For 125 years, Coke’s secret recipe has remained one of the most heavily guarded trade secrets in the world. Now a group of accidental soda sleuths say they’ve stumbled across a list of its ingredients.

Producers of the radio program This American Life came across an article on the history of Coca-Cola in an old copy of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Coca-Cola’s hometown newspaper. Published on page 2B on February 18, 1979, the article received little attention at the time. But, producers say, that’s because no one realized the photo used to illustrate the story is a hand-written copy of John Pemberton’s original recipe, jotted down by a friend in a leather-bound recipe book of ointments and medicines, and passed down by friends and family for generations.

Coca-Cola original secret recipe

Ingredients

• Fluid extract of coca: 3 drams USP
• Citric acid: 3 oz
• Caffeine: 1 oz
• Sugar: 30 (unclear quantity, possibly pounds)
• Water: 2.5 gallons
• Lime juice: 2 pints, 1 quart
• Vanilla: 1 oz
• Caramel: 1.5 oz or more to colour

Instructions

• Into every five gallons of syrup, add 2oz of the following seven-part flavouring:
  Alcohol: 8 oz
  Orange oil: 20 drops
  Lemon oil: 30 drops
  Nutmeg oil: 10 drops
  Coriander oil : 5 drops
  Neroli oil: 10 drops
  Cinnamon oil: 10 drops