# Coke and "original formula" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 6, 2004, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989 "2004-06-06T18:42:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/1 "2004-06-06T18:42:15Z")
How can Coca Cola claim to be the “original formula” when it isn’t? Original coke was made with sugar not with corn sweeteners. They are not the same and the taste is not the same. How do they get away with it? ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/2 "2004-06-06T18:46:07Z")
Erm, not to mention that original coke was made with cocaine rather than caffeine. (or did I miss the point) ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/3 "2004-06-06T18:53:06Z")
Not that “original coke”. 🙂 The other one. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/4 "2004-06-06T19:07:08Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > Not that “original coke”. > > 🙂 > > The other one. Well what do you mean then? Do you mean the true Original Coke or Coke as it was before Coke II? ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/5 "2004-06-06T19:14:02Z")
The coke sold after the coca leaves were removed. The coke I drank in the 60’s. Now it’s called “Classic Coke” But it’s not the same coke now as then. But they claim it is. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/6 "2004-06-06T19:17:05Z")
I’ve drank “Classic Coke” but it was a store’s own brand, nothing to do with the Coka-Cola company. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/7 "2004-06-06T19:17:49Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > Erm, not to mention that original coke was made with cocaine rather than caffeine. > (or did I miss the point) Change “rather than” to “in addition to”. The original Coca Cola included coca leaves, which are the source of cocaine, and kola nuts, which contain a lot of caffiene. [Cite](http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/cocaine.asp) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/8 "2004-06-06T19:26:50Z")
They get away with it because Coke claims the “original formula” deals with proportions, not sweetners. Hey **Reeder.** If you want something that really tastes like the “Original Coke,” shop around for “AfriCola.” It still uses cane sugar! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/9 "2004-06-06T19:28:57Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > The coke sold after the coca leaves were removed. The coke I drank in the 60’s. Now it’s called “Classic Coke” But it’s not the same coke now as then. But they claim it is. When they say Original or Classic they mean Before Coke II. That’s how they “get away with it.” ---
**Author:** ![InvidiousCourgette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@InvidiousCourgette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InvidiousCourgette)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/10 "2004-06-06T19:29:17Z")
Sugar is pure sucrose. Corn sweetner HFCS55 is a blend of glucose and fructose that has had the ratio of these two sugars manipulated by industrial chromatography. I think it is supposed to be indistinguishable from sucrose in an acidic environment because sucrose breaks down to the same ratio of glucose and fructose. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/11 "2004-06-06T19:32:20Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > When they say Original or Classic they mean Before Coke II. That’s how they “get away with it.” You mean you weren’t joking, there _is_ a ‘coke II’?? What is the world coming to?? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/12 "2004-06-06T19:41:16Z")
Well, there was a Coke II. It sucked. Now there is Coke C2. Low-carb, of all things. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/13 "2004-06-06T19:49:32Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Well, there was a Coke II. **It sucked**. Now there is Coke C2. Low-carb, of all things. :rolleyes: Maybe that’s why it never made it [to] over here. Low-carb coke sounds like a good idea actually (if it doen’t taste like wine-o-piss) ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/14 "2004-06-06T20:01:39Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > You mean you weren’t joking, there _is_ a ‘coke II’?? > What is the world coming to?? There _was_ a Coke II (called “New Coke”, I don’t recall anyone actually calling it Coke II until later, but I could be mistaken) back in 1985. [Here’s](http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/newcoke.asp) what Snopes has to say about it. Don’t let the _ **False** _ tag keep you from reading it, it’s only false in the sense that it wasn’t a deliberate marketing ploy. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/15 "2004-06-06T21:08:18Z")
- - - I read a news article online somewhere that many transplanted Mexicans in the US are paying higher prices for Coca-Cola imported from Mexico, as what’s made there still uses all the caffeine and only natural sugar. I have not had the opportunity to find this out for myself however. ~ ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/16 "2004-06-06T21:22:31Z")
It’s true. I have friends who bring back a few cases of Mexican Coca-Cola (have to say the name, no nicknames in _this_ sentence!) whenever they vacation in Baja. It wierds out the customs guys sometimes. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/17 "2004-06-06T21:40:08Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > When they say Original or Classic they mean Before Coke II. That’s how they “get away with it.” Yeah…I did some more reading. That’s how it works. Sugar is still best though. Thanks for all the responses. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2004, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/18 "2004-06-06T21:52:10Z")
If you live in a city with a decent sized Jewish population you can get Coke with sugar in it around Passover. Evidently corn syrup is not kosher for Passover. It will be in the kosher section usually with yellow caps, although there’s also a code marking on it. It does taste better. I’ve only seen it in two-liter bottles, though. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/19 "2004-06-07T04:04:26Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > If you live in a city with a decent sized Jewish population you can get Coke with sugar in it around Passover. Evidently corn syrup is not kosher for Passover. Thanks for the tip, **Zsofia**. Now if I can only remember it for the next ten months or so . . . I had my suspicions back during the whole New Coke debacle. I remember some years before it happened when Pepsi switched to corn sweetners and Coca Cola announced, “We’ll _never_ use anything but cane sugar in Coca Cola.” New Coke comes out, a brouhaha ensues, and Coke Classic is reinstated six months later. I look at the ingredients and there’s corn sweetner. I’m not saying that they planned the whole thing to sneak corn syrup onto their customers, but I could see them deciding that, so long as they had a period of time where ‘the real thing’ was unavailable, why not take advantage of the mess to make the switch. DD ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2004, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989/20 "2004-06-07T12:32:40Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Well, there was a Coke II. It sucked. Now there is Coke C2. Low-carb, of all things. :rolleyes: Wouldn’t low-carb coke be Diet Coke? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-and-original-formula/248989.md?page=2)