Supply coffee houses with a well-crafted Italian grinder / extraction system that converts an international selection of cola nuts and leaves into a fresh, gourmet ice-cold cola. The customer watches as the syrup extract is made to order. People love to become connoisseurs, and will soon be arguing the merits of Gold Coast vs. Cameroon Cola, etc.
-- spartanica, Apr 16 2002

Kola Nut Page http://www.congocookbook.com/c0177.html
Courtesy of the Congo Cookbook. [Dog Ed, Apr 17 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004]

kolanuts for soft drink http://www.inasp.in...fta/vol6no1abs.html
"Acceptable to local tasters" Scroll down > Next to last item. [thumbwax, Apr 17 2002, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Hmmm. I've been to soda shops where the sodas were made from syrup (in the open, not in a machine). Sodas always taste better with more syrup. Plus you can add flavorings like chocolate, vanilla (which Coke is going to introduce commercially, soon) and cherry (which Coke already sells).

I have to imagine that the process is fairly involved and probably too big for a store-front operation. Kudos for the thought anyway.
-- phoenix, Apr 16 2002


"Kola nuts are best known outside of Africa as an ingredient in cola beverages. There is some evidence that the first kola (or cola) beverage was made by Western Africans who mixed water with dried or fermented kola nuts. Today, homemade cola drinks are very rare in Africa, though store-bought cola drinks are very popular. Commercially produced cola drinks were developed in the late 1800s, when chemists and inventors the world over used kola nuts (as well as other exotic ingredients) in various drinks and tonics. The most famous of these is Coca-Cola, which has become a truly global beverage. More recently, kola nuts and kola nut extract have become popular in Europe and North America as a natural or alternative medicine."

(see link)

So maybe it would work, though the resulting beverage might not be cola as we in the temperate lands know it.
-- Dog Ed, Apr 17 2002


Intriguing. I'm certainly interested to know if this is possible. Withholding croissant until the evidence is in.
-- waugsqueke, Apr 17 2002


From another source (part of a much larger book, so I've not h-linked) describing the taste of raw Kola nut as "shockingly bitter" enough to produce florid perspiration and a nice caffiene buzz.
-- reensure, Apr 17 2002



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