I have both regular US Coca Cola as well as Mexican in the house and there’s no doubt that the taste is markedly different (in favor of the “Heche en Mexico”). I always thought it was because the Mexican coke still used cane suger rather than HFCS. But I’ve now read in more than one SD thread that “double blind taste tests show no difference in taste between cane sugar and HFCS”.
So I’m confused. What other differences are there between the Mexican and US Coke? I thought the Coca Cola company sent the bottling plant a syrup and the plant adds water and sweetener and that’s it?
Are you sure that’s what you read? HFCS is chemically different from cane sugar, and I’d be very surprised if it were impossible to tell the difference. Are you maybe thinking of tests comparing sugar from sugarcane with sugar from sugar beets? Those are identical aside from trace impurities.
I’ve definitely noticed differences between US soft drinks and European soft drinks. I always put it down Europe using sucrose, it seems to be the only differing ingredient. Know nothing about what Mexico uses though. Do you have a link to info on the blind taste tests?
It wouldn’t surprise me if it’s the water. I tried a taste test between Coke that was kosher for passover which uses cane sugar (with a special yellow cap) and coke in the normal red cap, and couldn’t taste any difference. I can’t be certain the the red cap Coke wasn’t made with cane sugar, though.
I know that with beer, the hardness of the local water affects its taste.
ETA: It’s also possible that there’s a taste difference only noticeable to some people.
There are lots of differences. Coke is bottled by different plants with different water sources, stored in different containers, and is carbonated to different levels. All of these could create taste differences.
The HCFS/Sugar difference in taste is probably undetectable. I have seen a taste study somewhere as well, and sucrose molecules break in mildly acidic environments.
Another question is if all mexican coke tastes the same and if it tastes different than all domestic coke. To me, it tastes different, but I only drink it from glass bottles. Passover/regular coke taste the same (and come from the same bottler and container type).
People are incredibly suggestible when it comes to expectations altering taste. I don’t care how much a given individual claims they can taste a difference; I am skeptical unless I see them do it in a double blind, because I’ve seen both first hand and in studies just how poor people are at this sort of taste testing.
I made a post last month about the difference in consistence between modern Moutain Dew and the Throwback version. The former seemed thicker than the latter and one poster responded it was because of the HFCS.
It’s definitely detectable. If you live in or near an area with a large Jewish population, you can test this for yourself this Passover season. Since most Jewish traditions disallows grain products to be consumed during Passover, Coca Cola makes Coke (other soft drink makers also follow suit during Passover) without HFCS and uses pure cane sugar. The plastic bottles have a yellow cap instead of the usual red one.
Here are a couple of short article about Passover Coke from last year (the second mentions the taste difference):
I could tell a very slight difference between canned Passover Coke (which comes from Chicago) and canned Cleveland Coke (the Coke bottling plant in Cleveland, Ohio still uses cane sugar), but it didn’t seem like one was better than the other.
Think the taste might have to do with the glass container? Maybe an El Paso-based doepr could go to a Gigante in Juarez, and find some Mexican coke in cans or plastic bottles to compare with the bottled Coke.
In the Buffalo area, there’s a belief that Canadian beer sold in Canada has more alcohol or tastes far superior to Canadian beer sold on the American side of the border. It’s the exact same beer on either side of the border, but people seem to believe that Molson and Labatt products are watered down for the US market.
It’s made in Mexico, with Spanish labeling and a paper sticker added with English text. The English sticker does state “sugar” as the ingredient, not HFCS. Yes, it is in a glass bottle which (IMO) improves taste over cans. The US Coke I refer to above is in aluminum cans so it’s not a 100% fair comparison as I prefer glass bottles.
Another difference I just noticed is that the US Coke has 140 calories/355 ml and the Mexican has 150 calories/355 ml. It doesn’t taste any sweeter though.
My family and I can definitely taste a difference in it. The flavorings have a much more distinct flavor. You can almost pick out the flavorings the way you can in some natural root beers.
Some can supposedly tell the difference, it’s slight, but not undetectable. There is also supposedly a slight difference in “mouth feel”. :dubious:
As ivn1188 sez, expectation makes a huge difference. We once fed a dude 2 liters of Pepsi in a Coke bottle as he had claimed he despised Pepsi and could tell the difference. He said nothing, until we told him he had drunk almost 2 liters of the hated Pepsi. Later he claimed he thought it tasted “off” but drank it anyway. :dubious:
I personally drank several sips of Diet Creme Soda (nasty) thinking it was Diet Grape (not great, but not nasty). I had grabbed the wrong can by mistake. Not until my second sip did I notice something horribly wrong.
However, glass bottles make a difference that nearly 60% iirc can taste. **I **can tell the difference there.
Molson used to taste better in Canada as it was usually fresher there, of course.:smack:
Bakers with baked goods can spend more money and buy cane sugar or use beet sugar and save money. Top bakers use cane sugar despite the higher price and say it makes a difference in taste and in the consistency of things like cake. This is despite the same chemical formula, the only possible difference could be the impurities.
And people taste things differently. Some people like me love the taste of cilantro. There are a substantial number of people for whom it has an unpleasant soapy taste. There are other genetic taste differences.
That’s true. But HFCS and disassociated sucrose are chemically identical. Beet and cane sugar are also 99.99% chemically identical too – and higher quality sugar is even more pure. Genetics can’t make you able to distinguish between two identical chemical substances.
