A German soft drink made by mixing cola with orange soda, usually a touch more cola than orange. The result is darker than orange soda, sweeter and rounder than straight cola, with a faint citrus lift. It has a cult following across Germany and is sold both as branded bottles and as a do-it-yourself pour at any bar or beer garden — a non-alcoholic everyday favourite.
The name Spezi is Bavarian slang for a close friend or buddy. The Augsburg brewery Brauhaus Riegele registered 'Spezi' as a trademark in 1956, at first for beer, and in 1965 launched its cola-and-orange mixed drink under the related name. The combination caught on so widely that Spezi became a generic word in German for any cola-orange mix, regardless of brand — much as people say it for the pour they make themselves. Riegele still owns the trademark, and from the 1970s licensed it to other breweries; a long-running legal tangle with Munich's Paulaner over a 1974 agreement kept the name in the news into the 2020s.
Deep reddish-brown, fizzy, with the cola colour winning out over the orange. The taste leads with cola — caramel and that cola-spice tang — then an orange-soda sweetness rounds it off, softer and less sharp than either drink alone. It is sweet, easy and unchallenging, the German answer to a self-mixed fountain drink, best served very cold over ice on a hot day.
There is nothing to cook; the drink is purely a blend, and the ratio is the only variable. The classic pour leans slightly cola-heavy — roughly 60% cola to 40% orange soda is a common starting point, adjusted to taste. The orange soda's fruit sugar and citrus oils soften the more bitter, spiced edge of the cola, while the cola deepens the colour and adds body the orange lacks. Pour over ice and stir gently so the two carbonated drinks combine without losing too much fizz. Branded versions are simply pre-mixed and bottled.
Variations
Self-mixed cola-orange (the generic Spezi); Mezzo Mix is Coca-Cola's branded cola-orange and the best-known mass-market version; Riegele's own Spezi is the trademark original; ratios vary by region and personal taste, some preferring it more orange-forward; the same idea exists across German-speaking countries; a splash of the mix is sometimes used to lengthen a Diesel-style beer drink.
On the Palate
Where Spezi sits in the German flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 1How it's made
5 steps · 2 min
- 11 min
Chill both the cola and the orange soda thoroughly.
- 21 min
Fill a glass with ice cubes.
- 31 min
Pour in cola to roughly 60% of the glass.
- 41 min
Top up with orange soda to fill, aiming for a slightly cola-heavy mix.
Watch outAim for a slightly cola-heavy pour, roughly six parts cola to four orange — the orange's sweetness softens the cola's bitter edge while the cola keeps the body.
- 51 min
Stir once gently to combine without flattening the fizz, and serve at once.
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