The Fascinating Evolution of Coca-Cola: From Cocaine Tonic to Tech-Savvy Giant

As I binged Madame CJ Walker's Netflix Docuseries, one scene where her nemesis Addie sips on "Cocaine Cola" caught my eye. Naturally, I had to dive down the rabbit hole to uncover what on earth was in that drink. Spoiler alert: what I found might blow your mind as much as it did mine!

Turns out, Coca-Cola, that fizzy drink we all know and love, originally had coca leaf extract—yes, the stuff with cocaine. Back in the late 19th century, this was pretty normal in "medicinal" products. John Stith Pemberton whipped up the first batch in 1886, packing it with roughly nine milligrams of cocaine per serving. It quickly became the go-to tonic for all sorts of ailments and a refreshing beverage to boot. But as society's view on drugs shifted, Coca-Cola had to change its act. By 1904, they switched to a "spent" coca leaf extract (read: no more cocaine) due to regulatory and public pushback.

Fast forward to today, and Coca-Cola's still rocking coca leaves in its top-secret formula, but with a twist. The Stepan Company in New Jersey is the only place in the US allowed to import and process these leaves. They strip out the cocaine, leaving just the flavoring agents for Coke. The extracted cocaine? It's sold to pharmaceutical companies for medicinal purposes. Who knew, right?

Coca-Cola's even got a coca farm in Hawaii now, doubling as a research hub to boost sustainable agriculture and coca leaf farming techniques. And get this—they've teamed up with Microsoft to bring their tech game to the next level. Think cloud computing and AI-powered everything. This partnership is all about streamlining operations, jazzing up customer engagement, and cooking up innovative business solutions to keep Coca-Cola leading the beverage pack.

So, there you have it—a sip of Coca-Cola's wild journey from a cocaine-laced tonic to a tech-savvy, sustainable giant. Cheers to that!

There's been a lot of buzz around the benefits of North Carolina local honey and we here in the Sandhills area are especially lucky because we have the rarest of rare honeys: purple honey.

The Sandhills of North Carolina are thought to be the only place in the world where purple honey is produced! Some say it's the only place on Earth where this mystery of nature is found. The exact cause of the purple color remains unknown, though there are several theories including sourwood trees growing in high aluminum soils, kudzu or titi plants, and muscadine grapes.

However, some beekeepers dispute these, noting the purple honey appears before kudzu blooms and that sourwood is more common in the mountains than the Sandhills. The purple honey has a distinctive fruity, sweet flavor compared to regular honey. It's described as tangy and very sweet with a familiar yet hard to identify fruit undertone. The color is natural, not an additive. It can range from a deep purple to a more bluish hue. The purple honey also tends to be thinner in consistency than regular honey.

Local honey is a delicious and nutritious treat that offers many benefits, especially when sourced from apiaries in your area. Local honey has some great benefits such as allergy relief, which is great news for those of us that suffer during the pollen season. Local honey contains small amounts of pollen from plants in your area. Consuming this honey regularly can help your body build up a tolerance, reducing seasonal allergy symptoms. Antioxidants and nutrients; raw, unprocessed honey is rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that support overall health and wellness. It's also a cough suppressant! Honey has been shown to be an effective natural cough suppressant, making it a great remedy for sore throats and respiratory issues.

In and around Fayetteville, North Carolina, there are several great options for finding high-quality, locally produced honey. One excellent source is Beehive Yourself, a local business that infuses their honey with healthy flavors. They use all-natural ingredients and take pride in offering a product that not only tastes great but also provides the health benefits associated with raw, local honey.

Another option is Secret Garden Bees in nearby Linden, NC. This veteran owned; family-owned apiary is known for their exceptional raw honey. They take great care in maintaining their hives and extracting the honey in a way that preserves its natural goodness. Local favorite spot for honey goodness is Curate Essentials, located at 1302 Fort Bragg Road in Fayetteville. While not in Fayetteville, King Cobra Apiary in Alamance and Orange Counties offers raw North Carolina honey with no additives that is never heated.

LocalHoneyFinder.org provides a list of North Carolina beekeepers, apiaries, and beehives that sell local honey, raw or pasteurized, honeycombs, beeswax, pollen and more.

There are a few other rare or unique types of honey found in North Carolina besides the famous purple honey:

Sourwood trees grow best for honey production in western North Carolina and northern Georgia. Sourwood honey is considered one of the best and rarest honeys in the world, with an earthy, buttery caramel flavor.

Produced from gallberry bushes in the pine savannas and scrubland of eastern North Carolina. Gallberry honey has a light amber color and a mild, fruity, warm flavor with a slight leafy aftertaste.

Made from the nectar of towering tulip poplar trees in the Piedmont region. Despite its bold, dark amber color, tulip poplar honey has a surprisingly light, buttery flavor.

Similar to purple honey, blue honey is also found rarely by some North Carolina beekeepers, though the cause of the unusual color is unknown.

While not as rare, other notable North Carolina honey varieties include wildflower, clover, apple blossom, and honey made from non-native floral sources like New Zealand plants. The diverse plant life across the state's different regions allows for a wide range of unique honey flavors. However, the changing landscape and decline of some native plants like gallberry bushes and sourwood trees may impact the ongoing production of these rare honey types.