# Is McDonalds Coca-Cola formulated/mixed differently than at other restaurants? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 22, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-coca-cola-formulated-mixed-differently-than-at-other-restaurants/533298 "2010-03-22T03:08:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jamess26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8c91f0/32.png) [@jamess26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jamess26)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-coca-cola-formulated-mixed-differently-than-at-other-restaurants/533298/21 "2010-04-06T04:48:40Z")
> [@10913](#): > > Is McDonalds Coke “better” than the Coke served at other restaurants? I’ve heard this claim from several friends, in two variations: either McDonalds has somehow struck a special deal with Coca-Cola allowing them to serve inherently “better” Coke, or McDonalds sets their postmix soda fountains to use a higher concentration of the otherwise identical Coke syrup when they mix it, resulting in a yummier beverage. However, I find it perfectly impossible to believe that a massively marketing-savvy company like Coca-Cola would allow its product consistency to be discarded so blithely. > > I’ve searched the Intertubes for something approaching a reliable response, but all I’ve found out is that the question seems to be pretty commonly asked. Two of the more plausible theories I’ve read are that McDonalds is the only chain that has struck a deal with Coke to be able to serve Coke on draft (like beer from kegs), so it’s not mixed from syrup at all; or that McDonalds is the only chain that chills the Coke syrup itself, which intensifies the taste. > > Does anyone have anything resembling hard info on this? hello, you are right that there is difference between the McDonald and other regular coke. but have you ever noticed that McDonald put so many cubes of ice in it and make it extra ordinary chilled. it may be due to it. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-coca-cola-formulated-mixed-differently-than-at-other-restaurants/533298/22 "2010-04-06T13:23:25Z")
> [@jamess26](#): > > hello, > you are right that there is difference between the McDonald and other regular coke. but have you ever noticed that McDonald put so many cubes of ice in it and make it extra ordinary chilled. it may be due to it. Most restaurants use a lot of ice, so I doubt that it the reason. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-coca-cola-formulated-mixed-differently-than-at-other-restaurants/533298/23 "2010-04-06T13:44:48Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > I work for McDonald’s operations. While we’re at it, why is the sweetened iced tea so good? It tastes unique to me compared to other brands of iced tea. Stronger, I think. Any thoughts on how or why that is? ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-coca-cola-formulated-mixed-differently-than-at-other-restaurants/533298/24 "2010-04-06T14:48:48Z")
I agree McD’s coke tastes better for some reason but the biggest thing I’ve noticed at McD’s is that their Heinz Ketchup from the nozzle dispenser tastes SO F’ING GOOD!!! It never tastes the same when I take McD’s home and use my bottle of Heinz in the fridge. MeanJoe ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-coca-cola-formulated-mixed-differently-than-at-other-restaurants/533298/25 "2010-04-06T14:55:09Z")
> [@MeanJoe](#): > > I agree McD’s coke tastes better for some reason but the biggest thing I’ve noticed at McD’s is that their Heinz Ketchup from the nozzle dispenser tastes SO F’ING GOOD!!! It never tastes the same when I take McD’s home and use my bottle of Heinz in the fridge. > > MeanJoe could be freshness, when you buy a bottle at the store it likely is already older than that from the dispenser. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-coca-cola-formulated-mixed-differently-than-at-other-restaurants/533298/26 "2010-04-06T16:16:17Z")
My wife managed a McD’s for a few years. A decent distance from the big city, the drink calibration was hit-and-miss; I recall her mentioning it being done by the Coke sale people once a year… Coke came in the same 5-gal plastic-bag-in a cardboard-box as all the other drinks and same as to all the other restaurants. The biggest hassle was getting the staff to actually change the bag when it ran low, or change the CO2 when it ran low. The manager had to stay on top of this, because the staff often did not care or notice. CO2 is injected into the water on the fly to create the soda. Sadly, often the changes were done when the customer complained. Yeah, we go into McD’s nowadays and all she notices is how poorly they are run and maintained. We still joke about the milkshake machine that had a big cowpat of chocolate milk underneath, the carton of liquid egg on the shelf above the grill 4 hours after breakfast was over for the day; it’s fun trying to find a clean table, the garbage cans are overflowing, the lack of hairnets… And these are company stores, not franchises. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-coca-cola-formulated-mixed-differently-than-at-other-restaurants/533298/27 "2010-04-06T17:04:05Z")
The difference in water quality and taste across the country is quite wide, and it seems that the water they use would be a much more significant factor in the variation in the taste of Coke. However, if you drink Cokes from your local McD’s, you are used to the water that is used in your community, so it might be difficult to disentangle those variables. And it would also seem that given the wide discrepancy of water tastes around the country, that the taste of Coke, itself, should vary. That said, I’m sure many posters would assert that _no matter where they buy their McD’s Cokes_, they are simply wonderful. That leads me to think that the addition of carbonation and the mixing with syrup must tend to disguise and camouflage any differences in the taste of the water used - clearly the predominant component. All of which is to say that the question of the taste of McDonald’s Coke is likely to be influenced as much by the observer as by the observed. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-coca-cola-formulated-mixed-differently-than-at-other-restaurants/533298/28 "2010-04-06T19:18:15Z")
The water may be the predominant component, but it’s not really the water that varies, just the trace impurities in it. And the syrup is a much more significant component than the _impurities_ in the water. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-coca-cola-formulated-mixed-differently-than-at-other-restaurants/533298/29 "2010-04-06T20:34:53Z")
I love McDonald’s Coke, as long as it’s in a plastic cup. I always think I can taste the paper otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-coca-cola-formulated-mixed-differently-than-at-other-restaurants/533298/30 "2010-04-06T20:37:17Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > could be freshness, when you buy a bottle at the store it likely is already older than that from the dispenser. Or take the ketchup out of the fridge. I like mine room temp, a pet peeve of mine - cold ketchup. All the foods I use it on are hot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mcdonalds-coca-cola-formulated-mixed-differently-than-at-other-restaurants/533298.md?page=1)