# Coca Cola ends production of Tab **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** soda-softdrinks\ **Created:** [October 16, 2020, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129 "2020-10-16T17:29:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2020, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129/22 "2020-10-19T09:30:45Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Didn’t Bobcat Goldthwait always have two six-packs of Tab on the stage when doing his stand ups? Ah, finally, the explanation as to why he talked that way… ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2020, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129/23 "2020-10-19T12:59:08Z")
I remember drinking Tab to fit in with all the other figure conscious 11 year olds (how said a sentence is that?). We all know it was wretched but we choked it down anyway. When diet Coke came along it tasted like heaven in comparison. I can’t believe Tab lasted as long as it did but RIP [Rest In Putridness]. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2020, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129/24 "2020-10-19T14:15:41Z")
I used to drink it all the time when I was a teenager. I’m now a Diet Coke drinker. I don’t remember what Tab tastes like. I should have one for old time’s sake. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2020, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129/25 "2020-10-19T14:36:52Z")
Dang, I’ve never had a Tab my entire life, and now, I never will. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2020, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129/26 "2020-10-19T16:12:30Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Dang, I’ve never had a Tab my entire life, and now, I never will. You dodged a bullet. It’s like missing out on [eating this](https://vintagerecipecards.com/2011/06/15/ham-and-bananas-hollandaise/). I don’t even like Diet Coke - hate it, actually. I’m a Coke Zero guy. But Diet Coke was ambrosia next to Tab. Its most practical use might have been for cleaning car battery terminals. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2020, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129/27 "2020-10-19T20:52:02Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > You dodged a bullet. It’s like missing out on [eating this](https://vintagerecipecards.com/2011/06/15/ham-and-bananas-hollandaise/) Oh, that would be much better with home made Hollandaise. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2020, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129/28 "2020-10-19T21:13:49Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Dang, I’ve never had a Tab my entire life, and now, I never will. Drink Diet Coke. It has much the same flavor. [Diet Coke - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_Coke#:~:text=Diet%20Coke%20does%20not%20use,slightly%20different%20balance%20of%20ingredients). > [@](#): > > Diet Coke does not use a modified form of the Coca-Cola recipe, but instead an entirely different formula based on the Tab formula. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129/29 "2020-10-20T03:37:25Z")
Tab was one of those things you keep taking bites or sips of, thinking, “Surely it doesn’t taste as bad as I think it does!” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129/30 "2020-10-20T04:00:47Z")
Tab was what Truman Capote drank at cocktail parties. Seriously! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129/31 "2020-10-20T04:08:56Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Drink Diet Coke. It has much the same flavor. My understanding is that Diet Coke was not intended to be similar in taste to Coca-Cola; though it may well have been based on the Tab formula, I’ve read that the taste profile which the formulators were looking to emulate was that of Diet Pepsi (which was, at that time, the leading diet soda). Conversely, Coke Zero (which was introduced decades later) was intentionally formulated to more closely capture the taste profile of Coca-Cola. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129/32 "2020-10-20T21:52:09Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Tab was what Truman Capote drank at cocktail parties. Seriously! Why do we(you) know this? I like it and will never forget it, but why is this known? How? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129/33 "2020-10-20T21:55:48Z")
Glad you asked. It’s mentioned in **this book:** > **[Final Cut: Art, Money, and Ego in the Making of Heaven'…](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/542635.Final_Cut)** > > Heaven's Gate is probably the most discussed, least see… And a good book it is, too! 👍👌 ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129/34 "2020-10-21T00:52:14Z")
The ultimate 1970’s diet: Tab and Ayds candy. Now both are gone! At least Tab was better than chocolate-flavored Diet Shasta soda - that stuff was nasty! The only other decent choice was Fresca, but it too had the weird saccharin aftertaste. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129/35 "2020-10-21T02:23:20Z")
I remember my dad saying, “It’s probably called TAB because it tastes like a tab.” A tab of what, IDK, but probably paper or some other non-food substance. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129/36 "2020-10-21T02:25:37Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > A tab of what, IDK, but probably paper or some other non-food substance. Back then, soda cans had pull-tabs, so maybe that was it. 😃 [https://westerndigs.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Beverage\_pull\_tab-featured.jpg](https://westerndigs.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Beverage_pull_tab-featured.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129/37 "2020-10-21T02:53:30Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I remember my dad saying, “It’s probably called TAB because it tastes like a tab.” I concurs with kenobi that he likely meant the tab on the pop can. We still call them that, but they are now like this: [Pop Tab](https://rmhctampabay.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Pop-Tabs.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129/38 "2020-10-21T03:48:46Z")
I think I once tried it when I was maybe five, hated it and never tried it again. Coke made Tab for a very small and vocal group of fans, probably also because of nostalgia that it launched a very successful drink genre. Coke Zero is basically my fifth food group. ---
**Author:** ![stuccosuperstar2020](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@stuccosuperstar2020](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuccosuperstar2020)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129/39 "2020-10-21T05:14:44Z")
Now what am I going to drink when I have a cough? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coca-cola-ends-production-of-tab/923129.md?page=1)