Coca Cola

There is a big difference between Coke and Coca-Cola. Coke is an generic term that can refer to any number of sodas that are carbonated and sweetened with sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Coca-Cola, on the other hand, is a specific brand of soda that is made with a unique recipe that includes ingredients like caramel colour and phosphoric acid. Yet when Coca-Cola was initially launched, they discovered the public referred to it as 'coke' and even made ad campaigns to dissuade people from referring to it as such. This didn't work though, and Coca-Cola eventually adopted the 'Coke' trademark.

Coca-Cola is made of water, sugar, caramel colour, phosphoric acid, caffeine, and natural flavours. One of the most interesting ingredients is mercaptoethanol, which is a form of sulfuric acid used in soft drinks to speed up the browning process and give Coke its distinct colour.