# Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 20, 2005, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103 "2005-06-20T19:35:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![diku](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@diku](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diku)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/21 "2005-06-21T13:20:16Z")
> [@critter42](#): > > 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. Oh, I agree. I was just stating that’s what they were shooting for. I also agree about Diet Coke with Splenda. Awful. WAAAAAAAAAY too sweet. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/22 "2005-06-21T13:27:35Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > 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). This confirms everything I suspected about you, **BobLibDem**. Anyone who willingly seeks out Diet Coke ain’t quite right. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/23 "2005-06-21T13:30:15Z")
> [@Mr. Moto](#): > > This confirms everything I suspected about you, **BobLibDem**. > > Anyone who willingly seeks out Diet Coke ain’t quite right. 😉 Thanks for the chuckle. Please don’t tell me you’re a Pepsi drinker. Or worse (cringe) a Doctor Pepper drinker! ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/24 "2005-06-21T13:46:02Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > 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. _What?!?_ We’re being brand conscious on our soda-pop now? I won’t drink anything less than Polo Blue (well, you know, when they make it taste like something besides toilet water). ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/25 "2005-06-21T13:51:58Z")
I usually drink regular Diet Coke, but last night Coke Zero was on sale so I got a 2-liter. I tried it and my first impression was, it doesn’t taste like anything. It seems to have very little flavor at all, IMO. Maybe I am just used to the aftertaste of Diet Coke and that is what I am missing. I am willing to give it more of a try, so far I like it better than Diet Coke with Splenda. Cokes with any of the citrusy flavors are horrible. I think that most of these flavors will not continue, they will see which ones are popular and go with those. Honestly I cannot envision 12 different Diet Cokes competing with each other. But for now it is “Battle of the Diet Drinks.” Hey, is C2 or whatever (the low-carb Coke) still out there? Maybe I should collect all these Coke flavors while they are still around and save them. ---
**Author:** ![Jason\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dec6dc/32.png) [@Jason\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jason_H)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/26 "2005-06-21T14:33:44Z")
> [@critter42](#): > > 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. This is slightly off topic, but does anyone else notice a difference between Fountain Dr. Pepper (Served in Fast food Restaurants etc.) taste completely different from Bottle and Can Dr. Pepper? To me Fountain DP is great and Can/Bottle DP is way too sweet and has a different more cherry flavor. If I could get the Fountain DP taste in a can, I’d buy it by the case. BTW, I’m a Pepsi drinker. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/27 "2005-06-21T14:40:10Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Thanks for the chuckle. Please don’t tell me you’re a Pepsi drinker. Or worse (cringe) a Doctor Pepper drinker! Years of soft living have forced me to the abomination that is diet soda. I’ve found Coke Zero quite tasty, and have started buying it. Before that, it was Diet Pepsi. Back in the day, though, only real cola would do. And when I was overseas with the Navy, I could get Coke made with real honest-to-God SUGAR rather than cheap corn syrup. I’ll still sometimes sneak off to the groceria for a fix. They have it in the coolers next to the regular coke, but it’s nothing like it. This shit is primo. They bring it in from Mexico, man. I hear they hide it in the back of trucks crossing the border. It’s in real glass bottles that need to be uncapped with an opener. It’s fizzy, and loazed with azucar. Coke the way it should be. I might need some tonight. If I’m wired up and posting at 3 AM, you know what I’ve been doing. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/28 "2005-06-21T14:46:39Z")
I liked C2. I don’t know if it’s still around. It tasted to me like Coke with a hint of lemon, which was an obviously chemical flavor. Pretty good. Fountain sodas are extraordinarily inconsistent because they’re mixed right there and the soda company has no control over the water, the machinery, the levels, the amount of gas, etc., etc. I agree that Dr. Pepper out of a fountain is, to my mind, very different than out of a can. It’s less syrupy. But I like them both. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/29 "2005-06-21T14:50:12Z")
Another element in the name proliferation may be to get more shelf space in supermarkets. It wasn’t all that long ago that there was just Coke, Pepsi, a single diet variation of each then second tiers like RC and store brands in the cola wars. IIRC we recently tried diet Coke with splenda, not labeled zero or anything. I prefer the taste and liked it much better than Nutrasweet diete Coke. Now if someone would make a mainstream brand of root beer with Splenda. **D505** makes a good point with the maple syrup comment. Since it takes a bigger mass of sugar than artificial sweeteners diet sodas don’t have the same viscosity so that mouth feel as they put it may have an effect on how we percieve taste. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/30 "2005-06-21T15:18:45Z")
I’m in the “sugared (corn or real) soda” tastes like maple syrup to me. I don’t eat many sweets though, so that much sugar is a shock to my system. I drink about 2L of diet soda a day (keep the diabetes, and caramel color/caffeine/acid comments to yourselves! 🆒 ) and I’m currently trying all the options. IMO, any Pepsi product is off my list. I’ve found too many problems with the plastics used in the bottles causing excessive loss of fizz (a solid stream of bubbles from a point source, moving up the side of the bottle is NOT normal) and my personal taste is such that I think Pepsi is under-fizzed, and has an odd flavor. My evaluation: Stanadard DC - my normal drink. Been drinking it for years. DC with Splenda - tastes like standard DC, with a smoother feel in the mouth. My wife can drink it, as it has no Nutrasweet. (gives her headaches) Coca-Cola Zero (note the bottle never says COKE anywhere on it) - good, like regular Coke, but without the sugar mouth feel, and detrement to my waistline. (I save detremental behavior to the waistline for “adult beverages”) DC with citrus (lime/lemon) - A nice alternative to standard DC, especially good with the “adult beverages” mentioned above. Not so good if they have time to get “warm”. That’s my $.02. I can’t wait for the elimination of Nutrasweet in favor of Splenda. -Butler ---
**Author:** ![FlippyFly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FlippyFly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlippyFly)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/31 "2005-06-21T15:46:55Z")
Maybe they want Diet Coke Zero to be in harmony with Sprite Zero, which I think is doing quite well. Personally, I think they need a new label design for Zero. Am I the only one that thinks it looks terrible? Much too dark, plain, and un-exciting. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/32 "2005-06-21T15:49:09Z")
> [@butler1850](#): > > Coca-Cola Zero (note the bottle never says COKE anywhere on it) Yes it does…at least, the two-liter I have here does. The main label has the full Coca-Cola name, but underneath the nutrition facts and barcode it says “Coke Zero.” ---
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/33 "2005-06-21T15:57:50Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > 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. Saccharine addicts. They won’t take us at the methadone clinics. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/34 "2005-06-21T16:42:11Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Coke Zero has zero calories (I think Diet Coke has one calorie?) The can I’m drinking now claims 0 Calories. DC is my standard, also been drinking it for years. Other sodas have been good, but I’ll always come back to my master Diet Coke. I think that last time I had a Tab was about six years ago in Reno (Sparks, actually). I could be wrong, but when I tried DC with Splenda, my first thought as, “Hey, that’s just Tab in a different can!” DC with Lime was actually a pleasant surprise. For me lime=alcohol, so most drinks with lime just taste funny, but DC/Lime had a subtle enough Lime flavor that it was pretty good. Finished the twelve-pack. Didn’t Coke have a 50/50 or something a month ago, that came in a Red Bull-sized can? That stuff tasted a lot like Classic to me. Didn’t like it. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/35 "2005-06-21T16:45:36Z")
Huh. I prefer normal coke, and now C2. I tried Zero this weekend. In my opinion, it _is_ Diet coke. Same shitty aftertaste. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/36 "2005-06-21T17:50:52Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > Yes it does…at least, the two-liter I have here does. The main label has the full Coca-Cola name, but underneath the nutrition facts and barcode it says “Coke Zero.” Dang… didn’t read the small print. I’m used to having one side say “coca-cola” and the other “coke”. The Zero product has the full name in large letters on both sides. Still tastey though. And I like the black bottle cap. Dunno why. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/37 "2005-06-21T21:35:19Z")
The difference? Coke Zero tastes like Half diet coke, and half the flavor second hand smoke gives off. Diet coke is also better tasting. Then again, I can tell Pepsi from Coke… so I guess its not too surprising. Also, Zero made me burp after every sip. :eek: Anyone else? Coke Zero. Pepsi One, C-2, … Five Alive… 7-up…V-8… Also, I was thinking about getting 8 Zero and Eight Pepsi One… 01001001 00100000 01100011 01101111 01110101 01101100 01100100 00100000 01100011 01110010 01100101 01100001 01110100 01100101 00100000 01100001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100010 01101001 01101110 01100001 01110010 01111001 00100000 01001001 00100000 01110111 01100001 01101110 01110100 ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/38 "2005-06-21T21:43:16Z")
> [@Meeko](#): > > Also, I was thinking about getting 8 Zero and Eight Pepsi One… > > 01001001 00100000 01100011 01101111 01110101 01101100 01100100 00100000 01100011 01110010 01100101 01100001 01110100 01100101 00100000 01100001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100010 01101001 01101110 01100001 01110010 01111001 00100000 01001001 00100000 01110111 01100001 01101110 01110100 If I was a stockboy in a grocery, I would TOTALLY set up secret codes in binary using Coke Zero and Pepsi One. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/39 "2005-06-21T22:39:40Z")
…at Publix the other day, and the rep described it as having the taste of “Classic Coke” without the calories. I liked it. Q ---
**Author:** ![galt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@galt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galt)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103/40 "2005-06-21T23:56:07Z")
> [@Garfield226](#): > > If I was a stockboy in a grocery, I would TOTALLY set up secret codes in binary using Coke Zero and Pepsi One. Ah, nerds… 01100111 01101111 01110100 01110100 01100001 00100000 01101100 01101111 01110110 01100101 00100000 01100101 01101101 For what it’s worth, I tried Coke Zero this morning because of this thread. I thought it did a much better job of approximating regular soda than either Diet Code or Diet Coke with Splenda (which is a little better than regular Diet Coke). It did seem to make me burp more than other sodas (and I noted that before reading **Meeko’s** comment, so it wasn’t due to the power of suggestion). And I feel it is my duty to confirm that Dr. Pepper is **good** , while Diet Dr. Pepper is **nasty**. If it weren’t for all that “it tastes just like regular Dr. Pepper” crap in their commercials, I’d probably be able to tolerate it, but that shit should not go unpunished. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diet-coke-coca-cola-zero/309103.md?page=3)