A Chemist's Attempt to Recreate Coca-Cola's Flavor

SUMMARY

In 30 seconds

In this January 2026 video, Matthew Berman discusses LabCoatz's proposed cola recipe, outlining its two flavor solutions and the secrecy surrounding Coca-Cola's formula. Berman calls the result a perfect replication, but the short presents no independent verification that it matches the confidential original.

1A yearlong recreationBerman says YouTuber LabCoatz used organic chemistry over a year to recreate Coca-Cola. His claim of a perfect replication is not independently established in this short.
2Two flavor solutionsThe displayed formulation uses carbonated water, sugar, and small amounts of two flavor solutions. Berman lists citrus and spice oils in the first, and caramel color, acids, vanilla and caffeine among the ingredients in the second.
3A guarded trade secretBerman contrasts the proposed mixture with Coca-Cola's closely guarded formula. The company says its recipe is a trade secret; the experiment does not establish that the confidential original has been revealed.

Takeaways

LabCoatz developed a proposed cola formulation over roughly a year, according to Berman.
The displayed mixture combines carbonated water and sugar with two flavor solutions containing oils, acids, color and caffeine.
Coca-Cola describes its formula as a trade secret, and a proposed taste-alike does not prove that the original formula has been discovered.

TopicsScience Communication Experimentation

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A cola recreation

Berman introduces LabCoatz's yearlong chemistry project and its proposed cola formulation. He describes the result as a perfect replication, a claim the short does not independently establish.

YouTuber LabCoatz spent about a year using organic chemistry to develop a Coca-Cola recreation, Matthew Berman says. Berman calls it a perfect replication, although this short does not establish that the experiment reproduced Coca-Cola's confidential formula or provide independent testing of an exact match.

The proposed ingredients

Berman reads the components of the two flavor solutions, from citrus and spice oils to caramel color, acids and caffeine. The on-screen recipe also specifies water, sugar and the amount of each solution per liter.

The formulation on screen uses carbonated water and sugar, plus 1 milliliter of flavor solution A and 10 milliliters of flavor solution B per liter. Berman lists lemon, lime, tea tree, cassia cinnamon, nutmeg, orange and coriander oils in solution A, as well as fenchol, an ingredient he says he does not recognize.

SLIDE 1 / 1LabCoatz's proposed cola formulationThe on-screen ingredient list shows the two flavor solutions and quantities for the proposed recreation; it is not verification of Coca-Cola's confidential recipe.

For solution B, Berman reads out Shank's caramel color, glycerin, phosphoric acid, vinegar, vanilla extract, wine tannins and caffeine. These are ingredients in the creator's proposed mixture; the list alone does not show that the original Coca-Cola formula uses the same ingredients or proportions.

Secrecy and the limits of the claim

Berman describes Coca-Cola's formula as closely guarded and says it is kept in an Atlanta vault. His conclusion that the world now knows the recipe goes beyond the evidence shown: a proposed recreation is not proof of the original formula.

Berman calls Coca-Cola's recipe one of the world's most closely guarded secrets. He says only a handful of people know it, that it was not patented because a patent would require disclosure, and that the recipe is held in a vault in Atlanta.

Berman concludes that, with the recreation, the whole world now knows the recipe. That conclusion is stronger than the evidence shown: [Coca-Cola describes its formula as a trade secret](https://www.coca-cola.com/ke/en/about-us/faq/is-the-coca-cola-formula-kept-secret-because-the-company-has-som), and the proposed formulation has not been shown to reveal the company's original recipe.