What’s the difference?
Thank goodness this is posted. I was thinking the same thing today when I was at 7-11 and seeing Zero and regular Diet Coke side by side. Mass confusion.
I had Coke Zero for the first time yesterday. It doesn’t have the weird chemical taste of Diet, and I like it a lot. I don’t really know what the actual difference is. Probably made with some sweetener that will kill me shortly–didn’t keep the bottle.
Coke Zero uses a different mix of artificial sweeteners (aspartame and acesulfame potassium) than Diet Coke (just aspartame).
According to MSNBC, Coke Zero has zero calories (I think Diet Coke has one calorie?) and is sweetened with a blend of aspartame and acesulfame potassium. I assume that this means Diet Coke is sweetened with just aspartame, but the article didn’t say that directly. Coke just says that Coke Zero will have a “different flavor” than Diet Coke.
My theory is that they’re going to let Diet Coke (famous ray’s original), Diet Coke with Splenda, and Coke Zero duke it out in the marketplace, and whichever one has better sales is the one they keep. The variety of diet cola products on the shelves right now is truly overwhelming. (I myself am partial to Diet Coke with Lime.)
What about Tab?
Wow. I didn’t even know Tab was still around. Uh… this fits into my theory somehow… just give me a minute… nope, nevermind, it doesn’t. There is no accounting for Tab.
Diet Coke has a different cola flavor formulation than coke zero. It is supposed to taste different. There are enough hard core Diet Coke drinkers out there that I doubt they’ll ever get rid of DC all together… unless it’s replaced by the splenda version. They remember New Coke.
I’m sitting here with a bottle of each and I honestly cannot discern any difference.
No kidding. Coke has three plain cola varieties with zero calories (Diet Coke, Diet Coke with Splenda and Coke Zero). Pepsi has diet (0 calories) and Pepsi One (1 calorie).
Coke also has Caffiene Free Diet Coke, Diet Vanilla Coke, Diet Coke with Lime, Diet Coke with Lemon and Cherry Diet Coke.
If they combined all the possible brands (Diet Coke, Diet Coke with Splenda, Coke Zero) with all the possible flavors (Vanilla, Lime, Lemon, Cherry) and removal of caffiene, they could make thirty different kinds of diet cola soft drink. And that’s just Coke.
I’ve recently started drinking Coke Zero (it’s been on sale) and it’s pretty good.
Initially I was under the impression that Zero was made with Splenda and I made a point to try it out. I was disappointed when I checked out the ingredients list, which seemed identical to Diet Coke. However, I found Coke Zero to be slightly more palatable than Diet Coke, which I find completely undrinkable. I’d drink Zero in a pinch. Less aftertaste, but all-in-all still too “chemical” tasting for me. I’m sticking with good old teeth-rotting regular Coke.
From what I understand, Coke Zero is supposed to taste just like regular Coke, without sugar. Kinda like the Diet Dr. Pepper and Dr. Pepper thing. Diet Coke certainly doesn’t taste like regular Coke.
I like both Diet and Coke Zero. Drinking Coke Zero at the moment, just cause it’s cheaper with all the promotion.
Long-time Diet Coke fan here… drinking regular coke to me is like a Coke drinker drinking maple syrup right out of the bottle. Yuk. Diet Coke is the most perfect drink of all to us fans, we usually say “<expletive>… that’s good!” when we have one.
This new Splenda and Coke Zero taste more like what regular Coke tastes like, but without the sugar blast. There seems to be a more citrus-like taste to regular coke (as compared to Diet Coke), and I can taste it in those two. (It’s also likely that I have a deadened response to the “GAAKCH!!!” reaction of NutriSweet, so YMMV.)
I’ll actually need to try them at the same time in order to remember any difference between them. 
Who are these two new Cokes being marketed to?
-d
Thare have been a couple threads about this, now. The important thing to remember is that Diet Coke and Coca-Cola don’t use the same cola flavorings. Back when DC was formulated, they discovered that simply replacing the sugar in Coke with aspartame was bad. DC’s flavorings were designed to complement artificial sweeteners.
Then, along came acesulfame potassium, or Ace K. It’s been around for a while, but was approved for sweetening beverages not too far in the past. Using Ace K together with aspartame (Nutrasweet) results in a syngeristic effect, whereby their combination is sweeter than either substance alone, and they mask each other’s chemical aftertastes. (This happens ideally, i’m a bit unconvinced about it’s practicality, myself).
Using Ace K and aspartame gets around most of the chemical nastiness of plain Nutrasweet. So, the same flavoring as regular Coke could be used with the artificial sweeteners. Hence Coke Zero. Coke Zero is how they woudl have formulated Diet Coke in the first place had they had the technology.
Personally, I wish they’d sweetened it with Splenda, because then it would be nearly indistinguishable from regular Coke. Diet Coke with Splenda has a more naturally sweet (sugary) taste, but has the distinctive cola flavorings of normal Diet Coke. Coke Zero has the right flavor, but the less desireable sweeteners that give it away.
The best of both worlds would be the most natural tasting sweetener (sucralose) from DCwS, and the real coke flavor from Classic or CZ. “Coke Zero with Splenda”. Bring it out now, dammit! I’ll buy a warehouse full!
So far, I’ve gotten mine in a Burritoville (guess what they make?) and a pizzeria. I don’t know about delis and stuff.
Hope it does better than Coke/2 or whatever it was.
Has nobody learned from IBM and their OS/2 Warp? - “It’s half an operating system!”
It’s half a Coke!
Coke’s website for Coke Zero says that it’s being marketed to those who don’t currently drink diet cola and want a “brand identity” all their own. I guess Diet Coke isn’t cool enough. Or something.
As one of the previous posters mentioned Diet Coke with Splenda(DCwS - no way I’m typing all that out again ) is different than Coke Zero. It was a little confusing to see in the rack, all on the same shelf Coke 0, Diet Coke, and DCwS.
I, too, was hoping that DCwS would be very Coke-like in taste. Nope - it’s still got that Diet Coke aftertaste to it. I really hope they can come up with a Splenda-only real Coke product. I’m not too sure about the Ace K stuff, but I’ll give it a shot.
Oh, and diku, just as an FYI, despite the advertising Dr. Pepper and Diet Dr. Pepper don’t taste even close to the same. The difference is almost as stark as that between Dublin Dr. Pepper and Dr. Pepper.
I had a Coke Zero for the first time last night. I thought it was quite good, tasting very much like regular Coke but not quite as strongly. I didn’t really notice any aftertaste, but I drank it cold, which always serves to mask chemical tangs for me. Good stuff.
I’ve not yet had Diet Coke w/Splenda.
–Cliffy
I’m a diet cokeaholic. Diet Coke with Splenda to me tastes just like regular Coke. I can tolerate a small glass of it. Coke Zero to me is absolutely undrinkable. I bought one 20 oz bottle of it, everyone in the house had a tiny glass, spit it out, and we poured it down the drain. Plain old Diet Coke is still my choice. If they remove it from the market, I may be forced to switch to The Dark Side (Pepsi).