# Is Diet Vanilla Coke the same thing (more or less) as Diet Cream Soda? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 2, 2003, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-diet-vanilla-coke-the-same-thing-more-or-less-as-diet-cream-soda/158519 "2003-03-02T03:43:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-diet-vanilla-coke-the-same-thing-more-or-less-as-diet-cream-soda/158519/1 "2003-03-02T03:43:01Z")
Just curious. Tried it for the first time tonight and it kind of tastes like it. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-diet-vanilla-coke-the-same-thing-more-or-less-as-diet-cream-soda/158519/2 "2003-03-02T03:50:52Z")
Tastes pretty much the same to me too. I haven’t tried the diet versions, but I assume they’re about the same as the non-diet ones I’ve had. What **does** make the _cream_ in cream soda? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-diet-vanilla-coke-the-same-thing-more-or-less-as-diet-cream-soda/158519/3 "2003-03-02T04:43:38Z")
I like cream soda, but the Coke version seems to have an overpowering vanilla note. Can’t say I like it. I believe both use vanilla flavour. ---
**Author:** ![Road\_Rash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Road\_Rash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Road_Rash)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-diet-vanilla-coke-the-same-thing-more-or-less-as-diet-cream-soda/158519/4 "2003-03-02T05:05:50Z")
No, it is not. I can’t really speak for the “diet” variety, but the regular Vanilla Coke is a corporate version of a fountain treat that I came across at the YMCA grill of the Post Oak YMCA, a very large YMCA. You take Coke and squirt Vanilla juice into it. IMHO, V-Coke pales in comparison of taste. Creme Soda has a very different taste than Vanilla Coke. For one, it tastes nothing like Coke. Of course, I am biased. I love creme soda. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-diet-vanilla-coke-the-same-thing-more-or-less-as-diet-cream-soda/158519/5 "2003-03-02T06:13:11Z")
I don’t think Vanilla Coke tastes like cream soda. I like them both, but they taste pretty different to me. Custom-made vanilla cokes have been around for a LONG time. Since I was a young squirt, I’ve always ordered one whenever at a Dairy Queen or a Sonic and they usually do have a stronger vanilla taste than the new bottled stuff. Vanilla Dr. Peppers are great, too. ---
**Author:** ![mblackwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5fc32e/32.png) [@mblackwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mblackwell)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-diet-vanilla-coke-the-same-thing-more-or-less-as-diet-cream-soda/158519/6 "2003-03-02T06:34:21Z")
No, they taste very different. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-diet-vanilla-coke-the-same-thing-more-or-less-as-diet-cream-soda/158519/7 "2003-03-02T11:11:02Z")
Cream soda contains no cola–just vanilla. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-diet-vanilla-coke-the-same-thing-more-or-less-as-diet-cream-soda/158519/8 "2003-03-02T11:38:41Z")
IMHO, Vanilla Coke doesn’t taste like cream soday, but Diet Vanilla Coke _does_ taste like diet cream soda. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-diet-vanilla-coke-the-same-thing-more-or-less-as-diet-cream-soda/158519/9 "2003-03-02T16:35:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dr. Rieux \* > \*\*Cream soda contains no cola–just vanilla. \*\* Maybe. But cola has nothing to do with the taste of Coke – it’s just there for color. The flavor of cola is a combination of citrus, cinnamon, and vanilla (See Peter McWilliams “Ain’t Nobody’s Business if you do”). Cream soda would only have the vanilla flavor. Vanilla Coke has extra vanilla flavor, but still has the citrus and cinnamon, so it’ll taste different. ---
**Author:** ![slipster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@slipster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slipster)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-diet-vanilla-coke-the-same-thing-more-or-less-as-diet-cream-soda/158519/10 "2003-03-02T18:23:03Z")
\*\*Dr. Rieux \*\* and **RealityChuck** are on point. In the first Big Secrets book, William Poundstone states that Coca-Cola’s flavor is a “fantasia” (an industry term, meaning a flavor not occuring in nature), derived by combining cinnamon, vanilla extract and the oil from orange rinds. The principal difference between Pepsi and Coke appears to be that Pepsi uses lemon rinds instead. I dimly recall that vanilla cokes, cherry cokes, etc. were available at some soda fountains in the St. Louis area in the early 60’s; as previous posters state, they were mixed on-site. Cream soda has vanilla flavoring. It does not have cinnamon or citrus oil. With a little imagination, I guess you could say that Vanilla Coke tastes something like Coca-Cola which has been diluted with a little cream soda. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2003, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-diet-vanilla-coke-the-same-thing-more-or-less-as-diet-cream-soda/158519/11 "2003-03-02T21:09:44Z")
Also, colas have caffiene and cream sodas do not. Haj ---
**Author:** ![spinky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@spinky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spinky)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-diet-vanilla-coke-the-same-thing-more-or-less-as-diet-cream-soda/158519/12 "2003-03-02T21:23:01Z")
Pay attention! The question isn’t whether Vanilla Coke tastes like Cream Soda, it’s whether **Diet** Vanilla Coke tastes like Cream Soda. It seems quite plausible that Diet Vanilla Coke tastes substantially different from Vanilla Coke (hey, after all, Dr Pepper doesn’t taste like crap, but that’s exactly what Diet Dr Pepper tastes like). I’ve never tried Diet Vanilla Coke. Now I’ll have to make a point to. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2003, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-diet-vanilla-coke-the-same-thing-more-or-less-as-diet-cream-soda/158519/13 "2003-03-02T21:46:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hajario \* > \*\*Also, colas have caffiene and cream sodas do not. > > Haj \*\* A&W Cream Soda has caffeine.