Homemade Cola – Using Ginger Bug!
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Since I first featured a glimpse of my homemade cola in a past video, a lot of you have been asking for the recipe. Well, sharing is caring! Here is a homemade cola recipe lacto fermented with a ginger bug that emulates the real thing quite well. In fact, because it uses raw, natural ingredients, it tastes even better than commercial cola.
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This is a ginger bug cola, which means if you don’t have a ginger bug, you will have to make one. It is not difficult, but it takes a few days to make. If you already have filtered water, fresh ginger root and plain old white sugar, then you’re ready to make one! Learn how to do that here.
Feed Your Ginger Bug
If you have a ginger bug in your fridge but haven’t used it for a while, take it out and pour some away. Add a spoonful of fresh, unpeeled ginger, a spoonful of sugar and some filtered water to top it off. Stir it with something that is not metallic and allow it to sit at room temperature until it is bubbling. This may take a couple of hours, but it feeds or “wakes up” the ginger bug. If you use your ginger bug about once a week then it will already we well fed and bubbly—even cold from the fridge.
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The flavour of cola begins with a concoction of orange, lemon and lime peel. When removing their skins, exclude as much of the white pith as you can. There is a lot of bitterness in it that can spoil your cola. I chop the ginger coarsely and crush the coriander seeds before adding them.
Cool Down
After removing from the heat, I allow the wort to cool to lukewarm before adding the citrus juices, nutmeg and vanilla. The heat can kill the juices’ nutrients and the flavours of the nutmeg and vanilla. Before adding the ginger bug, I allow the wort to cool completely.
Time To Get Bubbly
Once the ginger bug is added, the cola can be transferred into sealable jars (by sealable I mean glass bottles with swing top lids or recycled plastic bottles with screw tops). Cap them up and let them sit in a warm place, away from direct sunlight, for 1-5 days. How warm the room is will depend on how fast the cola will become carbonated. Because it was a very hot day when the video was filmed, my cola was bubbly the next day. At that point you can chill your soda in the fridge. This will slow down the fermentation and make it less bubbly, but if you let it sit out in room temperature for several minutes before serving, the bubbles come back.
Remember, as with all ginger bug fermented sodas, they become less and less sweet the longer they sit. It is best to consume within 3 days. Go try this cola recipe with your ginger bug today and let me know what you think. Happy Cola!
Ingredients
- 1 quart water, chlorine free
- 1 orange
- 1 lemon
- 1 lime
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 inch piece cinnamon stick
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, chopped
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- pinch nutmeg
- 2-3 teaspoons caramel color (optional)
- 1/4 cup active ginger bug
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine the water, cinnamon stick, coriander seeds, ginger and brown sugar. Remove rind from the orange, lemon and lime, excluding as much of the white pith as possible. Add to the pot.
- Over high heat, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly to dissolve brown sugar. Once mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool to lukewarm, 20-30 minutes. Add the juice from the orange, lemon and lime along with the vanilla, nutmeg and caramel color (if using). The caramel color will not affect the cola's flavor, it will simply darken it. Allow mixture to cool completely.
- Once wort is cooled completely, add the ginger bug. Stir well and strain to remove all solids. To remove more sediment, strain a second time through a few layers of wet cheesecloth. Though this step is not critical, it yields a clearer soda.
- Transfer cola into clean glass bottles with tight swing top lids or recycled plastic bottles with screw top lids. Fill the bottles 2/3 full to allow room for gas expansion. Set in a warm place free from direct sunlight for 1 - 5 days. During winter, it may take an extra day or two.
- When you notice bubbles forming, open the bottles to "burp" them, then close again and refrigerate. This will slow down the fermentation process and the cola will become less bubbly. Before serving, allow the soda to sit in room temperature for 10-20 minutes and the bubbles will return. Drink within 3 days. Yields 1 quart of cola.
Coke has a lot of caffeine in it. maybe added a small amount of fresh brewed coffee to the mix would be a good replacement for whatever the Coke company ads I like the additional caffeine, I get from Coke, so I am going to try the coffee trick when I make my batch. Also the original coke had a very small amount of cocaine in it, Any suggestions on a replacement for this apocopherian ingredient. Let us not forget the coca cola was invented by a druggist maybe he added som pharnacuiticl grad extract of the cocca leaf
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Hi! When I was experimenting with this recipe, I did at one point include coffee in the mix and it tasted horrible. Not sure what could be added for a caffeine boost, but I do know a little lavender is a common ingredient in cola. I think I will try adding some next time I make it.
Sounds a bit crude here but you could crush up a Pro Plus tablet or two and add that? The only flavour they have is bitterness from the caffeine so could work well.
The caffeine in cola actually comes from the Kola Nut. You can purchase them online, though I have no idea how to utilize them in making cola.
Hey! Great recipes. So how much residual sugar (approximately) is left over in the soda after fermentation in bottle?
Thanks!
Jeff
Thanks! I am not totally sure, but according to this lady you are only left with 1%-3% of the original sugar…here is the link to her video where she explains it…it’s at 4:20 in the video when she starts explaining it. I hope this helps!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f3NVPUYub-w
I almost had an explosion with this one and on the first day, although I burped it 2 times during the day. During the evening burp, it flushed out explosively and spilled on the bench and floor. I guess this can be a little dangerous at summer temperatures as it contains lots of sugar compared to usual fermentations.
Pretty scary—I hope it wasn’t too much of a disaster. The results of ginger bug sodas can be very fluid depending on climate, strength of the bug, sugar content etc. The only time this has happened to me is when I’ve added a little too much ginger bug or, as you mentioned, my mixture was very sweet. Welches grape juice is amazing when ginger bugged, but look out! It has a tendency to do this, so I add a little less ginger bug than the usual 1/4 cup:1 quart ratio. Thank you so much for sharing your experience.
-i made a batch a month ago i followed pretty much the recipe but i added 1 star anise..2 days and it was awesome ,fizzy sweet and refreshing .just made a batch tonight ..cant wait .From what ive experienced is that the older the ginger bug the better results and quicker
That’s so great! I’m really glad you’re enjoying the recipe. The star anise would add an interesting flavour. Yes, from my experience I do find that the older the ginger bug, the better and faster it works. Also the more often you use it I find it works better also. Thank you for this valuable feedback!