For well over a century, Coca-Cola has leaned into the mystery of what makes it taste like Coca-Cola, and that secrecy has fueled endless copycat attempts. Now a YouTuber who goes by the name LabCoatz says he finally got close enough to call it a match. After a year of research and more than a hundred trials, he says he arrived at an “exact formula” that can replicate the world famous soda. The claim has been getting attention because he did not just offer opinions, he shared a detailed ingredient list and a method.
LabCoatz is known online for science style experiments, but this project drew far more curiosity than his usual uploads. The video where he breaks down the process climbed to 3.6 million views, a huge jump compared to the typical range on his channel, which usually sits anywhere from about 8,000 to 668,000 views. That gap alone shows how powerful the Coca-Cola mystery remains, even for people who do not normally watch chemistry content. In the video, he explains how he studied published research and chemical analyses to guide each round of tweaks. You can watch video here.
His final version is labeled as the 111th attempt, which hints at how much trial and error went into chasing a familiar flavor. For one liter of the drink, he says the base requires carbonated water, 104 grams of sugar, 1 milliliter of flavor solution A, and 10 milliliters of flavor solution B. The way he presents it, the build is more like a lab recipe than a kitchen hack. It also shows that the flavor is not coming from a single syrup, but from layers that are blended in measured steps.
Flavor solution A is described as a mixture of oils diluted with 95 percent ethanol. In his breakdown, the blend includes 45.8 milliliters of lemon oil, 36.5 milliliters of lime oil, and 8 milliliters of neroli oil. He also lists 4.5 milliliters of cassia oil, 2.7 milliliters of nutmeg oil, and 1.2 milliliters of orange oil. Rounding it out are 0.7 milliliters of coriander oil and 0.6 milliliters of fennel oil, which suggests he was aiming for that bright citrus opening with a warm, spicy backbone.
Flavor solution B is water based, and it reads like the part that builds the recognizable cola profile and mouthfeel. He says it contains 320 milliliters of caramel color and 175 grams of glycerin. The acidic bite is handled with 45 milliliters of 85 percent phosphoric acid, along with 10 milliliters of vinegar at 5 percent acidity. He also includes 10 milliliters of vanilla extract, 8 grams of wine tannins, and 9.65 grams of caffeine, which together would add bitterness, aroma, and that lingering finish people associate with colas.
The most compelling part of his story is the informal testing he describes once he thought he nailed the balance. According to his account, people who took part in a tasting confused his version with the original. That kind of result would be a dream for anyone trying to reverse engineer a protected product, especially one as iconic as Coca-Cola. At the same time, the limitation is obvious, because the official recipe is tightly guarded, so there is no direct way to confirm whether the formulas truly match.
That uncertainty is part of why attempts like this go viral in the first place. Coca-Cola’s identity is tied to consistency, so even small differences in acidity, sweetness, or aroma can stand out to a devoted fan. A blind taste test with a small group can be interesting, but it is still not a definitive verdict on equivalence. Still, LabCoatz sharing specific measurements gives curious viewers something concrete to discuss, and it turns the mystery into a puzzle people feel they can evaluate.
It also taps into a broader fascination with how food and beverage brands protect their signature flavors. Trade secrets are one of the strongest tools a company can use because they do not expire the way patents do, as long as the information stays confidential. That is why the idea of a secret formula has become part of Coca-Cola’s mythology, along with the brand’s long history and global footprint. Whether or not LabCoatz truly matched the original, his experiment shows how far modern hobbyists can go with research, persistence, and careful measuring.
For readers who want a bit of wider context, Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink that became a defining product of modern mass marketing and global distribution. The company has long promoted the idea of a closely held recipe, and the brand’s recognizable taste has helped it remain a cultural touchstone across generations. The drink’s signature profile is often described as a balance of sweet, acidic, citrusy, and spicy notes, which aligns with why a blend of essential oils, acids, and tannins would be used in a recreation attempt. If you have ever wondered why colas taste similar yet still distinct, it often comes down to tiny differences in those aromatic and acidic components.
What do you think, is recreating a legendary soda through careful experimentation impressive, or does the real magic still belong to the original, share your thoughts in the comments.
