# Coke with pure cane sugar will soon be available! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [July 22, 2025, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205 "2025-07-22T23:38:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/1 "2025-07-22T23:38:07Z")
Coke purists have been seeking out Mexican Coke for many years. I make a special trip to Home Depot to buy a case of Mexican Coke. It’s how Coke used to taste before the HFCS (corn syrup) switch in the 80’s. There are old threads here about Mexican Coke. My only concern is whether Coca Cola will use the Mexican Coke recipe. Please don’t screw this up with research and a new drink with cane sugar. **Please, keep politics out of this thread. Mexican Coke fans have been waiting 20 years for this announcement. Lets not ruin it with politics.** > [@What is Mexican Coke?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-mexican-coke/468504): > > I live in a Spanish neighborhood in Chicago and at the grocers they had a sale on “Mexican Coke,” 10/$10.00. It looks like a 12 ounce bottle of pop. Considering they have Classic Coke on sale for $1.00 for a 2 litre bottle, I was wondering what is it? It doesn’t say Mexican Coke on it, just on the sign above it > [@Mexican Coke?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mexican-coke/726642): > > Walmart is selling Mexican Coke in glass bottles. Does this actually taste noticeably different or better than “American” Coke? Is this even safe to drink, considering the water comes from Mexico and doesn’t have alcohol? ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/2 "2025-07-22T23:42:52Z")
Can you really taste the difference? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2025, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/3 "2025-07-22T23:48:09Z")
Mexican Coke triggered long forgotten memories of what Coke tasted like in my 1960’s childhood. I only drink Mexican Coke now. I believe the glass bottle is another factor in how Mexican Coke tastes. But I know they are impractical for the entire US. I ate at McDonald’s and definitely noticed a difference in how their Coke tasted. I haven’t drank a canned Coke in many years. I’m curious to see how young people will respond. HFCS is the only Coke they’ve ever had. I really hesitate to link a news article. This is not a political thread. Asking Coca Cola for Coke with cane sugar goes back 20 years. Thats long before todays climate. Link [Coca-Cola With Cane Sugar Is Coming To U.S. After Trump Push](https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2025/07/22/coca-cola-will-use-us-cane-sugar-in-new-product-after-trump-says-its-just-better/) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/4 "2025-07-23T00:04:03Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I ate at McDonald’s and definitely noticed a difference in how their Coke tasted. There are reasons for that. > **[Why does Coca-Cola taste so good at McDonald's?](https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/faq/why-does-coca-cola-taste-so-good-at-mcdonald-s.html)** ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/5 "2025-07-23T00:04:14Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Can you really taste the difference? I can’t. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/6 "2025-07-23T00:05:47Z")
I don’t taste a difference. I used to love the Pepsi challenge. How did I do? Well you didn’t get to see me in the commercials for good reason. I don’t taste much if any difference between Mexican coke and US branded coke. In 85 the Coca-Cola company introduced “new” coke. That mess lasted (the replace traditional Coke phase) for 79 long, long days. They finally got rid of that obomination in I think 2005. I buy US branded as I don’t taste a difference and it’s quite a bit cheaper. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/7 "2025-07-23T00:09:01Z")
Mexican Coke is more expensive. The cases of glass bottles are heavy too. It’s the price I pay for cane sugar. 😉 I have often wondered if New Coke was a way to make the HFCS switch? Consumers were so thrilled when the original recipe came back. I’m just speculating. I’ve never found a timeline when the company made the sweetener switch. It may have been introduced slowly in various test markets. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/8 "2025-07-23T00:10:42Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Please don’t screw this up with research and a new drink with cane sugar. Isn’t it _exactly_ the same recipe just with a different sweetener? My understanding is that no matter where in the world you buy a Coke, the syrup comes from the Coca-Cola Company. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/9 "2025-07-23T00:15:41Z")
I’ve been able to walk into my local grocery store and buy Mexican coke for at least a decade. Maybe the price will come down? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/10 "2025-07-23T00:16:52Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Isn’t it _exactly_ the same recipe just with a different sweetener? My understanding is that no matter where in the world you buy a Coke, the syrup comes from the Coca-Cola Company. I’ve heard the same thing. The bottling plants have to use the company syrup. I found this… > **[The Coca-Cola System](https://www.coca-colacompany.com/about-us/coca-cola-system)** ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/11 "2025-07-23T00:21:01Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I have often wondered if New Coke was a way to make the HFCS switch? Consumers were so thrilled when the original recipe came back. I’m just speculating. I thought that as well and it was very common speculation at the time. I was outraged about New Coke and hated it and was happy that they brought back Coke “Classic”. Pepsi or any other brand would not do. By the late 80s I switched to Sprite to eliminate the caffeine from my diet. I was a Sprite fiend until around 15 years ago when I gave up sugared (or HFCS) soda entirely. I loved Jarritos too. Now it’s all about soda water for me, mostly from my Soda Stream, with a splash or pomegranate juice but if I was still a Coke guy, this would have made my year. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/12 "2025-07-23T00:26:31Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > There are reasons for that. The reasons being they use cold filtered water and cold syrup? Who knew??! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/13 "2025-07-23T00:29:58Z")
Apparently not everyone with a Coca-Cola fountain does even that much. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/14 "2025-07-23T00:55:21Z")
It doesn’t mention it in your link, but that cold syrup is kept in metal tanks? No syrup in plastic bags. Or so a guy said who worked as a manager at the time. It makes sense to me. Where I work we use bag in box syrup, though our water is highly filtered and cold. I won’t drink the fountain there, or pretty much anywhere but McDonald’s. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/15 "2025-07-23T00:57:30Z")
I think I remember reading that elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/16 "2025-07-23T01:04:47Z")
So apparently, [there aren’t really any health benefits from switching from corn syrup to cane sugar.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/07/22/coke-cane-sugar-health-rfk-jr/) Why then, is this a national politcal issue? ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/17 "2025-07-23T01:06:31Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Coke purists have been seeking out Mexican Coke for many years. I make a special trip to Home Depot to buy a case of Mexican Coke. It’s how Coke used to taste before the HFCS (corn syrup) switch in the 80’s. Coke purist here. We exist, we’re real, and while we can’t tell you whether that thing you gave us is a Pepsi, RC, Coke Zero, or Diet Coke, we can absolutely tell you that it’s not a Coke. My concern with this announcement is that Mexican Coke is already readily available, even to people like me who live in the boonies. The problem is that it is insanely expensive and only available in a specific form factor so I usually only get it when I’m at a restaurant as a treat. If this “new” product shares everything else (price, form factor, etc) with Mexican Coke, except where it’s bottled, I’m not seeing anything worthwhile in the announcement. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/18 "2025-07-23T01:07:28Z")
Just get me Coca-Cola Light. I tried it in Mexico and fell in love. It’s nothing like Diet Coke, even though it’s supposed to be Mexico’s version of it. It uses completely different sweeteners. It’s one of the best soft drinks I’ve ever had and it sucks that I can’t get it in Washington State. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/19 "2025-07-23T01:08:22Z")
I read a book about Coca-cola history. There’s a big big deal about who gets which grade of their syrup and how its delivered and packaged. McDonald’s was A-1 on all their scales. The recipes aren’t changed except for flavored and diet(this book was c.80s) So these changed recipes weren’t as big a deal as they are now. The syrup runs were tested and graded. And sent to the right places. It’s very convoluted. That company may very well be evil. IMO. I mean they started out as drug dealers. Not to take away from those who love their Coke. And @aceplace57’s love for Mexican coke. I didn’t know Home Depot was the go to place for it. ---
**Author:** ![DMC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dmc/32/18049_2.png) [@DMC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMC)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2025, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205/20 "2025-07-23T01:15:50Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > I didn’t know Home Depot was the go to place for it. Kroger, Winn-Dixie, and even Walmart sell it where I live now in west central Florida, which is about as redneck as it gets. The nearest town is tiny, but we call it the Methropolis. I’m pretty sure the Publix does as well, but their website doesn’t show it in a search. It’s really not hard to find, which is why I’m hesitant about this announcement until we get more details. If it comes in a $2 12 oz. glass bottle, I’m not seeing an advantage. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coke-with-pure-cane-sugar-will-soon-be-available/1021205.md?page=2)