Why don't Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi taste like Coke or Pepsi?

[Ephemera]

@si_blakely

Those of us in the rest of the world can choose to drink Pepsi Max - another diet cola (but not the same formula as Pepsi One or Diet Pepsi, apparently).

My drink of choice is Coke Zero, followed by Vanilla Diet Coke (if it is available), then Pepsi Max, then Diet Coke. I no longer like full-fat Coke/Pepsi at all.

Si

Pepsi Max is available here as well. I drink it if Pepsis are on sale but otherwise prefer Coke Zero.

[Alan_Smithee]

@Pushkin

Wow, diet colas are a sub-culture all to themselves.

I tried one, once, in the 80s, never again.

For how long?

[jayjay]

@Alan Smithee

For how long?

I heard it was 10 minutes, but you have to factor in inflation, too…

[TroubleAgain]

I stopped drinking regular sodas, and the only diet ones I can stand are Coke Zero, Diet Dr. Pepper, and (occasionally, just for a change) Diet Mt. Dew. To me, they taste the most like “regular” sodas. Oh, and once in a while I can drink Diet Coke With Lime.

[chrissysissystar]

TaB, if I’m given a choice. There’s only one place in town that I’ve been able to consistently find it so I’ve been known to stockpile it in the back of my Tribute.

Diet Coke with Lime is quite tasty but the cherry and vanilla versions are way too strong. Diet Coke with Lemon always tastes like the can so no thanks to that.

I was a big Mountain Dew drinker in my late 20’s (to the point of messing up my sleep patterns). The taste of the diet version just grosses me out. It’s just not the same.

Diet Pepsi Max is slowly winning me over. I don’t buy it as a first choice but if it’s there and there are no Coke versions available, I don’t pout about it.

[TBG]

@MilTan

I’m pretty sure the key advance was the approval of acesulfame potassium (Ace-K) for human consumption. Both Coke’s and Pepsi’s newest diet products (Coke Zero and Pepsi One, respectively) use a combination of Ace-K and aspartame.

That’s what Coke Zero uses, and may be what Pepsi One originally used, but Pepsi One at some point switched to Splenda. I used to like Pepsi One a lot (and still do like Coke Zero) but the Splenda Pepsi One is just barely drinkable, IMO. Still better than Diet Pepsi or Diet Coke, though.

Interestingly, if they add some extra flavoring to Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi, like cherry, or lime, or vanilla, I usually like those variants. It’s just the base versions I don’t like.

Other diet pops, from 7-Up to Dr Pepper, I like those just fine, but I would never confuse them with the non-diet version.

[Pushkin]

I tried Coke-Zero today and found it strangely tolerable, I may switch. It doesn’t have the sickly taste of Diet Coke or any Pepsi derivative.

[jayjay]

@TBG

Interestingly, if they add some extra flavoring to Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi, like cherry, or lime, or vanilla, I usually like those variants. It’s just the base versions I don’t like.

Yeah, I actually just remembered yesterday that Diet Pepsi Jazz (the Cherry/Vanilla and Caramel Cream) flavors I can stand.

[gaffa]

I’m one of those people who are very sensitive to the aspartame aftertaste. To me it tastes like vinyl and drinking most diet sodas tastes like I’m licking it off a car seat. But Pepsi One with Splenda is the only diet soda that tastes good to me. It doesn’t taste exactly like regular Pepsi, but it’s close enough that I could drink one right after a regular Pepsi without having to totally re-calibrate my taste buds in the way most diet soda drinkers have to.