Coca-Cola formula version of Coca-Cola syrup contains kola nut extract; originally included for its caffeine content, modern Coca-Cola uses caffeine citrate produced by the decaffeination of coffee. The primary taste of Coca-Cola is thought to come from vanilla and cinnamon, with trace amounts of essential oils, and spices such as nutmeg. A 2015 study identified and measured 58 aroma compounds in common colas, confirming significant amounts of compounds corresponding to cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, orange and lemon essential oils in Coca Cola. During the 1980s, most U.S. Coca-Cola bottlers switched their primary sweetening ingredient from cane sugar (sucrose) to the cheaper high-fructose corn
Criticism of Coca-Cola Coca-Cola’s success, came fame, and with the fame came the questions. In 1909, the Pure Food and Drug Act passed, and the United States government seized 40 barrels and 20 kegs of Coca-Cola syrup because they considered the added caffeine to be a harmful ingredient. One of the first noted criticisms of Coca-Cola was that it produced serious mental and motor deficits. This resulted in Coca-Cola’s first lawsuit and trial where the official charges were that Coca-Cola was adulterated and misbranded. The trial following the lawsuit, The United States Government v. Forty Barrels, Twenty Kegs Coca-Cola, started in March 1911