Rise of Empires: Spain.

Chapter 168 The Happiness of Little Sweet Water
The war in the East Indies was raging, and on the other side, Carlo's business empire was also expanding.

It is August in Spain, and the temperature is not as hot as expected. The main reason why Spain has become one of the tourist destinations in later generations is its comfortable weather.

Madrid has four distinct seasons, with hot summers and cold winters.

But such distinct four seasons have their limits. The winter in Madrid does not drop below zero, with an average temperature of 3 to 10 degrees Celsius.

The average temperature in summer is around 27 degrees Celsius, and the hottest is just over 30 degrees Celsius, which is not hot enough to make people sweat profusely.

Apart from anything else, Carlo still enjoys the climate of Spain. In the summer, Spain is sunny and cloudless.

The climate is comfortable, so Carlo naturally cannot stay in the palace as a homebody. Since the beginning of summer in June, Carlo and Queen Sophie have not stopped their steps, wandering around the interior of Spain and enjoying the different scenery.

Although Spain is not very large, equivalent to a province in later times, it has several different climates, with different temperatures in the inland and coastal areas, and different scenery.

It was summer, and Carlo took Queen Sophie, two maids and a large number of servants on a grand trip to the Balearic Islands in Spain.

There is a reason why Spain can become one of the most popular tourist countries in the future. Not to mention the beautiful Balearic Islands, even the ordinary coast has unimaginable beautiful scenery.

The turquoise water and golden sand, coupled with the azure sky and a few pure white clouds, transform the originally ordinary beach scenery into a beautiful picture, attracting countless tourists.

What attracts the royal family is naturally the most beautiful scenery of the Spanish beaches.

Ses Ilets Beach is still very famous in later Spain, and was even once hailed as one of the top ten beach landscapes in Spain.

Ses Ilets Beach is located in Formentera, Balearic Islands, Spain. It is known as the most beautiful beach in Spain and has its own unique characteristics.

Formentera is mainly based on tourism, and the only reason why it can attract a large number of tourists is the beautiful scenery of Formentera's beaches.

Ses Ilets Beach is the most beautiful beach in Formentera and is also the most popular tourist destination.

Of course, there is a gap of more than 100 years between now and the future, and Formentera is just a small island with a small population and not many tourists coming.

The reason why Carlo chose Formentera as his travel destination is that the beach scenery here is indeed beautiful, and secondly, few people come here, which makes it more secretive and safer for the royal family.

Carlo's travels were definitely not as simple as those of ordinary people. Even when he traveled in Spain, he was accompanied by hundreds of servants and guards.

Carlo was accompanied by the royal family's personal doctor, two quirky maids, dozens of servants with different duties, and hundreds of guards.

Carlo didn't like being disturbed during his travels, so before going to the Balearic Islands, he asked his butler Loren to inform local officials not to disturb him without permission.

Queen Sophie was also very happy to be able to go out and play.

After all, he is less than 20 years old, and it is his nature to love playing, so Carlo is naturally willing to indulge him.

Carlo was in a very good mood as he walked with Queen Sophie on the soft beach. Spain was developing rapidly and colonizing Africa was going smoothly, which made Carlo very relaxed.

Not long after, Carlo and Queen Sophie returned to the center of the beach and lay down on the lounge chairs that the servants had already prepared.

There were two large parasols next to the lounge chairs, and Anna and Alice stood beside them, responsible for serving Queen Carlo and Queen Sophie personally.

Queen Sophie knew the relationship between Anna, Alice and Carlo. In fact, this kind of thing was inevitable. Before Queen Sophie married to Spain, her mother, Princess Sissi, had already told her and told her not to care too much about this kind of thing.

A king doesn't like a queen who interferes in everything. For Queen Sophie, it is enough for her and Carlo to live their own lives and give birth to a few princes and princesses for Carlo.

Anna came to Carlo obediently and gave him a massage with a smile on her face. Alice walked to Queen Sophie and also gave her a massage.

Fortunately for Queen Sophie, although Carlo also had lovers, it seemed that there were only Anna and Alice at present. After all, she had been with Carlo since Italy, so Queen Sophie could not say anything.

At least Carlo is much better than other nobles. Some nobles just like to have affairs, and they always look for married women. Isn't this more extravagant than Carlo?

Enjoying the maid's massage and feeling the not-so-hot sea breeze, Carlo admitted that such days were indeed comfortable.

But no matter how comfortable I felt, I always felt like something was missing in my mouth, as if a bit of the soul of summer was missing.

After thinking about it, Carlo finally remembered what he was missing, which was the famous Fat House Happy Water in later generations.

How can you miss iced happy water in the hot summer? The sweet and sour taste of the drink and the stimulation of carbonic acid are the soul of summer.

Although Carlo is not sure about the exact time when Coca-Cola was born, it is certain that Coca-Cola was definitely born before the 20th century.

Moreover, this kind of thing does not require any technical content. A sweet and sour drink can be turned into a carbonated drink by adding carbonated water. Add ice cubes and it will have a soul.

Carbonated water was created half a year ago, and the original raw material of Coca-Cola was the cola nut, a very common fruit in the tropics.

"Coca-Cola Company?" Butler Loren searched his memory and did not find any company with such a name: "Forgive me, Your Majesty. I don't have the impression of such a company. Maybe there is no such company. Maybe such a company is not well-known in the local area."

Carlo nodded, his heart filled with excitement.

Since the Coca-Cola Company had not yet been established, Carlo would naturally not miss out on the huge beverage market.

Coke is not only popular in later generations, but also in this era. No one can resist the temptation of enjoying a glass of iced Coke in the summer, unless there are two cups.

Carlo remembered that Coca-Cola was very popular as soon as it was launched. Moreover, Coca-Cola was not expensive, and wealthy Americans often walked on the street holding glass bottles of Coke and drinking it.

If Coca-Cola could have been invented earlier, it might have achieved the same success. After all, it is not difficult to make, and it only needs a gimmick to become popular in the streets at any time.

As long as the first cola can quickly spread around the world, even if other colas are born later, even if the taste is not inferior, they will not be able to compete with the first cola.

The first point is about cost, and the second point is that once people get used to the taste of one kind of cola, they often feel that the taste of other colas is not as refreshing.

Although he already had the idea of ​​making Coke, Carlo was not in a hurry.

The original recipe for making Coca-Cola was indeed very simple. It was nothing more than a carbonated drink made from cola nuts, carbonated water and sugar.

In order to make Coca-Cola a huge success, it is necessary to ensure that every bottle of Coke produced has the same flavor and that this flavor is popular with most people.

"A drink made of cola nuts and carbonated water?" Butler Loren did not ask why after hearing Carlo's order, but nodded to show that he understood. Although he did not know why Carlo ordered people to make such a drink, since it was the king's order, he naturally followed it.

And it's not complicated to do this. Carbonated water and coke are both common things. It's nothing more than adding these things together to make a drink. For Carlo, it's natural to do it as soon as he thinks of it.

On the second day, Carlo received three large drinks in a row.

Butler Loren explained, "Your Majesty, these three cups are made according to your instructions. From left to right, the cups closer to the right have more sugar added.

These drinks have been tested in advance to ensure that they will not cause any discomfort. You can try them first to see which flavor you like. ”

Carlo nodded, very satisfied with the speed of Butler Loren's actions.

This is also the power of the king of this era. Whatever he wants to do is really just a thought.

As small as a glass of carbonated drink or as large as a car or a cannon, you can make the finished product according to your own ideas.

Carlo has drunk a lot of cola in later generations, but he has never tasted the original cola.

What is the difference between this carbonated drink made from cola nuts and sugar and the cola of later generations?

Carlo first poured a small cup of drink from the left, took a sip and tasted it carefully.

How should I describe the taste? It tastes like diluted cola, but it is not sweet and has fewer bubbles.

Then there was the middle cup, which had a slightly richer taste and moderate sweetness.

Next is the cup on the right. The taste is almost the same as the second cup, except that the sweetness is more obvious. However, they both have a disadvantage, which is that there are fewer bubbles.

There is nothing we can do about it. Compared with the cola production process of later generations, the current production of carbonated water is simpler, and the bubble content in the water is naturally lower.

To put it simply, the bubble content of today's carbonated water is equivalent to the amount of bubbles in later carbonated beverages that are poured into a cup and left for more than ten minutes.

Although there is carbon dioxide gas, the gas content and the irritation when drinking it are not as intense as in the later market.

The leftmost of the three drinks can basically be ruled out. Not only is the taste lighter, but it also has no sweetness and doesn't taste good.

The difference between the cup in the middle and the one on the right is actually more like the difference between Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

The one in the middle is more carbonated, while the one on the right is sweeter. They each have their own characteristics. If the two drinks were more bubbly, they would really look like Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

Unfortunately, CO2 content is a big problem, which makes these drinks not as refreshing as expected.

“Pour out the leftmost cup, and keep the ones in the middle and on the right. These two cups could have a stronger flavor and more bubbles.

Overall, it is pretty much the same as what I imagined it to be, and I believe it will be popular after it goes on the market." Carlo said with a smile.

Drinking the drinks by yourself can only make yourself happy, but if these drinks are made into commodities and sold all over Spain or even all over Europe, then all Europeans will be happy.

Of course, Carlo would not refute that he was targeting the huge beverage market. This most primitive cola is not difficult to make and the cost is actually not high.

It is not an exaggeration to say that most of the cost of cola in glass bottles is concentrated in the glass bottles, and the cost of cola in glass bottles is actually not high.

But it took a long time for plastic bottles to be born. Before that, glass bottles were a cleaner and more convenient way to transport.

"Get some more ice, nothing else." Carlo continued to order.

Carbonated drinks must be enjoyed with ice cubes, so that the soul of carbonated drinks can be complete.

Butler Loren nodded and went to prepare the ice cubes that Carlo needed.

Speaking of ice cubes, we have to thank technology for the improvements it has brought to our daily lives.

Before the advent of ice machines, people certainly had other ways to make ice cubes. But such methods have various disadvantages, the most important of which are low yield and difficulty in preservation.

This also means that only dignitaries and nobles can enjoy ice in summer.

Since the invention of ice machines, ordinary people can also enjoy a glass of ice water in summer, which was unimaginable before.

For Carlo, the ice cubes produced by the ice maker are of course purer and safer to drink.

Within a few minutes, Butler Lauren brought a large basin of ice, which emitted cool water vapor in the scorching summer.

Without further ado, Anna and Alice quickly stepped forward to take the ice and added it to Carlo and Queen Sophie's glasses.

Watching the ice cubes being put into the cup one by one, and the half-full drink being refilled, Carlo smiled and looked at Queen Sophie: "Try it, this is a freshly made drink, perfect for summer."

Queen Sophie nodded. She had wanted to try this unknown drink just now, but after hearing Carlo say that it tasted better with ice cubes, she decided to wait for the arrival of ice cubes.

Seeing that the Coke with ice cubes was emitting visible chill and there was a layer of mist on the outside of the cup, Queen Sophie no longer hesitated and picked up the cup of Coke to taste it in small sips.

"It's so delicious! Carlo, what is this? Why have I never seen it before?" Queen Sophie's eyes lit up instantly. She looked at Carlo with curiosity and asked impatiently.

"Coke, or call it Coca-Cola." Since the Coca-Cola brand had not yet been created, Carlo naturally didn't mind copying the name of Coke directly.

The name Coca-Cola is very appropriate. Coke tastes very good, and it is made from cola nuts. The four words "Coca-Cola" fully describe the characteristics of Coca-Cola.

"Coca-Cola?" Queen Sophie nodded.

"How about it? Iced Coca-Cola, isn't it more suitable for summer?" Carlo said with a smile.

"That's amazing. If this thing can be mass-produced, it will be popular with many people." Sophie nodded back, expressing her affirmation of Carlo's previous statement that Coca-Cola and ice cubes are a better match.

(End of this chapter)