oil
- 1.0 mL of nutmeg oil
- 0.25 mL of coriander oil
- 0.25 mL of neroli oil (from orange blossoms)
- 0.25 mL of lavender oil
OpenCola Concentrate
Once you have the flavouring, you mix it with other ingredients to make the concentrate.
- 2.36 kilograms of plain white sugar
- 2.28 liters of water
- 30.0 mL of caramel coloring (to give it that cola color)
- 17.5 mL (about 3.5 teaspoons) of 75% phosphoric acid or citric acid (for tartness)
- 10.0 mL (about 2 teaspoons) of the flavouring you just made
- 2.5 mL (about 0.5 teaspoon) of caffeine (this part is optional)
Diluting the Concentrate
After you mix the concentrate, you need to dilute it. You mix one part of the concentrate with five parts of soda water. It's best to use soda water that doesn't have much sodium. This recipe makes about 24 liters of OpenCola!
The full recipe also includes instructions for making your own soda water at home. You can use simple ingredients like yeast and sugar. This way, the entire process of making OpenCola is "open source," from start to finish. Otherwise, you would need to buy soda water from a store or use a machine with special carbon dioxide containers.
See also
In Spanish: OpenCola para niños
- Cube Cola
- Coca-Cola formula
- Free Beer
