Kola nuts can also be infused into drinks to give them a unique flavor. By steeping them in hot water or adding them to teas ...

Energy drinks are not required to list the caffeine content of herbal ingredients, so an energy drink with kola nut extract may have much more caffeine than the label indicates.

From West African red-colored teas made with hibiscus petals and kola nuts to Big Red Soda, Adrian Miller dives into the long, rich history of red drink. By Adrian Miller Updated on June 8, 2025 ...

Five years later, Bradham changed the name to Pepsi-Cola, a more marketable moniker. He made up the name by combining dyspepsia and kola, because the drink contained kola nut among its ingredients.

The kola nut is also used as an additive in energy drinks and performance enhancers. In some cases, it is used in the form of an extract or powder. The nut is boiled to extract the kola or it can ...

Dr. John Stith Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist, combined coca leaves and kola nuts to make a syrup, which was mixed with carbonated water to what is now America’s favorite cola, Coca-Cola.

Like its most famous competitor, “Brad’s Drink,” as it was known at the time, contained kola nuts, as well a variety of oils and spices like lemon and nutmeg.

The kola nut has always been popular in West Africa – but more than a hundred years ago it came to Europe and the US. Veronique Greenwood reports on how it helped create a huge brand.

The kola nut is the seed of the kola tree and a natural source of caffeine (1, 2, 3, 12). You can eat it fresh or dried, and people use its extract as a food additive ( 12 , 13 ).

The new name got its roots from the word dyspepsia, which means indigestion, along with its key ingredient of kola nuts, according to The Birthplace of Pepsi website. 3 Pepsi was originally named ...