Top 10 bev­er­ages facts

Digestive enzyme. Pepsi Cola, first introduced in 1898, was named after pepsin (enzyme) and kola (nuts). In 1931, the company entered bankruptcy and changed hands. The new owners changed the recipe to resemble more Coca-Cola.

Ca 2.5. The lemon has a pH of around 2.5, but the pH of Coca-Cola hits 2.4 with its phosphoric acid. When it comes to alkaline drinks, you won't find many. Most fruit juices skew acidic, and even milk has a pH close to neutral. One drink that sits on the right side of the pH scale is green tea.11.0

Tonic water is transparent in daylight. Under ultraviolet light, the quinine makes it fluorescent (pictured), even though it is present in a negligible concentration.

Tonic water. The bitter-tasting quinine was added to the drink as a prophylactic against malaria. Tonic water was originally intended for consumption in tropical areas of South Asia and Africa, where that disease is endemic. Originally, no sugar was added. Most tonic water today contains a less significant amount of quinine, so the taste is much milder.

The Capuchin friars. The name comes from the Capuchin friars, referring to the colour of their habits, and in this context referring to the colour of the beverage when milk is added in small portion to dark, brewed coffee. The physical appearance of a modern cappuccino with espresso créma and steamed milk is a result of a long evolution of the drink.

Insects. Campari’s crimson hue was derived from Dactylopius coccus, a parasitic insect commonly called the cochineal living in cacti in South America and Mexico. To produce 1kg of cochineal red, about 155,000 insects are needed, no wonder that the dye is extremely expensive and the insects used to produce it are grown on plantations.

Sugar. In the United States, Coca-Cola uses high-fructose corn syrup instead of sugar (sacharose) as its main sweetener. There is a small production of sugar-based "Kosher for Passover" Coca-Cola, as Ashkenazi Jews do not consume high fructose corn syrup during Passover.

Chardonnay. Only chardonnay and only in Champagne, as required by the AOC (Appellation d'origine contrôlée) rules.

Beer is the third most popular drink overall in the world, after water and tea.

Juniper berries. From its earliest beginnings in the Middle Ages, gin has evolved over the course of a millennium from an herbal medicine to an object of commerce in the spirits industry.