Coca Cola - Old New Classic

[Daehawk]

Ok the three Cokes. I left out Coke II as its simply renamed New Coke.

I know the 'natural flavors' part of the ingredients are a secret but does anyone really know the differences in all these Coca Colas? Is Classic simply old Coke but with corn syrup instead of sugar? Whats the real difference in these three? Flavor wise all I can recall of New Coke was it was sweeter. I dont drink Pepsi because its sweeter and flat as water nearly. We drink Coca Cola and always have.

Coca Cola original
Coca Cola Classic
New Coke

Whats the big difference?

Also I must admit to preferring Mexican Coke with sugar.

[Sudy]

I wasn't drinking Coke when New Coke was around. (My mom didn't want me having caffeine as a child, so I never developed a taste for cola as a kid and this followed me into early adulthood. While I remember drinking Classic all the time at a friend's house as a teen, it was only because he didn't have any sodas I liked better.)

But the interesting thing your post made me think about is, I don't think I like cane sugar formulas! Since A&W switched their root beer to real sugar, I don't care for it. I guess I'm so used to high fructose corn syrup that anything different tastes "off", in the same way that a sugar substitute does.

Making a concerted effort to cut back on pop/HFCS this past year, but I still tend to drink Barq's or Mountain Dew whenever we get fast food. Those are two mainstream sodas I never get tired of. The rest I haven't missed.

[gilraen]

Pretty sure Classic and Original Coke are the same thing. It was only labeled "Classic" to differentiate it from the marketing disaster that was New Coke.

Coke with cane sugar ("Mexican Coke") doesn't get named anything different, it just usually comes in those glass bottles and are marked as "hecho in Mexico".

I don't care for Coke, so I never buy it, but I do like buying Mexican Fanta (the same shape glass bottles and also made in Mexico, so it's made with sugar, not HCFS).

[Daehawk]

Mountain Dew Throwback is amazing. Its the same as it was in the early 70s. Its the one I can tell tastes the most different....and better.

[gilraen]

Mountain Dew Throwback is amazing. Its the same as it was in the early 70s. Its the one I can tell tastes the most different....and better.

Yeah, that's the one I usually buy.

[Rumpy]

Yeah, the thing about New Coke is they had gone and changed the formula. I remember there was a huge marketing campaign behind it, and I remember they were distributing cans to neighbourhoods as samples. What they hadn't expected was all the backlash, and people wanted their the classic formula back. Then Coke Classic started appearing as a result. I don't even think New Coke is available locally anymore. All I ever see is Coke Classic. But it definitely was sweeter, a result of using artificial sweetener, I think. The whole thing became one of the biggest marketing mistakes of all time.

[Isgrimnur]

Wiki

New Coke was the unofficial name for the reformulation of Coca-Cola introduced in April 1985 by the Coca-Cola Company to replace the original formula of its flagship soft drink Coca-Cola (also called Coke). In 1992, it was named Coke II.
...
Coke II was discontinued in July 2002. It remains influential as a cautionary tale against tampering with a well-established and successful brand.

[YellowKing]

Remember way back in the 80s when they had the Pepsi Challenge?

They had it set up at our mall and the lady seemed perturbed because I picked Coke every time. Even in elementary school I didn't drink that swill.

Even though I'm only a couple of hours away from the birthplace of Pepsi, I consider it the inferior product. Any fool can add more sugar to their drink and get people to think it's better. Plus they only exist because Coke failed to sue them out of existence like they did many, many other knock-offs.

#NeverPepsi

[Isgrimnur]

In his book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (2005), Malcolm Gladwell relates his conversations with market researchers in the food industry who put most of the blame for the failure of New Coke on the flawed nature of taste tests. They claim most are subject to systematic biases. Tests such as the Pepsi Challenge were "sip tests", meaning that drinkers were given small samples (less than a can or bottle's worth) to try. Gladwell contends that what people say they like in these tests may not reflect what they actually buy to drink at home over several days. Carol Dollard, who once worked in product development for Pepsi, told Gladwell: "I've seen many times where the sip test will give you one result and the home-use test will give you the exact opposite."[31]:159 For example, although many consumers react positively to the sweeter taste of Pepsi in small volumes, it may become unattractively sweet when drunk in quantity. Coke, on the other hand, may be more attractive for drinking in volume, because it is less sweet. A more comprehensive testing regimen could possibly have revealed this, Gladwell's sources believe.

[Pyperkub]

[Daehawk]

Actually have one of these.

[gameoverman]

I prefer Pepsi and always have. I don't understand how people can say it's sweeter than Coke or tastes sweeter. The reason I don't like Coke is it's too sweet for me. It has that kind of molasses type of sweet flavor I think is too much. Pepsi tastes clean in comparison. I don't drink much soda anymore though, once a week if that.

I associate 7 Up with being sick, since that's what my mom would give me when I was a kid and got sick. "Here, this will settle your stomach" and I'd get a bit of 7 Up.

I like root beers, and will pick a root beer over Pepsi once in a while. I never liked drinks like Sprite/Mountain Dew/etc. They were all 7 Up wannabes to me.

[Kraken]

I associate 7 Up with being sick, since that's what my mom would give me when I was a kid and got sick. "Here, this will settle your stomach" and I'd get a bit of 7 Up.

Because carbonated acid water is just the thing.

My mom used to give me Coke syrup. IDK if it did any good, but it tasted great -- skip the fizzy water and mainline that shit. Folklore says it works, and I see that it's still sold as a stomach remedy, so either there's something to it or lots of people think there is.

Can't remember the last time I drank a cola. Probably a "free" one as part of a fast-food value meal, maybe 5-6 years ago.

[Freyland]

There was a story on Cracked.com in 2016 that suggested that "New Coke" was simply a diversionary tactic to let the company switch from sugar to high fructose corn syrup, because the latter was cheaper.

See, Coca Cola knew that HFCS didn't really taste the same, but they needed a way to introduce it without the public noticing. So instead of switching to a slightly new recipe overnight and risk their fans calling for blood, they switched to a radically different recipe for three months -- just enough time for everyone to forget what real Coke tasted like. So when they went back to Coke Classic, except with corn syrup instead of the real thing, everyone had gotten the outrage out of their systems and were happy to return to the status quo, even if the status wasn't quite as quo as they thought.

[Isgrimnur]

[ImLawBoy]

There was a story on Cracked.com in 2016 that suggested that "New Coke" was simply a diversionary tactic to let the company switch from sugar to high fructose corn syrup, because the latter was cheaper.

See, Coca Cola knew that HFCS didn't really taste the same, but they needed a way to introduce it without the public noticing. So instead of switching to a slightly new recipe overnight and risk their fans calling for blood, they switched to a radically different recipe for three months -- just enough time for everyone to forget what real Coke tasted like. So when they went back to Coke Classic, except with corn syrup instead of the real thing, everyone had gotten the outrage out of their systems and were happy to return to the status quo, even if the status wasn't quite as quo as they thought.

That's one of my favorite absurd conspiracy theories. It really makes no sense to go through all of that, but folks love a conspiracy.

I prefer Pepsi and always have. I don't understand how people can say it's sweeter than Coke or tastes sweeter. The reason I don't like Coke is it's too sweet for me. It has that kind of molasses type of sweet flavor I think is too much. Pepsi tastes clean in comparison.

See, it's pretty obvious your tastebuds are broken.

I don't drink much soda anymore though, once a week if that.

I gave it up altogether a few years ago, but I am still vehemently pro-Coke for some reason.

[Daehawk]

I associate 7 Up with being sick, since that's what my mom would give me when I was a kid and got sick. "Here, this will settle your stomach" and I'd get a bit of 7 Up.

Because carbonated acid water is just the thing.

My mom used to give me Coke syrup. IDK if it did any good, but it tasted great -- skip the fizzy water and mainline that shit. Folklore says it works, and I see that it's still sold as a stomach remedy, so either there's something to it or lots of people think there is.

Can't remember the last time I drank a cola. Probably a "free" one as part of a fast-food value meal, maybe 5-6 years ago.

Both me and the wife as kids and now were given and use both Sprite / 7UP and cola syrup. Both are great for sick stomachs. I prefer Sprite but 7 UP is just about the same. Cola syrup even I dont know how it works but it does. You drizzle 1 teaspoon of it over a cup of crushed ice and then sip/nibble on it.

[naednek]

ya pepsi isn't definetely not sweeter than coke. I like both, both taste different. Coke is alot sweeter.

[YellowKing]

Pepsi has more sugar, albeit not by much. Around 2 grams more per can than Coke. My problem with Pepsi is less about the sugar and more about the carbonation (or lack thereof). It may all be in my mind, but Pepsi always tastes slightly flat.

As much as I joke about the #NeverPepsi thing, I don't really drink a lot of sodas anymore so it's kind of a moot point. For my carbonation fix I stick to La Croix waters and stuff like that.

[Isgrimnur]

We received a Soda Stream a couple years back, and it proved to me that it wasn’t carbonation that was a thing for me. Now I just stick to Gold Peak diet tea and the Kool Aid squeeze bottles. Of course, I’m pickling myself with artificial sweeteners, but better than sugar, I guess.

[Pyperkub]

I've got a friend who doesn't do coffee, but can't live without his 80/20 every day. It has to be from a fountain (7-11 preferred), 80% Diet Coke, 20% Coke.

[gbasden]

As much as I joke about the #NeverPepsi thing, I don't really drink a lot of sodas anymore so it's kind of a moot point. For my carbonation fix I stick to La Croix waters and stuff like that.

You're a better man than I am. La Croix tastes like complete ass to me.

[Blackhawk]

Coke, please! For me it is just taste. Pepsi's aftertaste has always been slightly chemical-tasting to me, while Coke's isn't. Of course, it's important to remember that peoples' taste buds differ. Two people can experience different things with the same drink.

In any case, I don't really drink soft drinks anymore at all. I haven't in years. I mostly drink water. Lately, though, I've gotten hooked on Bubly. It's put out by Pepsi. It's carbonated water with just a little bit of flavor. No sugar, no sweeteners, just water and slight flavor.

[Daehawk]

Pepsi is less about the sugar and more about the carbonation (or lack thereof)

DING! DING We have a winner! Me and my wife have always said that Pepsi is just dang flat. I dont think Ive heard anyone else say this though until now.

Coke is not near what it was even in the early 70s. Back then 2 sips and your eyes were watering the fizz was so strong. But its still strong enough.

We actually ran into a bad carbonated batch of Coke not long ago. I think it was like 8 12 packs. I wrote them and told them they should check the plant that bottled them at the least. They sent me paper coupons in the mail for 8 or 12 new 12 packs. Was nice of them. I know its nothing to them but it meant a lot to us. In fact I emailed them just this week thanking them for that gesture.

[em2nought]

Great, now I'm thirsty for a Mexican Coke. Kraft was using sugar in their BBQ sauce too, but they switched back to the high fructose junk again. Rat bastards. When coke is $1 per 2L I'll buy some, when they put it up to $1.60 per 2L I won't. I don't know what their deal is with pricing, it's almost like it's seasonal. I guess you can't pick as many cokes off the tree in the winter or something? Oh, and all their new silver cans are just plain confusing. I just want my red can thanks. I guess you're free to try dumb stuff when you've got your market "hooked" on your product. lol

[Rumpy]

There was a story on Cracked.com in 2016 that suggested that "New Coke" was simply a diversionary tactic to let the company switch from sugar to high fructose corn syrup, because the latter was cheaper.

Which is very likely true. I've heard something to that effect as well. Basically, the price of sugar was rising and they wanted to reformulate the recipe for high fructose corn syrup. Along comes a big marketing campaign announcing New Coke. (because new is better, right?? right?) I think it was the first marketing campaign I noticed along the lines of "new and improved". It was quite a bold initiative, but one that backfired heavily, because people did notice how different it was and wanted the original Coke back. In Marketing, it's been used as a case study of marketing campaigns gone wrong.

[TheMix]

No votes for Nuka?

[Isgrimnur]

Snopes

In 1980, five years before the introduction of New Coke, Coca-Cola had begun to allow bottlers to replace half the cane sugar in Coca-Cola with HFCS. By six months prior to New Coke’s knocking the original Coca-Cola off the shelves, American Coca-Cola bottlers were allowed to use 100% HFCS. Whether they knew it or not, many consumers were already drinking Coke that was 100% sweetened by HFCS.

[YellowKing]

You're a better man than I am. La Croix tastes like complete ass to me.

It's definitely an acquired taste, because there's no sweetener whatsoever. However, I know quite a few people who have successfully weaned themselves off of sodas with them.

[Daehawk]

I don't know what their deal is with pricing, it's almost like it's seasonal.

I check online circulars each week. Someone always has Coke on sale. Always. This week its Dollar General where 3 12 packs are $8 and I get an extra $1 off coupon digitally. Most times I can find Coke at 3 12 packs for $10 deal. They or Food City has the 6 pack of bottles (plastic) for 5 / $10. So 35 Cokes for $10 isn't bad. Food City on this Friday will have 24 packs for 2 /$10 . Not bad $10 for 48 Cokes.

[Rumpy]

You're a better man than I am. La Croix tastes like complete ass to me.

It's definitely an acquired taste, because there's no sweetener whatsoever. However, I know quite a few people who have successfully weaned themselves off of sodas with them.

Including me. The trick is finding something you like and sticking with it. Not all sparkling waters are created equal. Because of the taste, I find myself not needing sweeteners whatsoever. Well, actually I use the Nestle Purelife Sparkling water (Raspberry Lime) as Lacroix isn't available here, but I do like getting it when I'm in the U.S.

[Daehawk]

If its not a Coke I dont care for anything sparkling. Just dont like fizzy non sodas.

[McNutt]

I gave it up altogether a few years ago, but I am still vehemently pro-Coke for some reason.

I haven't had a Coke in almost a decade, yet I'm the same way.

[LordMortis]

Just chiming in to concur that Coke was all about Carbonation before the hubub. That kick went away during the formula changes and never came back. Additionally it seems that plastic bottles somehow exacerbated this problem... Or we can just add that perception to my long list of hallucinations. Which is backed by the fact that I'm not exactly positive that Mexican Coke, using Cane Sugar, in glass bottle is noticeably better than pouring a glass from a current freshly opened two liter. It still doesn't have the kick.

But it matters not though, I've found that pop is such a rare passion to partake in, that I just get me some Rock & Rye instead pretty much every time I break down and get pop. Unless I truly have wild hair up my ass and want a fresh root beer or a Vernor's. When that craving hits there is no substitute.

I check online circulars each week. Someone always has Coke on sale. Always. This week its Dollar General where 3 12 packs are $8 and I get an extra $1 off coupon digitally. Most times I can find Coke at 3 12 packs for $10 deal. They or Food City has the 6 pack of bottles (plastic) for 5 / $10. So 35 Cokes for $10 isn't bad. Food City on this Friday will have 24 packs for 2 /$10 . Not bad $10 for 48 Cokes.

Meijer reliably put 2 Liters of Coke (and Pepsi for that matter) on sale for $.91 at the beginning of the month.

[Daehawk]

Cant do 2 liters. They go flat after the first pour. Also I agree with the glass bottles. So much better. But a 6 pack of glass in 8oz is $5 so thats out except for rare occasions.

[Isgrimnur]

I'm relatively anti-cola. It was Dr. Pepper or Mountain Dew for years, but the doc's concern put the kibosh on that. I'll use diet soda for mixers, and when we go to the movies, the wife will get a Cherry Coke that I will share some of when I'm tired of my bottle of water.

[LordMortis]

Cant do 2 liters. They go flat after the first pour. Also I agree with the glass bottles. So much better. But a 6 pack of glass in 8oz is $5 so thats out except for rare occasions.

For $.91 a bottle, I didn't care. Of course, at my worst, it was not uncommon to drink 3 20 oz bottles of Coke a day while at work and then more with dinner. If I was outside working, The first pour might very well be the Two Liter. This sort of consumption is why I decided not keep pop in the house. Enforced portion control can work for me but not when it comes to beverage. My typical consumption now is probably 40 oz of coffee in a work day and 4-6 14 oz bottles of water a night. (another habit I need to get out of. I never drank bottled water until I moved in with someone and now, nearly 25 years later, I'm still not drinking water off the tap or through a filter. Stupid)

[YellowKing]

McDonald's Coke from the tap is still the best outside glass bottles. I've heard all kinds of theories as to why that is, from the syrup concentrations they use to the wider size of their straws.

[LordMortis]

McDonald's Coke from the tap is still the best outside glass bottles. I've heard all kinds of theories as to why that is, from the syrup concentrations they use to the wider size of their straws.

Because it still dispenses from steel containers instead of plastic bags? GatosPlasticRuinedCoke

[hitbyambulance]

i like to not dissolve my tooth enamel