I have two bottles of Coke on my desk at work. They are the same product, 20 oz. Coca-Cola Classic in a plastic bottle. However, one has a red cap and the other a black cap. They were purchased on different days, one from a gas station and the other from a supermarket. They are otherwise identical. Do the different colors signify anything? Different distributors or bottlers, perhaps? Different production runs? One poisoned with iocane powder?
This time of year, I’m going to guess that one of them is kosher for Passover. In addition to the usual dietary laws, Jews are also forbidden certain foods during Passover, including corn syrup. So in markets with significant numbers of Jews, Coca-Cola makes some using cane sugar instead of the usual (cheaper) corn syrup. Check the ingredients list to be sure.
Many folks say that the cane sugar version tastes far superior to the corn syrup, so you may be in for a treat. You may also want to stock up on the sugar version while you have a chance.
Around Passover, the Coke that comes in two-liter bottles with YELLOW caps is the Kosher for Passover stuff, made with cane sugar. I don’t drink as much soda as I used to, but I definitely intend to stock up on a few bottles of it since it tastes so much better than normal Coke.
Other than that, I imagine different cap colors would be variants by different bottlers and distributors, and wouldn’t signify any changes in the formula.
What?!? Is Kosher Coca-Cola available all year round in certain parts, then? And then we only see it more universally during the passover season? There’s a sizeable Jewish community here, and I’d certainly be willing to go to a Jewish-area store if it meant Coca-Cola made with real sugar.
Yes, there’s a noticable difference. It makes Coke incredibly delicious. Wow, this could make me a soda drinker again, much to Labatt’s chagrin.
Sometimes they will change the cap color to coincide with a game or promotion. I’ve seen this on both Coke and Pepsi products.
Is it purely coincidence that this thread appears right below “Question to Zen Students”?
Oh, wow, it’s a modern-day koan.
The yellow-cap Coke is generally available in the US only around Passover. Then again, they ostensibly sell the Santa Claus Coke only around Christmas, and you can still find bottles un the shelves in February, so you might find it for a while yet. Personally, I actually prefer the regular Coke, which is kosher, just not kosher for Passover. Jewish-area stores wouldn’t stock the Passover Coke year-round.
IIRC from the last time I was in Israel, all Israeli Coke (and Pespi, too) is made with real sugar rather than corn syrup, because the Israeli Rabbinate refuses to give their OK unless the soda is kosher for Passover all year round. I don’t know why; maybe there have been problems in the past with corn-syrup Coke being marketed as kosher for Passover.
I’m not supposed to even know this, let alone tell you. The color coding shows researchers which bottles are standard Coke, which ones have calming drugs in them, and which ones make you want to drink more Coke, all the time. The coding changes every two weeks.
Oh, man, this is risky. If you don’t hear from me, I’ve probably been renditioned to a Coke plant in Poland. :eek:
Just because there’s a sizeable Jewish community doesn’t necessarily mean you’d be able to find kosher-for-Passover Coke. I haven’t been able to find any here in the Bay Area 
For those of you who like Coke and other soft drinks with real sugar, check out Mexican grocery stores. Mexican Coke, usually available in old-fashioned glass bottles, is still made with sugar, and you can find that year-round if you’re lucky enough to have a nearby hookup.