Refresco

Scott Hardie | September 16, 2011
Mexican Coke is popular these days, both for its real sugar in lieu of corn syrup and for its glass-bottle packaging. Kelly and I have friends who only drink the Mexican stuff. Similarly, Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew throwback are popular for their sugar-based formulas.

A non-academic but still pretty careful taste test has revealed that people consistently prefer the American Coke to the Mexican Coke on pure flavor, but say that they prefer the flavor of whatever comes out of the bottle labeled Mexican Coke regardless of what's inside. Reading this article, the conclusions seem obvious:

1) Mexican Coke isn't better, it just makes people feel like they're drinking something special.

2) I need to run some taste tests sometime, not on Coke but on anything. It seems like fun! I am such a nerd.

Have you ever tried the Mexican stuff or the Throwback brands? Do they taste better?

Samir Mehta | September 16, 2011
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Tony Peters | September 16, 2011
I rarely drink cola of any kind (cream soda fan) we buy the holiday "8oz glass bottles" of Coke for the bottles the soda usually goes down the drain. My guess about the taste test is that people don't like the salt in Mexican Coke.

Samir Mehta | September 16, 2011
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Erik Bates | September 16, 2011
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Tony Peters | September 16, 2011
Samir, we bottle homemade Vanilla in them.

Steve West | September 17, 2011
I have a pretty weak digestive constitution. I'd probably get fatal dysentery if I drank one only because it had the word Mexico on it. My loss, I think.

Scott Hardie | September 17, 2011
I'm up for a taste test at GooCon. Good idea, Samir. But what to test?

Kelly likes Coke Zero. I like Diet Coke, or more specifically Diet Chek because I'm cheap. I'd like to see if one of us actually prefers the taste of the other's in a blind test. But that's not really too exciting for other people, I'd bet.

Anybody?

For packaging, I prefer the feel and size of cans, but the loud popping and hissing when the can first opens is a turn-off. I have to hear that sound around me all day at the office, so I wince even when I hear it alone at home opening my own can. I bet it's possible to make the cans open more quietly, but they don't, because that sound has a psychological effect on you that makes you crave it, the same as crinkly candy wrappers.

Lori Lancaster | September 18, 2011
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Samir Mehta | September 19, 2011
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Scott Hardie | September 19, 2011
My first experience with one of the "zeroes" was when I tapped the wrong buttons on the vending machine and was served Cherry Coke Zero by mistake. It was, well, nasty. I drank a few sips and poured the rest down the drain, and I almost never waste food like that (part of the reason I'm fat). My reaction was likely influenced by my disappointment at receiving the wrong drink, but it was a strong one, and I've been wary of the other "zeroes" since. I've had a couple of cans of Coke Zero in a pinch, and it's ok, not something I'd choose to drink often. I would make the ideal candidate for a taste test that challenges my preferences.