Scho-Ka-Kola facts for kids
Scho-Ka-Kola canister
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| Type | Confectionery |
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| Owner | Scho-Ka-Kola GmbH |
| Country | Berlin, Germany |
| Introduced | 1936 |
| Markets | Germany |
| Website | scho-ka-kola.de |
Scho-Ka-Kola is a special German chocolate known for giving you a boost of energy! It's made with a mix of caffeine and kola nut, which are natural energizers. This chocolate has about 0.2% caffeine. This comes from its high cocoa content (58%) and added roast coffee (2.6%) and kola nut (1.6%). The chocolate comes in a round metal tin, divided into small wedges. The famous red-and-white container and the recipe haven't changed much since it first came out in 1936.
Contents
The Story of Scho-Ka-Kola
Scho-Ka-Kola got its name from "Schokolade" (chocolate), "Kaffee" (coffee), and "Kolanuss" (kola nut). It was invented in 1935 and patented by a chocolate company called Hildebrand, Kakao- und Schokoladenfabrik in Berlin, Germany.
A Boost for Athletes
This energy chocolate was first introduced at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. It was called "Sport Chocolate" because it helped athletes perform better by giving them energy. Other German chocolate makers also started producing it.
Scho-Ka-Kola in World War II
During World War II, Scho-Ka-Kola became very popular. Soldiers, especially pilots, called it "Aviator Chocolate." It was given to Luftwaffe (German air force) pilots and crew members. It helped them stay awake and alert, especially during long night flights. Blue tins were even given to flight crews as emergency survival rations if they got lost at sea.
Scho-Ka-Kola was also given to German tank crews, U-boat (submarine) crews, and the German Army. After the war, during the occupation period, the Allies also shared it with the German people. The tins made for the German army were marked 'Wehrmacht-Packung' on the bottom.
A soldier named Johann Voss, who wrote a book about his experiences, mentioned Scho-Ka-Kola several times. He joined the Waffen-SS when he was only 17. He said that when fighting was tough, soldiers were given these round tins of chocolate. He called the chocolate "pure luxury" and explained that each tin had two discs of dark chocolate with caffeine from coffee beans. He even claimed that during a battle in 1945, Scho-Ka-Kola was given to captured American soldiers as a sign of respect for their bravery.
Who Makes Scho-Ka-Kola Now?
In 1969, a German chocolate producer named Hans Imhoff took over the Hildebrand chocolate company. Later, in 1972, he also bought another chocolate maker called Stollwerck. Today, a company called Genuport has all the rights to the Scho-Ka-Kola brand and its distribution. It is still made by a company in Berlin and sold across Germany. You can also find it in a few other countries.
Cool Facts About Scho-Ka-Kola
- Besides the classic bitter-sweet dark chocolate in a red-white tin, there's also a milk chocolate version in a blue-white tin.
- There's also a milk chocolate with hazelnut flavor that comes in a green-white tin.
- In the past, each tin had two round chocolate discs stacked inside. You had to break off each piece.
- A 100-gram tin of Scho-Ka-Kola has about 200 milligrams of caffeine.
- Since each tin has 16 pieces, each piece has about 12.5 milligrams of caffeine.
- Current tins say that "6 portions of Scho-Ka-Kola contain about as much caffeine as a cup of coffee." This is similar to the caffeine in many energy drinks (about 80 milligrams per 250 ml).
- An older label used to say: "4 portions of Scho-Ka-Kola contain about as much caffeine as a strong espresso" (around 50 milligrams).
What's in Scho-Ka-Kola?
The main ingredients are:
- Cocoa mass
- Sugar
- Cocoa butter
- Coffee (2.6%)
- Whole milk powder
- Kola nut powder (1.6%)
- Soy lecithin (an ingredient that helps mix things smoothly)
- E476 (another ingredient that helps mix things)
- Flavor
It might also have tiny amounts of hazelnuts, almonds, and gluten.
US Trademark Challenge
In 1998, a company tried to register the name SCHO-KA-KOLA as a trademark in the United States. However, a very famous company, The Coca-Cola Company, disagreed with this. They felt the name was too similar to their own. Because of this disagreement, the trademark application was eventually dropped in 2001.
