Florence convent archive yields recipe for historic tonic

Key points

• A mid-19th-century document found at Florence’s San Marco Pharmacy records a restorative wine-based elixir, the convent’s rector said.
• The recipe combines kola nut and Bolivian coca leaves with a litre of alcoholic mixture, according to the report.
• Rector Father Manuel Russo said the formula dates to the 18th century and circulated most widely from the late 19th century.
• The report found no proof linking the Florentine drink to John Stith Pemberton’s French Wine Coca, later known as Coca-Cola.
• A similar 19th-century Spanish syrup, Nuez de Cola Coca, remains in production in Aielo de Malferit, where Coca-Cola later bought its patent.
• The Spanish product’s owners attended international events before Coca-Cola’s 1886 launch, but evidence of a direct connection remains absent.