I follow https://www.youtube.com/@Artofdrink He recreates recipes and gives the basics on how to replicate drinks.
Ask HN: How to go about reverse engineering and deformulating a beverage at home
21–30 of 38 posts
Re: Ask HN: How to go about reverse engineering and deformulating a beverage at home
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
And look up the product labels in different countries because they may have to break down things in ways that other countries don’t. Hopefully the formulation is the same!
Often they aren’t. The obvious one is sugar vs HFCS in Mexican vs American Coke. Then, of course, there’s the big change from the original Coke recipe vs what we have today with cocaine being replaced by caffeine.¹ ⸻ 1. I’m pretty sure that in no country does Coke still use cocaine.
Regarding Coca-Cola and cocaine: you’re probably right about the psychoactive chemical cocaine, but Coca-Cola does actually still use a trace amount of coca leaf extract in Coca-Cola in (at least) the US.
How does this work legally? There is a (single) company that is licensed by the DEA to import coca, and they sell the non-psychoactive part to Coca-Cola. I think the psychoactive part goes toward DEA-approved research purposes, but I’m less sure about that.
Coca-Cola’s competitors do not receive or use coca through this process, only Coca-Cola.
Re: Ask HN: How to go about reverse engineering and deformulating a beverage at home
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
Often they aren’t. The obvious one is sugar vs HFCS in Mexican vs American Coke. Then, of course, there’s the big change from the original Coke recipe vs what we have today with cocaine being replaced by caffeine.¹ ⸻ 1. I’m pretty sure that in no country does Coke still use cocaine.
Regarding Coca-Cola and cocaine: you’re probably right about the psychoactive chemical cocaine, but Coca-Cola does actually still use a trace amount of coca leaf extract in Coca-Cola in (at least) the US. How does this work legally? There is a (single) company that is licensed by the DEA to import coca, and they sell the non-psychoactive part to Coca-Cola. I think the psychoactive part goes toward DEA-approved resear…
The psychoactive part still has (decreasing) medical uses and it goes to pharma: https://nationalpost.com/news/coca-colas-cocaine-connection-...
I suspect the flavouring component is so diluted nowadays that its kept because it's a valuable sideline having that import license, and adds to the mystique a bit.
Re: Ask HN: How to go about reverse engineering and deformulating a beverage at home
#24> would love to be able to recreate at home as it isn't available stateside.
Why not just import it? Or is this for fun.
Re: Ask HN: How to go about reverse engineering and deformulating a beverage at home
#25What soda. Is it calpis?
If it is Calpis, that is really easy to replicate, it is just yoghurt, sugar, and citric acid/lemon juice heated over a pan of boiling water. I regularly helped make a jug of this to have ready to dilute. It is as good as the store bought, and you can also make the dilution ratio to your strength. You can make it to replicate the thicker version that is occasionally sold.
Re: Ask HN: How to go about reverse engineering and deformulating a beverage at home
#26I'd start by buying a few. Open one and let it decarbonate. It's must easier to discern flavors for uncarbonated drinks. As an example, Coca-cola has cinnamon in it, which is almost impossible to taste when it's carbonated. It pops out when Coke goes flat. Most sodas will have a citrus component. Japan has odd ones like Yuzu, so try to pick up some essential citrus oils that aren't normal in your home country and are…
Ramune is really the Lemon/Lime Summer drink in Japan. I have always assumed Sprite was different in Japan as otherwise it is basically the same as Ramune.
Re: Ask HN: How to go about reverse engineering and deformulating a beverage at home
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
Regarding Coca-Cola and cocaine: you’re probably right about the psychoactive chemical cocaine, but Coca-Cola does actually still use a trace amount of coca leaf extract in Coca-Cola in (at least) the US. How does this work legally? There is a (single) company that is licensed by the DEA to import coca, and they sell the non-psychoactive part to Coca-Cola. I think the psychoactive part goes toward DEA-approved resear…
The psychoactive part still has (decreasing) medical uses and it goes to pharma: https://nationalpost.com/news/coca-colas-cocaine-connection-... I suspect the flavouring component is so diluted nowadays that its kept because it's a valuable sideline having that import license, and adds to the mystique a bit.
Thanks for confirming those details and being more concise than me. I had originally written “research and/or pharmaceutical uses”, but I wasn’t sure enough to warrant the extra paragraph I was going to include to explain the pharmaceutical uses. :)
Re: Ask HN: How to go about reverse engineering and deformulating a beverage at home
#28I wonder if you could use a centrifuge to separate the drink's ingredients into layers like nurses do with blood samples?
That is unlikely to work. Centrifugal separation works when the fluid you're trying to separate is a suspension of either solids or multiple fluids that do not mix (such as oil or another fat and water). Blood is a suspension of several types of several things (red and white blood cells, platelets, minor amounts of other stuff) in plasma, so you can separate each of those components out with a centrifuge. Soda, unless it contains something like fruit pulp or dairy, is generally not a suspension and therefore will not be separated by a centrifuge
Re: Ask HN: How to go about reverse engineering and deformulating a beverage at home
#29I'd start by buying a few. Open one and let it decarbonate. It's must easier to discern flavors for uncarbonated drinks. As an example, Coca-cola has cinnamon in it, which is almost impossible to taste when it's carbonated. It pops out when Coke goes flat. Most sodas will have a citrus component. Japan has odd ones like Yuzu, so try to pick up some essential citrus oils that aren't normal in your home country and are…
> the lime just didn't work in the heat IMO
Well that's because there wasn't enough gin.
Re: Ask HN: How to go about reverse engineering and deformulating a beverage at home
#30Check if someone has already done the work for you. It's fairly likely you can find instructions to make a similar drink. For example, try doing a search for "Japan melon soda".