A man claims to have found the secret recipe for Coca-Cola and he’s selling it, asking for a starting bid of $5 million.
Cliff Kluge stumbled upon what he believes to be the original recipe for the popular soft drink in an old box of papers purchased at a famous chemist’s estate sale in Georgia, which is Coca-Cola’s home state.
The recipe has been a closely guarded secret for more than 100 years.
“May we make this perfectly clear - we can never guarantee and never claim that this is the actual recipe for Coca Cola,” the eBay listing states.
“Even if this formula was 100% accurate in every aspect … there are only two people in the world that can verify it's accuracy, and I doubt they will be willing to compromise Coca Cola to acknowledge our exactness. That is why we are selling this as a historic artifact.”
The recipe – which is heavily redacted in the online auction with specific ingredients and quantities blocked out – is dated Jan. 15, 1943.
“This single page (front and back) breaks down the formula into exact amounts of specific ingredients to make one gallon of concentrate, which, when combined and processed yields enough to make 16 gallons,” the listing states.
The original Coke recipe was formulated by pharmacist Dr. John S. Pemberton, who was trying to create a non-alcoholic cocoa wine.
It was originally sold as a medicine for five cents a glass.
