Brief History of Coca-Cola

Somebody commented on my previous post, asking about the origin of Coke. This post is a response to his/her question..


Anonymous said...

Good Evening,
For someone who is so interested in Cokes, i guess you might be the right person to ask.. Did you know which country invented Coke?.. Its a product invented for export purpose only, if its so good, why is it not sold in its origin country?

Monday, 09 March, 2009



Hi Anon,

Thank you for your question. I'm confused with your statement that Coke is a product invented for export only. When you said Coke, did you mean cocaine? If you mean cocaine, then I have no interest. But if you mean Coca-Cola, then perhaps you have a different version of history from mine.

So here's a brief description of Coca-Cola origin.

Coca-Cola was first invented in 1885 by a druggist named John Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was initially developed as a patent medicine containing, among others, coca leaves (cocaine) and kola nut (caffeine) - hence the name Coca-Cola. It was claimed to stop headaches and calm nervousness. Although initially marketed as medicine, Coca-Cola was intended to be taken as carbonated drink right from the start.

In 1888, Asa Griggs Candler, a businessman, established The Coca-Cola Company and purchased exclusive rights to the formula. Coca-Cola later emerged as a dominant soft drink in the world. Today, Coca-Cola is widely accepted all over the world, and especially in it's origin, United States.

Most of the information here is gathered from Wikipedia, but you can also find more materials from The Coca-Cola Company's website.

Coca-Cola was initially manufactured as a patent medicine, and was still dispensed as medicine long after it has been developed as beverage. Cola syrups (various brands) are still available as household medicine.