Last step in the project of building a home soda machine for flavoring cola

[Danny D.]

I can't find the right group so the two groups this is being sent to are actually each half-way related to the question below.

I made a home-built C02 carbonation machine using a 20 pound carbon dioxide tank and some pneumatic hoses & couplings, which, along with a tire valve inserted into a soda-bottle cap, allows me to easily carbonate water at home, three liters at a time (as shown in this photo below):

My question is related to that machine, but it's related more to the food flavoring - in that the entire endeavor is a waste unless/until I can find an economical alternative to the desired cola flavoring.

Here is a picture of the cola flavoring I'm currently using:

The 'problem' is that it cost me $5 for the cola syrup, which makes 12 liters, or, roughly about 50 cents a liter. Compared to the C02 which costs perhaps a penny or two per liter, and the water which is also something on the order of a penny a liter, the whole home soda machine project is a failure unless I can get the cola flavoring costs down.

Any ideas on how to relatively closely duplicate the cola flavor at a substantially reduced cost than what I'm currently paying?

[Mark Thorson]

Do you have a certificate of analysis on the CO2? I worked at a company that hadn't paid much attention to safety until we had an accident. We then searched every area for possible hazards, and found dozens of them. One was the CO2 gas for our laser. I was thinking that in the course of operation, some of the CO2 might be converted to carbon monoxide. It turned out the CO2 as purchased contained a significant amount of CO. If the valve on the tank failed, the room where it was used could quickly fill up with a hazardous level.

I don't know what grades of CO2 are offered, but I doubt if the grade we were buying would be safe for consumer use.

[zxcvbob]

I have something similar, although I haven't used it in a while. I put a stainless steel truck valve stem (or you can use a snifter valve) in a

2-liter bottle cap, then use a tire chuck on a CO2 tank to carbonate it.

What pressure are you using? (try 55 to 60 psi with cold water) You do have a pressure regulator, right?

A guy at work with a new Sodastream machine bought 3 gallons of bulk Diet Mt. Dew syrup someplace, and that's what he uses. It's a lot cheaper than buying Sodastream syrup.

You might can mix your own cola syrup. Recipes abound. The main flavorings are citrus peel, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. The caramel and caffeine also might be significant, and who knows what other flavor notes are in the premium cola brands like Coke (lavender oil? That's a guess)

HTH, Bob

[Frank]

No, but I heard about Soda Stream machine and wondered what flavoring cost. That is expensive and I'm sure does not duplicate Pepsi or Coke in taste.

I'd google around for other brands. I think root beer extract is cheaper. I once made it via the fermentation route where you bottle with yeast for a day or two, enough to carbonate, and chill so it won't explode.

[zxcvbob]

Homebrew shops have other flavors of soda mix, but they only make 3 or 4 gallons instead of 5 like the McCormick's root beer. I bet they do have cola, and you could mix it into a syrup and store it in the fridge instead of bottling and fermenting it...

Bob

[gfretwell]

If you are buying the CO2 in a Bevco 20 pound bottle, most of these will end up attached to soda machines and the gas is food safe. They still consider it a dirty gas compared to medical grade oxygen or nitrous

[Robert]

Some homebrew shop sell Gnome extracts which make 10 gallons of soda.

For rootbeer the cheapest is Zatarains.

Robert

[mike]

You should be able to find a distributor that sells to local restaurants.

One of the most important ingredients in any homebrew food product is "expectations". If you're trying to make something that tastes like "coke", you're likely to be disappointed. If you're trying to make a carbonated beverage that doesn't taste awful, you'll have more success. Carbonated water doesn't taste awful after you get used to it ;-)

[Danny D.]

Thanks for the warnings - but I'm not the least bit worried about contaminants in the C02. As gfretwell stated, these tanks are used every single day in millions of beer kegs and soda dispensing machines.

The problem I'm having is that the C02 and water are only a couple pennies a liter, but the Soda Stream cola syrup (at $5.00 + 10% tax for a bottle that makes only 12 liters) is hugely expensive.

Wikipedia lists the "Merchandise 7X" formula for Coca Cola syrup (the supposed secrecy of which is a carefully orchestrated MARKETING coup), but almost NONE of the ingredients were easily obtainable at any of my local grocery stores. :(

Do you know where I can get these ingredients, at a reasonable price?

Ingredients: 1 oz (28 g) caffeine citrate 3 oz (85 g) citric acid 1 fl oz (30 ml) vanilla extract 1 qt (946 ml) lime juice 2.5 oz (71 g) "flavoring," i.e., "Merchandise 7X" 30 lb (14 kg) sugar 4 fl oz (118.3 ml) cocoa leaf fluid extract

[Danny D.]

Likewise, I use a steel car tire valve with the Schrader valve removed so that the carbon dioxide is free flowing into the ice-cold water in 3 liter bottles.

I use a standard pneumatic hose quick connect to attach the gas line to the soda bottle cap. It's trivial to use and takes two seconds to assemble and disassemble.

Of course. I have the standard dual gauge regulator everyone else has.

The carbon dioxide tank keeps a steady 800 psi or so on the primary gauge. I regulate the secondary pressure to anything between 30 and 50 PSI depending on how much of a rush I'm in.

IIRC, we only need about 22 PSI for ice-cold water, but the carbon dioxide is almost free, so it doesn't really matter as long as we keep below the 150 PSI test burst strength of the typical polycarbonate soda bottles.

A bulk deal for 'any' decent cola would be fantastic to find!

The actual recipe for Coca Cola was what I first tried (it's on Wikipedia, and elsewhere); but the problem is that I don't have a source for the ingredients.

If anyone has a source for those ingredients, that would be fantastic!

[Danny D.]

I bought the Soda Stream flavoring you see in the picture for $5.00 plus about 10% tax (makes 12 liters) at Bed Bath & Beyond.

That's roughly about 50 cents a liter (roundabout numbers) which is crazy considering Coca Cola is only about a buck a liter on sale.

I ran a single-blind taste test with the wife and kids, with the result that they 'could' consistently tell "a" difference between the three 'colas' I gave them (Coke, store brand, and Soda Stream), but they did not correctly guess with any reliability which one was the Coke versus the store-brand and the Soda Stream brand colas.

So, my tentative conclusion is that the cola taste is actually close enough for government work.

The problem isn't the taste - it's finding a supplier for the syrup (or for the syrup ingredients) that is reasonable on cost.

[Danny D.]

Luckily, the single-blind test I did with the wife & kids of the three colas (Coke, store brand, and Soda Stream) came out OK on taste.

The problem I'm trying to solve is to lower the cost of the cola syrup.

The kids think so.

However, I created lemon extract at home simply by scraping lemon peel zest into vodka, which I used to flavor the "adult" carbonated water.

Here's a picture of that home made lemon extract (in the small jar):

[Danny D.]

At about 50 cents a liter, that Soda Stream flavoring is prohibitively expensive!

I can't imagine what it costs for people who also buy the carbon dioxide cartridges from Soda Stream.

It must approach a dollar a liter, which is not even close to worth it.

I can't imagine the company can sell the stuff at these prices, so, maybe there is a much cheaper supplier for the cola flavor out there?

[harry]

You must be mad drinking that shit. I hope you don't feed it to your kids if you have any. Go out and buy some real fruit.

[George]

Easy, good marketing telling people that it works. I always laugh when I see that commercial "did you you know you could make soda at home from TAP WATER? (just like they do where you buy fountain soda)"

BTW we solved the "soda problem" by simply not drinking it. You get used to sweet stuff and a glass of water is just as refreshing.

[George]

Only because they are used to sweet stuff.

[Moe DeLoughan]

[Frank]

Add your efforts and time and making sodas would actually cost more. I was into home brewing and wine making and it was time consuming.

[trader4]

[Robert]

GFS (Gorden Food Service) carry's coke-cola in bag in box.

Robert