Chapter 169: The Joy of Sweet Water

The war in the East Indies is raging, while on the other side, the commercial empire of Gao Da is also constantly expanding.

It is currently August in Spain, and the temperature is not as sweltering as one might imagine. The main reason Spain has become a popular tourist destination in later generations is precisely this comfortable climate.

The four seasons in Ma Deli are distinct; summers are hot and winters are cold.

However, this distinctness has its limits; winter in Ma Deli does not drop below freezing, with average temperatures between 3 and 10 degrees Celsius.

The average summer temperature is around 27 degrees Celsius, with the hottest days barely exceeding 30 degrees, not enough to make one break out in a sweat.

If nothing else, Gao Da still enjoys the Spanish climate. Summer in Spain is sunny, and one could say it is cloudless for ten thousand miles.

With such a comfortable climate, Gao Da naturally could not stay in the Wang Gong and be a shut-in. Since the summer began in June, Gao Da and Wang Hou Sophie have not stopped their travels, wandering around the Spanish interior to admire the diverse scenery.

Although the area of Spain is not large, equivalent to a province in later generations, tiny Spain possesses several distinct climates; the temperatures and scenery of the interior and the coast each have their own characteristics.

Right in the middle of summer, Gao Da, accompanied by Wang Hou Sophie, two maids, and a large number of servants, headed grandly to the Balearic Islands of Spain for a vacation.

It is not without reason that Spain can become one of the most popular tourist countries in the future. Not to mention the beautiful scenery of the Balearic Islands, even the ordinary coastline possesses unimaginably beautiful landscapes.

The turquoise seawater and golden sandy beaches, combined with the azure sky and a few pure white clouds, decorate the otherwise ordinary beach scenery into a beautiful painting, attracting countless tourists.

What could attract the royal family is naturally the most beautiful scenery among the Spanish beaches.

Ses Illetes Beach is still quite famous in Spain in later generations, and was even once hailed as the top among the ten most beautiful beaches in Spain.

Ses Illetes Beach is located on Formentera Island in the Balearic Islands of Spain and is hailed as the best of Spanish beach beauty, possessing its own relatively unique characteristics.

Formentera Island relies mainly on the tourism industry, and the only reason it can attract a large number of tourists is precisely the beauty of its beach scenery.

And Ses Illetes Beach is the most aesthetically pleasing among the beaches of Formentera Island, and also the tourist destination chosen by the most people.

Of course, now that more than 100 years have passed since later generations, Formentera Island is just a small island with a sparse population, and not many tourists come here.

The reason Gao Da chose Formentera Island as a travel destination is, firstly, because the beach scenery here is indeed beautiful, and secondly, because very few people come here, making it more private and safer for the royal family.

Gao Da's outings are certainly not as simple as those of ordinary people. Even when traveling within Spain's own territory, the total number of servants and guards following him reaches several hundred.

Accompanying Gao Da are the royal family's exclusive private doctor, two quirky maids, dozens of servants with various duties, and hundreds of guards.

Gao Da does not like his travels to be disturbed, so before heading to the Balearic Islands, he had already instructed Butler Luo Lun to tell the local officials not to come and disturb them without permission.

Being able to go out and play, Wang Hou Sophie is also quite happy.

After all, she is not even 20 years old; a love for play is human nature, and Gao Da is naturally willing to indulge her.

Accompanying Wang Hou Sophie as she walks on the soft sand, Gao Da's mood is also very pleasant. Spain's development is thriving, and the colonization of Africa is also proceeding very smoothly, which makes Gao Da's state of mind very relaxed.

Not long after, Gao Da and Wang Hou Sophie returned to the center of the beach and lay down on the lounge chairs that the servants had already prepared.

Two large sun umbrellas were set up next to the lounge chairs, with Anna and Alice standing on the sides, responsible for personally serving Gao Da and Wang Hou Sophie.

Regarding the relationship between Anna and Alice and Gao Da, Wang Hou Sophie is well aware. In fact, such things are unavoidable; before Wang Hou Sophie married into Spain, her mother, Princess Sisi, had long told her about it and urged her not to care too much about such matters.

A king does not like a Wang Hou who interferes in everything. For Wang Hou Sophie, living her own life with Gao Da and bearing a few princes and princesses for Gao Da is already enough.

Anna came to Gao Da's side obediently, massaging Gao Da with a smile on her face. Meanwhile, Alice walked to Wang Hou Sophie's side, also performing massage duties.

What makes Wang Hou Sophie feel fortunate is that although Gao Da also has lovers, there seem to be only Anna and Alice at present. After all, they have been following Gao Da since Italy, so Wang Hou Sophie finds it hard to say anything.

At least Gao Da is much better than other nobles. Some nobles simply like to have affairs, and they even target married women; isn't that more promiscuous than Gao Da?

Enjoying the maids' massage and blowing in the sea breeze that is not too hot, Gao Da admits that such days are indeed comfortable.

But comfortable as it is, he always feels something is missing in his mouth, lacking that trace of the soul of summer.

After thinking for a while, Gao Da finally remembered what he was missing—the famous "fatty happy water" of later generations.

In the sweltering summer, how can one be without iced happy water? The sweet and sour taste of the drink and the stimulation of the carbonation—this is the soul that summer should have.

Although Gao Da is not very clear about the specific time of the birth of Coca-Cola, he can be sure that the birth of Coca-Cola was definitely before the 20th century.

Moreover, this thing does not have much technical content; a sweet and sour drink plus carbonated water can become a carbonated beverage, and adding ice cubes gives it a soul.

Carbonated water was born as early as the first half of the year, and the original raw material for cola is the kola nut, which is a very common fruit in the tropics.

"Coca-Cola Company?" Butler Luo Lun searched his memory and did not find any enterprise with such a name: "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. In my impression, there is no such company; perhaps it does not exist, or perhaps such a company is not famous locally."

Gao Da nodded, his heart full of excitement.

Since the Coca-Cola Company has not yet been born, Gao Da will naturally not miss the huge beverage market.

Cola is not only popular in later generations; it is equally popular in this era. No one can refuse the temptation of enjoying a glass of iced cola in the summer, unless there are two glasses.

Gao Da remembers that Coca-Cola was highly sought after by everyone as soon as it was born. Moreover, the value of cola is not expensive; American rich people often held glass bottles containing cola, drinking it while walking on the road.

If cola could be born ahead of time, it might not be impossible to achieve the same success. After all, the production of this thing is not difficult; it only needs a gimmick to become popular in every street and alley at any time.

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

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

Although he already has the idea of making cola, Gao Da is not in a hurry.

The initial recipe for making cola is indeed very simple, nothing more than a carbonated drink made from kola nuts, carbonated water, and white sugar.

To make cola a huge success, one must ensure that every bottle of cola produced has the same flavor, and that this taste is welcomed by most people.

"A drink made from kola nuts and carbonated water?" After hearing Gao Da's instructions, Butler Luo Lun did not ask why, but nodded to indicate that he understood.

Although he did not know what purpose Gao Da had in ordering the production of such a drink, since it was the King's order, he would naturally carry it out.

Moreover, doing so is not complicated; carbonated water and kola nuts are relatively common things. It is nothing more than adding these things together to make a drink; for Gao Da, it is naturally something that can be done as soon as he thinks of it.

The next day, Gao Da received three large glasses of drinks in a row.

Butler Luo Lun explained: "Your Majesty, these three glasses were all made according to your instructions. From left to right, the closer to the right, the higher the proportion of sugar added.

These drinks have already been tested by people in advance to ensure that there will be no discomfort after drinking them. You can taste them first to see which taste is what you want."

Gao Da nodded, very satisfied with Butler Luo Lun's speed of action.

This is also the power of a king in this era; wanting to do something is really just a thought.

From something as small as a glass of carbonated drink to something as large as cars and cannons, one can produce specific finished products according to one's own ideas.

Gao Da has already drunk a lot of the cola of later generations, but he has not yet tasted the taste of the most primitive cola.

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

Gao Da first poured a small glass from the drink on the left and took a small sip to taste it carefully.

How to describe the taste? It has the taste of a diluted cola, but it is not sweet, and there are relatively few bubbles.

Then came the middle glass; the taste was slightly richer, and the sweetness was moderate.

Then came the glass on the right; the taste was not much different from the second glass, except that the sweetness was more obvious, but they all had a shortcoming, which was that there were fewer bubbles.

This is also something that cannot be helped. Compared with the production process of cola in later generations, the production of carbonated water at present is simpler, and the content of bubbles in the water is naturally lower.

Simply put, the bubble content of the current carbonated water is equivalent to the amount of bubbles in a carbonated drink of later generations after it has been poured into a glass and left for more than ten minutes.

Although there is carbon dioxide gas, the content of the gas and the stimulating feeling when drinking it are not as intense as in later generations.

The leftmost of these three drinks can basically be ruled out. Not only is the taste lighter, but there is also no sweetness, and it does not taste good.

To talk about the difference between the middle glass and the right glass, it is actually more like the difference between Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

The middle glass has a stronger carbonated taste, and the right glass is sweeter; each has its own characteristics. If the two drinks had more bubbles, they would really be quite like Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

But unfortunately, the carbon dioxide content is a big problem, which also leads to these drinks not being as refreshing as imagined.

"Pour away the leftmost glass, and keep the middle and right ones. These two flavors can be made richer, and it would be better if there were more bubbles.

Overall, it is not much different from the drink I imagined. I believe it will be welcomed after it goes on the market," Gao Da said with a smile.

Drinking the beverage himself can only make him happy, but if these beverages are made into commodities and sold to all of Spain and even all of Europe, then it will be all Europeans who are happy.

Of course, Gao Da would not deny that what he is actually eyeing is the huge beverage market. This most primitive cola is not troublesome to make, and the cost is actually not high.

It is no exaggeration to say that most of the cost of glass-bottled cola is concentrated on the glass bottle; the cost of the cola in the glass bottle is actually not high.

But the birth of plastic bottles still requires a long time to wait. Before that, glass bottle filling is a relatively clean and convenient way of transportation.

"Get some more ice cubes, and that's all," Gao Da continued to instruct.

Carbonated drinks must be enjoyed with ice cubes; only in this way can the soul of carbonated drinks be gathered.

Butler Luo Lun nodded and went to prepare the ice cubes Gao Da needed himself.

Speaking of ice cubes, one also has to thank the improvement that technology has brought to daily life.

Before the birth of the ice machine, people certainly had other methods to make ice cubes. But these methods of making ice cubes have various shortcomings, the most important of which is low production and difficulty in preservation.

This also leads to the fact that only those high-ranking officials and great nobles could enjoy ice cubes in the summer.

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

For Gao Da, the ice cubes made by the ice machine are naturally purer, and he feels more at ease drinking them.

In just a few minutes, Butler Luo Lun brought a large basin of ice cubes, which were emitting cold water vapor in the sweltering summer.

Anna and Alice did not need to be told; they hurriedly stepped forward to take the ice cubes and added them to the glasses of Gao Da and Wang Hou Sophie.

Watching the ice cubes being put into the glasses one by one, refilling the drink that was only half left back into a full glass, Gao Da smiled and looked at Wang Hou Sophie: "Taste it, this is a newly made drink; it is just right for summer."

Wang Hou Sophie nodded. She had wanted to taste this unknown drink just now, but after hearing Gao Da say that it would be better with ice cubes, she decided to wait for the arrival of the ice cubes.

Seeing the cola with ice cubes emitting visible cold air, and a layer of water mist on the outer layer of the glass, Wang Hou Sophie no longer hesitated, picked up a glass of cola, and tasted it in small sips.

"It's delicious! Gao Da, what is this? Why have I never seen it before?" Wang Hou Sophie's eyes lit up instantly, and she looked at Gao Da with curious eyes, asking impatiently.

"Cola, or call it Coca-Cola." Since the brand Coca-Cola has not been born, Gao Da naturally does not mind copying the name of cola directly.

The name Coca-Cola is still very appropriate. Cola tastes very delicious, and it is made of kola nuts; the four characters "Coca-Cola" have already fully explained the characteristics of Coca-Cola.

"Coca-Cola?" Wang Hou Sophie nodded.

"How is it? Iced Coca-Cola, isn't it a better match for summer?" Gao Da said with a smile.

"It's simply great. If this thing can be mass-produced, it should be welcomed by many people." Wang Hou Sophie nodded, expressing her affirmative attitude towards what Gao Da said earlier about Coca-Cola and ice cubes being a better match.

(End of chapter)