In Germany, an average of 33.8 liters of cola or mixed cola drinks such as Spezi were drunk per person in 2023. No wonder: the drink not only wakes you up, it also tastes delicious. Unfortunately, the soft drink contains a lot of sugar as well as some chemical colorants that are not particularly healthy. We can’t replace the delicious sugar, but you can make your own natural alternative with the so-called cola herb from the herb garden. We explain how to do it.
Cola herb: what’s behind the plant
The so-called cola herb is actually called Rue (lat. Artemisia abrotanum var. maritima) and originally comes from Eastern Europe and Asia Minor. The robust herb is related to plants such as wormwood, tarragon and mugwort. All plants that have an intense smell or taste.
Reading tipDid you know that cola is an effective cleaning agent?
But in the meantime, rue has also found its way into German gardens are kept. However, the fact that a drink can be made from the perennial plant is still new to many people. Although the cola herb is not included in the recipe for Coca Cola, it can be used to “recreate” the popular drink. And this is how it works:
Cola herb recipe: Make syrup from cola rue
What you need:
- 60 g of cola herb (mountain rue)
- 1-2 organic lemons
- 250 l water
- 375 g raw cane sugar
- Measuring cup
- Cooking pot
- Washed out glass bottle or preserving jar
This is how it works:
- Wash and juice the lemon. Hoe then chop the peel. However, the pieces do not have to be very fine.
- Put the prepared lemon and juice together with water in a sufficiently large pan. Leave the whole thing on a low heat for three minutesbefore you continue.
- Before you add the cola herb to the water, it must be washed be washed. Also remove woody areas.
- Tip the lemon water through a sieve into a measuring jug. Add lemon water (if necessary) to make up to 250 ml of liquid.
- Now put the water back into the pot and mix with the cane sugar brought to the boil.
- When the sugar has dissolved, add the cola herb Add the cola herb. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cabbage well.
- Now it’s time to wait: the cabbage remains in the pan for 12-18 hours. sugar water.
- Almost done: Remove the cola weed and cook boil the syrup again briefly to preserve it.
- The last step is to pour the cola syrup into a clean, hot rinsed glass bottle.
The next time you fancy a cold cola, you can mix some of the syrup with mineral water. Voilà: a natural version of the popular drink.
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Does cola really wake you up?
No, cola contains no caffeineso the homemade cola does not have the same effect as the original. But it is a medicinal plant and has a health-promoting effect on the human body. This is because cola contains essential oils and bitter substances that were already used in ancient Greece to treat various ailments. The cola herb is said to alleviate the following complaints:
- Respiratory diseases
- Muscle pain like during menstruation or childbirth
- Gastrointestinal problems
- Digestive problems
- Restlessness and stress
Attention: The cola herb can induce premature labor, so pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid it.
Boar’s rue tea as a sugar-free alternative
Do you want to take advantage of the healing properties of cola, but want to avoid sugar? Then a tea made from cola herb is the healthy alternative. Simply pour boiling water over the fresh herb and sweeten it with honey or sugar as required. Of course, you can also order the medicinal herb as a dried 🛒 medicinal tea.
Sources: mein-schoener-garten, lichtyam
