Coke vs. Pepsi Challenge

[sudsmaster]

Well, yesterday I broke down and got a 24 pack of Mexican coke in bottles from Costco. After a few sat in the fridge overnight. I poured a partial glass each of Mexican coke and Pepsi Throwback. As you may recall, both of these beverages are sweetened with natural sugar - sucrose - instead of the cheaper and more common high fructose corn syrup.

My initial evaluation:

Coke: smoother, heavier taste, somewhat sweeter. A bit of a lingering medicinal but not unpleasant aftertaste.

Pepsi: lighter, more acid, with citrus overnote and a aweet aftertaste.

Conclusion: both are pretty good, and I prefer them to the HFCS and Diet versions. I regard both as empty calories useful as a dessert substitute, or a quick energy boost.

 

[yogitunes]

I actually like the Pepsi throwback alot better than the regular...

haven't tried the coke one yet...but i'm not much of a coke drinker...but will try for the hell of it

 

[yogitunes]

I remember taking the "Pepsi Challenge"...

I chose JIF!

lol..must have been a blonde moment

I need to go study for my "PAP" test...

 

[sudsmaster]

I'm actually one of those who liked the "New Coke"... thought it was an improvement over the older stuff...

The wags say that colas are all basically the same stuff: sugar, phosphoric acid, vanilla, cinnamon, caramel coloring. Can't say I can distinguish the vanilla and cinnamon flavors, but I suppose if I made up my own batch I'd be able to tell as I played with the recipe.

Not that I will. I'm a little embarrassed to have this much soda pop in the house at one time ;-).

 

[xraytech]

I have tried the Pepsi throwback once because I was in the K-Mart and there was no coke in the little coolers by the check stands
-I thought it was an improvement over the regular pepsi
-not as good as coke or the coke made with sugar
-I still prefer coke over pepsi
I do not like the taste of pepsi and won't ever buy it and when I go out to dinner will drink water if they serve pepsi products
-Even though it is not part of the question here I find that Royal Crown cola is the best of all of the colas

 

[strongenough78]

Definatey Pepsi

 

[strongenough78]

Definatey Pepsi

 

[davek]

Mixer

I tried Pepsi Throwback and I did like it. However, I've found that only Coke lets whiskey or rum mixed drinks taste right. Drinking plain, I prefer Dr Pepper or Barq's, but only Coke will do mixing with cheap bourbon.

 

[kenmoreforever]

Just a footnote here:My wife adores those little Flv-o-ice type freezer pops that come in the plastic baggie type thingie. but anyways, lately at my local Sav-A-Lot store, they have begun carrying alot of Mexican food products. Skeptical at 1st, I began to buy the freeze your own feezer pops and to my pleasnat surprise they have a really strong cane sugar taste to them.also i buy Ecudorian stuff too. They taste much better than the hig fructose mess around here.They also carry a Mexican made soda pop in real glass bottles. I will try they next.Real sugar there too I assume.

 

[mayguy]

I prefer the Coke. I brought the Pepsi Throwback, and either was I or my partner was impressed with it.. It to me tasted the same as the regular Pepsi.

Last night we were at a friend's, and they had the Mtn Dew Throw back. That did have a better taste.

I'll stay with my Coke in the glass bottle. Also if we go out to eat, I won't drink Pepsi. I'll either order Dr. Pepper, Root Beer, or just water.

 

[countryford]

my two cents

I've always liked Pepsi over Coke. I have not tried the Pepsi throwback so can't say anything about that as of yet. but I have to agree with xraytech in that I think RC Cola is the best cola out there. One of my favorite resteraunts actually has RC Cola. Dont see that much.

 

[panthera]

I don't like Pepsi,

but ever since they stood up to the christianists, I buy their products. Over here, sadly, they're all HFCS and, yes, you can taste the difference.

Still, it's a matter of principle.

 

[rp2813]

I agree that RC Cola is better than either Coke or Pepsi. I remember back in the late 60's RC came out with "Cola with a twist" of lemon. Couldn't get enough of that. It reminded me of the lemon cokes we used to get at the old Park Avenue Fountain here in the 'hood.

Shasta cola is also good. I think it's a regional brand. All of Safeway's old "Cragmont" brand was produced by Shasta, but I don't think Safeway's stuff comes from them anymore.

A really long time ago we had "Double Cola" around here. One of the bottling facilities was not far from home in a small corrogated hut of a building. I remember really liking that stuff as a kid, but don't know if I'd feel the same way about it now.

Ralph

 

[bugsyjones]

Soda in glass....

Soda consumed in glass bottles is, to me more enjoyable than plastic or a can.

I buy alot of soda in glass: RC, Masons Root beer, Nesbitts Orange and Strawberry, NuGrape, Dublin Dr. Pepper, Bubble Up, etc.

Soda bottled in glass will keep it's fizz for at least 2 days, without a lid in the refrigerator.

I tried some of the new "all natural" formula 7up and didn't care for it.

I'm not a diet soda drinker really, but I wanted to try TAB. In comparison to Diet Coke, TAB has a more pleasing taste. To me, Diet Coke can taste over-sweetened. TAB tastes more like a regular cola. Really the only indicator of sweetner is the typical 'diet cola aftertaste' that you get from the saccharin.

~Tim

 

[frigilux]

I'm a lifelong Coke person, although last summer I gave Pepsi a shot and enjoyed the cleaner, less complex taste. I drank Pepsi for most of the summer, and when I finally had a Coke again, I was amazed at how many flavors I could pick out----cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, pepper, vanilla, citrus---that I hadn't noticed were so prominent. My taste buds had apparently become jaded to them over the years.

I tend to drink both Coke and Pepsi, now. I'd love to find Pepsi Throwback, but haven't seen it anywhere around here. My favorite soda experience will always be Coke from a bottle (particularly Mexican Coke, made with sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup) poured over a huge glass of crushed ice, with a slice of lemon and a straw. Ahhhhhhh...

 

[laundromat]

Pepsi Cola hits the spot-twelve full ounces that's a lot

i took the Pepsi Challange way back in 1980 and was selected to have it aired on a nationwide comercial.Pepsico sent me $250 and said that if I joined their club concisting of myself and others who took the chalange,my chalange,if chosen would pay me royalties of up to $1500/month depending on who chose them as their sponser.I joined their club for $100 and my chalange was aired on national tv for 2 years straight.I got a check from Pepsico every 2 weeks and was working at Harbor Place,a local shopping mall downtown and selling "Smurf" crap.I eventuly got a job at johns Hopkins where I worked for 12 years.I have always prefered Pepsi over Coke.Better taste and less soda.

 

[sudsmaster]

Cloves

Cloves are the "medicinal" note I'm detecting in Coke, but no so much in Pepsi.

Thanks!

 

[spankomatic]

I like the Pepsi throwback. I have not tried the Coke version but will. I was a Dr. Pepper addict for years. It was easier to quit smoking then to stop drinking the stuff. I have a soda maybe once a month now. The sugar seems less addictive than the HFCS versions....

Jim

 

[rp2813]

I Like Tab

Just for the crazy looks and comments it can elicit from observers. I wish it wasn't in a pink can, though. And the taste is very retro diet. Only place I see it around here anymore is at Nob Hill supermarkets. I remember first seeing Tab in the early 60's. It was being consumed by a hot housewife/mom in the 'hood who smoked Salems and wore a lot of aqua colored clothes. That same home is where I first saw a 3-sided bottle of "Sucaryl" liquid artificial sweetener with the weird anteater dispenser cap, and my first box of Grape Nuts. She had already popped out several kids so maintaining her shape was a constant thing.

Ralph

 

[rayjay]

Coke puts a smile on my face. lol

Only drink Pepsi if there is nothing else. Or Sprite, Root Beer, etc.

Guess you can say I like soda,......but Coca Cola is my favorite. Grew up on it. Always had in the house. Of course we had to have our milk for lunch and dinner.

 

[whirlcool]

Last weekend I tried Coke Zero for the first time. I almost gagged. It has a very heavy cyclamate type taste that leaves a synthetic sweetener taste in your mouth for hours to come. I threw the bottle away after only three sips.

I, for one have never been able to stomach the taste of artificial sweeteners save for Equal. And I don't even use that one anymore. So I have never really been into the diet drink scene. I'll save my calories by eliminating gravies, starchy type foods and fried foods. Just about everything we eat is either broiled or baked or zapped. And of course the is the good old stand by, eat with moderation.

 

[rp2813]

I'm with Allen. If I'm eating out, I order a non-diet soft drink or a beer. Wine is way too much of a rip-off. Once in a while at home I'll take a swig of my partner's diet Coke or whatever, and I will drink diet Canada Dry ginger ale on occassion because I drink ginger ale so infrequently I can't tell the difference. A few people I know who generally don't drink diet stuff will also tolerate diet A&W and I agree it's more drinkable than diet cola, but I'll cut out other things rather than drink only diet sodas. Better than any soda is a nice cold bottle of sparkling mineral water.

Ralph

 

[whirlcool]

And believe it or not, Ginger Ale is one of the most requested drinks for our onboard service. A lot of people say they don't often have the opportunity to drink Ginger Ale, so when they fly that's what they ask for. I think it also helps settle stomachs too.

Periodically, I'll buy a 6 pack of Scwepps Ginger Ale. Has anyone tried any of those "hot" or "Spicy" Ginger Ales that are popular around Virginia and the Carolinas? Now those ARE spicy!

And now that I am with Delta, good bye Pepsi. We now serve Coke products on board. After all, we both share the same corporate headquarters.

 

[maytagbear]

Oh, ginger ale!

Blenheim is just too hot for me, even in a float as a "Boston Cooler."

My favourite ginger ale is Vernor's. Either regular or diet. I do drink diet sodas, mostly because if it has no vitamins, minerals, or protein, why drink calories? I'm not consistent, because I will drink regular lemonade. And the hazelnut iced coffee from McDs, but I usually do drink diet.

Last time I was in Ontario, the Canada Dry brand ginger ale was far better than the version sold here in the lower 48.

I have a recipe for homemade ginger syrup (made with ginger root), and it's great (you add it to chilled sparkling water), but I don't always want to go to the (minimal) trouble of preparing it.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[rp2813]

It's weird I like ginger ale because I'm not into ginger that much and am a bit dismayed by the culinary love affair with it over the past decade or so. My sister loves the stuff and makes biscotti with it, gives them to us and I end up throwing them out. I do like pickled ginger with my sushi, though, and I love the smell of the ginger plant's flowers. I've never been to Hawaii but when our patch of ginger blooms, it transports me there.

Just yesterday found a deal on CD ginger ale at Safeway so bought some 12-packs of diet and one green tea flavored non-diet. I tried the green tea one today and it was interesting. Not overly sweet and a very mild overall taste. A good compromise between plain mineral water and super sweet regular soda pop. But I'd only buy it on sale.

Ralph

 

[butch-innj]

Throwing in my 2 cents here.........

I'm really not much of a soda drinker.
But, when I buy soda I usually get it in glass bottles because
I think it tastes better.
I do like the Pepsi Throwback though.
For me, and I'm sure its just a matter of personal taste but
what I really don't like about sodas is all the carbonation
in them.
I don't see the point of it and it just makes me belch.

Actually, I'm a coffee and iced tea freak.
Hot coffee, iced coffee....it don't matter to me.
I brew mine on top of the stove in the old pyrex percolator.
And I like Maxwell House Master Blend the best.
For my iced tea I like Lipton made the "sun tea" method.
Or sometimes I get ambitious and do it the "old fashioned way"
of boiling the water on the stove and steeping the tea bags in it...etc..etc

I dont know if everyone here can get it or not but my absolute
favorite soft drink is Stewarts Root Beer.

 

[sudsmaster]

Most ginger ale doesn't have a spec of real ginger flavoring in it. Or so I've read.

I used to sail on racing boats. Powdered ginger put into gel caps (big ones) was a very effective anti-nausea med - as long as you took it before you got on the boat. And it doesn't make you sleepy like Dramamine can.

I've heard you can grow ginger here in the bay area, but the little bit I planted one winter seems to have never suvived. I'll have to try again this summer in a warm wet spot in the yard.

I ran across a field of ginger flowers in Maui, on my way to the Hana garden spot. They were lovely.

I use ginger when I do stir fry, or make home-made kimchee. My last batch of kimchee has just about run out, so it's time to hit the asian market and stock up on napa cabbage, fresh ginger, daikon radish, green onions. Already got the fresh garlic, chili flakes, and fish powder. My kimchee goes great as relish with hot dogs!

 

[whirlcool]

Correction:

I meant to say that we share the same hometown as Coca Cola, not the same HQ building in ATL! My writing skills have gone to hell lately....

 

[rp2813]

Hey Rich, next time you're down my way I'll turn you on to a chunk out of the mound of ginger over here. It needs to be in the ground, not a container, and can probably handle full sun in your neck of the woods because it needs heat to bloom. A Hawaiian lady my mom used to work with smuggled this back from a visit there in the 60's. It has plain white flowers late summer into fall and they smell great.

Ralph