# Mormons and Coca-Cola **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 16, 2002, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292 "2002-07-16T20:52:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/41 "2002-07-21T01:03:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vanilla \* > \*\*hi jack: Am i the only one who can tell the difference between coca cola and pepsi? > vanilla, who drinks iced tea every day. \*\* continue hi jack: Is it worth trying vanilla coke? ---
**Author:** ![Squish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Squish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squish)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/42 "2002-07-21T07:09:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monty \* > \*\*Back in the day, the only common hot drinks were coffee and tea. \*\* Uh, sorry, but that’s not true. In fact, hot chocolate was _de rigeur_ for breakfast in Europe long before tea came in fashion. Hot milk has been taken before bedtime as a sleep aid for several hundred years, at least. Not to mention hot-rum-and-lemon. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/43 "2002-07-21T09:25:09Z")
Wasn’t aware we were talking about Europe. Thought we were talking about a specific group of folks in North America. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/44 "2002-07-21T15:29:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by grienspace \* > \*\* > > continue hi jack: Is it worth trying vanilla coke? \*\* Not unless you want to try something that tastes like floorwax smells. A true vanilla-Coke (coke with vanilla syrup, the kind you can put in coffee, for instance) is a thing of beauty. a Vanilla Coke[sup]tm[/sup] is a nasty, non-vanilla tasting chemically thing that leaves a horrible after-taste. I say, go buy a 6 pack of coke and get thee to a Starbucks where you can purchase a bottle of vanilla syrup and do it yourself. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Squish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8797f3/32.png) [@Squish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squish)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/45 "2002-07-21T17:10:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fenris \* > \*\*A true vanilla-Coke (coke with vanilla syrup, the kind you can put in coffee, for instance) is a thing of beauty. a Vanilla Coke[sup]tm[/sup] is a nasty, non-vanilla tasting chemically thing that leaves a horrible after-taste. \*\* I’m with you there, except I just dump a small capful of _real_ vanilla in a glass of Coke. That’s yummy; I’ve heard that the Vanilla Coke out now is gross. **Monty** , since you’re disinclined to believe that Americans in the 19th century inherited many of their foods and habits from their Europeans, yes, Americans also drank hot chocolate, hot milk, hot buttered rum, hot cider, and tisanes (today’s herbal teas). Tea and coffee weren’t the only hot beverages consumed in 19th century America. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/46 "2002-07-21T17:55:00Z")
Heck, what about…um…It was a hot wine punch with cinnamon and fruit? Glog? Glug? Big in 19th century America, 'specially around the holidays. It’s like Wassail, but that’s not the name of it. While we’re at it: Wassail. I read somewhere that (gag, retch) eggnog was served hot. Also there was a hot milk/honey/nutmeg drink that was popular. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/47 "2002-07-21T18:30:52Z")
In fact, if I’m not mistaken, hot chocolate was drunk during the Revolution, because it was “unpatriotic” to drink tea. Or is that another urban legend? ---
**Author:** ![funfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/96bed5/32.png) [@funfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funfan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/48 "2002-07-21T19:38:25Z")
where does breast milk stand in all of this? Is it a hot drink of cold drink? I didn’t notice anything the the D&C ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2002, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/49 "2002-07-21T20:09:49Z")
Yes, there were plenty of hot drinks around in the 19th century, but notice that a lot of them seem to have contained alcohol–already on the no-no list. IIRC, even cider was usually fermented, wasn’t it? Milky drinks may or may not have been considered OK. I have no idea. Anyhow, it doesn’t really matter. “Hot drinks” has since been specified to be tea and coffee, and that’s about all most LDS people care about. That’s what living prophets are for. Any member is free to take a personal interpretation further into the cocoa and cider realms, but that’s up to one’s own conscience. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/50 "2002-07-22T15:48:50Z")
Monty: “outside the body”? So, you can rub tobacco on your skin and its okay? 😉 Yes, I’ve tried “vanilla coke” and I couldn’t taste any vanilla! I like cherry coke, however. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2002, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/51 "2002-07-22T19:18:47Z")
_Originally posted by Fenris_: > [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally posted by grienspace > > continue hi jack: Is it worth trying vanilla coke? > > Not unless you want to try something that tastes like floorwax smells. [Homer Simpson] Mmmm… Floorwax… [/Homer Simpson] ---
**Author:** ![toaad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/58956e/32.png) [@toaad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toaad)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/52 "2002-08-29T10:54:59Z")
yall dont have anything else to talk about besides dumb ass stuff…get a life people. ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/53 "2002-08-29T11:26:54Z")
What about lukewarm beverages? Or iced tea? Or iced green tea? Or iced herbal tea? Or the lukewarm-to-hot water that comes out of my “cold” tap because the rooftank sits in 45-40 cengtigrade sun all day? Is a beverage more evil if it gets heated up from cold, or if it starts hot and cools? Is ice saintly? Do I get up an extra rung towards the pearly gates if I add lots of ice to my drinks? I say we get the angels and Joseph Smith back down here again and ask them… ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/54 "2002-08-29T12:00:45Z")
Is it true that there is some sort of (possibly)hot beverage containing ephedrine that is popular/permitted? (I heard something about this but I can’t remember what it was called). Since it’s tea and coffee, rather than specifically caffeinated drinks, I assume that decaf is not permitted? (probably a stupid question, sorry) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/55 "2002-08-29T12:04:43Z")
**Re: its to stupid to have a topic** > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by toaad \* > \*\*yall dont have anything else to talk about besides dumb ass stuff…get a life people. \*\* To stupid or not to stupid, that is the question… Actually, I think it’s quite an interesting topic and quite in keeping with the board ethic of fighting ignorance. Welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/56 "2002-08-29T14:14:29Z")
I’m with you, Mangetout. Different groups of people, even in the same geographical area, can and do have certain cultural differences. One of the cultural differences between LDS and non-LDS is in dietary habits. Since both coffee and tea are quite prevalent (sorry, no cite; I’m going by my observations of purt near every restaurant and every mess hall I’ve been in–they all have huge amounts of coffee and/or tea ready for consumption), those of us who, as a group, reject it may seem like we’re trying to fall uphill. Regarding ephedrine: If it’s a drug, any drug, that’s just added to something for the heck of it or to create a craving for the substance containing that drug, then the church’s teaching is pretty clear on it: it’s a no-go. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/57 "2002-08-29T14:20:10Z")
Mange, I remember back when I’d just converted back in 1981 and a couple from the local German ward in Mannheim (Germany, of course; there was the German ward and the military branch for us Servicemembers stationed there) invited me and my best friend to their place for dinner the day after Christmas. After we’d dined, we got to play with their Macaw (sp?) for a while and then we all sat down to play some board games. The wife brought out some French decaf coffee for us. Whilst we played the games we discussed if decaf was verboten or not. Turns out that the four of us (my friend, btw, isn’t LDS) came to the conclusion that certain things are to be decided by the individual. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/58 "2002-08-29T15:51:17Z")
Thanks for the info **Monty**. I found the thing I was thinking about; it’s the plant _[Ephedra](http://www.holistic-online.com/Herbal-Med/_Herbs/h53.htm)_, one of the common names of which is _Mormon Tea_; Apparently, Ephedrine is an alkaloid that acts in several ways upon the metabolism and nervous system (it is one of the active ingredients of some cold remedies, I believe. I wonder if the LDS reference in the common name is a throwback to a time when maybe the properties of the plant were not fully understood or maybe just a misnomer… ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/59 "2002-08-29T17:27:13Z")
Huh, Mangetout, interesting. Must say I never heard of such a thing; most people I know stick with hot chocolate. I wonder if it dates from the early part of the century, or something? ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2002, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292/60 "2002-08-29T23:56:41Z")
Monty- does the church say tea is a drug (or has a drug in it?) Do scientists concur? I myself am hooked on chocolate. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormons-and-coca-cola/119292.md?page=4)