Craft cola is a small movement from Japan focused on going back to the roots of cola as an all-natural syrup used as a drink mixer. It's rooted in traditional medicines that use a variety of spices, but is still a sweet and refreshingly tasty treat that blends fruits and cane sugar. It's most often mixed with club soda.

How is craft cola made?

Craft cola is generally made by brewing a blend of whole spices with organic fruits and sugar. Most craft cola makers focus on quality and freshness of ingredients and avoid using anything artificial.

What are the core ingredients in craft cola?

A large blend of whole spices, organic fruits (generally citrus fruits), sugar (some use a blend of sugar types or even honey depending on intended flavor profile).Wander Cat Cola features 10 whole spices, organic oranges, lemons, yuzu, and cane sugar. We use organic cane sugar because we enjoy how it creates a light, crisp flavor that allows the spices to shine. Some brands use a darker sugar for a molasses or caramel flavor. All kinds are delicious and interesting!

How can I enjoy craft cola?

Craft cola is most often enjoyed mixed with club soda over ice. Usually in a 1:3 or 1:4 ratio, depending on how much ice is used. However, it's also delicious in milk (or milk alternative), cocktails, wines, and many other drinks!

Where is Wander Cat Cola made?

Wander Cat Cola originally started in a kitchen in Somerville, MA, then began crafting cola for markets and festivals at Foundation Kitchen, and now is producing bottles for people to enjoy at home through the Western MA Food Processing Center.

Craft Cola Blog

September 29, 2025

Gratitude

Over the past few weeks, Wander Cat Cola had the privilege of vending at both the Apple Peach Festival in Acushnet and the Fluff Festival in Somerville. These two cities...

August 20, 2025

吾輩は彷徨い猫である

Have you heard of Natsume Soseki’s “I am a Cat”? It’s a novel written from the perspective of a grandiloquent (yes that’s a word) and critical cat observing and commenting...

July 23, 2025

Connection through Cola

If you’ve been following along on this craft cola journey, you may have already gotten the sense that “connection” is very important to the mission of Wander Cat Cola. I...

June 30, 2025

Introducing the kola nut

From West Africa comes the kola nut! You may also hear it called bissy/bizzy, obi, or oji. And it’s not a nut! It’s actually the seed of the cola acuminata...

June 12, 2025

Reflections on the first Pop Up

🎉 Big News! Wander Cat Cola operated its first pop up on Friday June 6th, 2025. Completely spontaneously and unexpectedly! The owner of Yume Wo Katare in Cambridge, MA was...

May 27, 2025

What really is "craft cola"?

In a recent blog post I wrote about what "craft cola" is. But when I think about what I wrote, I'm not sure I'm really happy with it. This post...

May 6, 2025

What is Craft Cola?

Explaining what "craft cola" is felt like the next obvious step in sharing my journey. When I say "craft cola" many aren't sure exactly what I mean. It doesn't seem...

March 26, 2025

Enter: Wander Cat Cola

It was time to start a new journey. Life isn't always predictable and I definitely didn't predict craft cola to become my new world. But when I take a sip...

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