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.
I'm almost certain that any disease-causing bacteria would either not survive the process of carbonating the water, or would not survive the bottling and sealing process.
I actually bought one of those. Very good root bear on tap, but it got pretty flat toward the end. I saved the mini-keg. Now I use it as a gag when I say I'm gonna go get a can of root beer. ; )
Sounds like a big difference to me. If I lived there, I'd probably drink the Mexican Coke too if I had a choice.
Yep Texas still has the original Dr Pepper........don't forget to drink it at 10AM....2PM and 4PM per the wartime directives. A little 12 year old scotch added to the 4 O'Clock Dr Pepper makes happy hour happier !
There is no such thing as "world-market prices".
The truth is, ALL sugar producing nations subsidize production, resulting in a global excess that is beneficial to consumers.
The "world-market price" that globalists love to hype is actually the "dump price" of this excess production.
If you eliminate sugar subsidies, the excess supply disappears, AND SO DOES THE "CHEAP" world price that you reference!
The actual result: sugar prices skyrocket as supplies are more limited. And the transnational food traders screw the consumers like OPEC princes.
I'll take my chances, thanks. Let the American government remove all controls, let foreign governments choose to go on providing us cheap sugar if they wish, and let the chips fall where they may.
It's insanity to punish the entire American food and confectionery industry for the benefit of a few powerful sugar farmers.
-ccm
"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. "
http://united-states.asinah.net/american-encyclopedia/wikipedia/c/co/coca_cola_1.html
"In the United States, however, Coca-Cola is now sweetened with corn syrup, causing the flavor to be blunted. Coca-Cola with sugar is still available in Canada, Mexico [ Espaniol portal / Mexico Travel Guide ] , Europe, and in certain American markets during Passover."
It's not "a few powerful sugar farmers" who benefit.
Sugar farmers are at the mercy of the transnational food processors and traders, just like the consumers are. The subsidies merely keep too many farmers from going out of business, and assure consumers that there is a plentiful supply of sugar.
Transnational food processors, such as Coca-Cola and Pepsico are the real beneficiaries, reducing the supply so they can profitably jack up the price and screw consumers worldwide.
Hispanics in this country have one of the highest rates of Type 2 Diabetes in the world,much of it due to their Coke drinking and fatty food eating once they get here.
Interestingly enough,Mexicans in Mexico proper have one of the lowest rates of colon cancer in the world because of their high fiber diet.
We have a store here in Dallas that sells Mexican Coca-Cola, and yes, there is a difference.
Addendum: with dominant market share, economies of scale and brand name recognition, transnationals like Coca-Cola and Pepsico can afford to aborb and/or pass along these rising sugar prices to consumers. Their smaller competitors cannot endure rising commodity prices so readily. This is how monopolies and oligopolies exert and consolidate control over the market.
It's surprising that nobody on this thread has remembered that Vicente Fox is Coca-Cola's puppet in Mexico.
'Why is it that we refer to orange soda, grape soda, peach soda, strawberry soda, cherry soda, etc etc but we never use the term 'cola soda' - in sort of a generic sense to avoid any brand ID or favoritism?'
Remember asking for a 'soda pop'?
Check this out boys . . . Willie's new argument for tariffs: if tariffs are removed, the market-price will rise . . . .
Sugar crop subsidies, cretin, not tariffs.
Quit misrepresenting my statements.
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