Posted on 11/05/2004 11:11:37 PM PST by woofie
Coca-Cola. It may be the real thing, but not all Coke is created equal.
In parts of Albuquerque's South Valley, where Spanish is a primary language and many residents are transplants from Mexico, Coke is the drink of choice. But not the stuff that comes from bottling plants in the United States.
Those consumers prefer Coke from Mexico, and they swear there is a marked difference between the two. Putting their money where their taste buds are, they gladly pay between $1.09 and $1.39 for a half-liter bottle of Coke imported from south of the border. For the same price, shoppers at the larger grocery chains can buy plastic 2-liter bottles of American Coke.
A spokesman for Atlanta, Ga.-based Coca-Cola Co., however, says there is no appreciable difference in taste because the Coke formula is the same from bottling plant to bottling plant and country to country.
Mexican Coke aficionados don't agree.
"It's just sweeter. It tastes better," says Jesus Castro, owner of El Harradero Carniceria on Isleta Boulevard. "Most of the people who come into this store, about 98 percent of them, are from Mexico, and this is what they like," he says, pointing to a cooler with half-liter bottles of Coca-Cola imported from Mexico.
Customers at El Harradero buy about five cases of Mexican Coke daily, each case containing 24 bottles.
One customer, Carla McBride, tried a Mexican Coke for the first time. "It's smoother," she says. "It's more like a drink from an old-fashioned soda fountain."
Over at Familia Mexicana Carniceria on Bridge Boulevard, owner Ron Baca says his customers tell him they prefer the Mexican Coke because "it reminds them of the old Cokes we used to buy when we were kids."
Mart Martin, spokesman for Coca-Cola in Atlanta, has heard the comparisons before but can't explain them easily.
"The only difference is that the sweetener used in Mexico is cane sugar, and the sweetener used in the U.S. is high-fructose corn syrup. Both sugars deliver the same sweetness, the same sweet taste. The formula, which has been a secret for more than 100 years, is the same."
High-fructose corn syrup, by the way, delivers more calories in the same amount of sweetness.
Baca says Mexican Coca-Cola outsells all other soft drinks combined about 10 to 1 at his store. He goes through about 10 cases a day.
"It just has a better flavor," says customer Lucila Saenz, who is from Ciudad Juárez. "American Coke just doesn't taste the same."
The Carniceria Chihuahua on West Central Avenue does not keep track of how much Mexican Coke it sells, but a cashier says the store orders eight to 10 cases for every two to three cases of American Coke. In fact, she says, Mexican Coke sells better than all other sodas combined.
Customer Andrea Marrufo's opinion is typical: "Mexican Coke is thicker and sweeter. I've bought all kinds of Coca-Cola, but the Mexican Coke just tastes better."
Taste is a very complex sense, says Martin, the Coke spokesman. Some of the taste differences in the two Cokes, whether imaginary or real, may be affected by such factors as the food consumed with the drink, the size of the glass, the amount of ice in the glass and the temperature of the beverage when it is served.
"We work very hard to deliver a consistent product, and around the world a Coke is a Coke is a Coke," Martin says.
He thinks the preference some have for Mexican Coke is more about nostalgia than anything else.
But he will never convince the Coca-Cola connoisseurs in the South Valley.
Makes all the difference in the world.
Im off to try it tommorrow
Well, that's a HUGE FREAKING DIFFERENCE. They made this switch about 20 years ago, and Coke hasn't tasted the same since. Why don't y'all buy a clue and sell a version of genuine Coke with real sugar instead of trying to convince us it tastes the same?
Oh yeah......I've seen their bottling plant. It has a zipper instead of a door doesn't it Slim ??
It is the same with Pepsi from Mexico or the Philippines...and the difference is bottling vs. canning/platic'ing[sic]. If they would switch back to GLASS (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) it taste better, and clutters less.
Pretty soon Mexican Coke and Pepsi will be just as bad...they are switching to plastic everywhere...so they can leave more trash in countries that already have difficulties with waste management.
The same is true with Dr. Pepper. They use the corn syrup in 99.9% of all Dr. Pepper's nationwide, however you can still get the original DP with cane sugar from the bottling plant in Waco, TX.
You can taste the difference.
Makes a difference with Rum as well...the cane that is.
Coke tastes so bad since they stopped using sugar. You could get it made from sugar at kosher food stores for awhile but no longer. Tastes awful now. I switched to water and loast five pounds in a couple of weeks.
I wish those girls would stop the sweets. They really are attractive slimmed down.
As a matter of fact, no, they don't.
There is a reason why Texans will drive several hundred miles to get "Dublin Dr Pepper". The Dublin, TX bottling plant is the only one that uses cane sugar, rather than HFCS. They still use the 6 1/2 oz glass bottles, with the location of the bottling plant stamped on the bottom, too.
Mexican coke does taste better. Its available here in south texas.
Yup, I remember the ice cold GLASS bottles of pop made with sugar when I was a little kid. There was nothing like an A&W or Hires rootbeer on a hot summers day.
To each their own. I like mine with some meat on their bones. Those poor anorexic things that come out of New York make me nervous. They look like they'd break in half if you gave 'em half a decent romp.
Right. Absolutely everyone says they can taste the difference. They really ought to bottle this stuff using sugar and sell it as such. Heck, they could even charge extra and sell it in specialty stores.
Just for kicks, they could also go back to the original formula that had cocaine.
Ah, fond memories indeed. My grandfather had a set of Coca-Cola glasses that had an etched line in them which indicated the amount of Coca-Cola syrup to pour before adding carbonated water. Now that was a good glass of ice-cold Coke.
You wouldn't like it. It was green.
Don't ask me how I know.
It's also in a glass bottle.
So THAT's where Mountain Dew comes from.
If you have any "Cost Plus" stores in your area, check 'em out and look for "Cane Cola." It's what Coca-Cola used to be in the States. I buy a couple of four-packs whenever I feel like living dangerously. (Diabetic here.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.