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Taster’s Cherce

Last week I told Ted Berg that I really like Mexican Coke and he challenged me to take a taste test to see if I’m just being a sucker. I’m going to take the test (and I’ll let you know the results) but the good folks at Serious Eats have beaten me to it:

Those folks who prefer Mexican Coke (like myself), really just like the idea of Mexican Coke—whether it’s because they think real sugar is tastier/healthier than corn syrup, whether it’s because Mexican Coke is more expensive and harder to find, thus more valuable, whether it’s because of its exoticism, whatever the reason—strip away the Mexicanness of it, and suddenly it’s a lot less appealing.

Which is what Ted was getting at to start with.

11 comments

1 Diane Firstman   ~  Sep 13, 2011 1:15 pm
2 thelarmis   ~  Sep 13, 2011 1:16 pm

i went to the world of coke here in atlanta w/ my niece & nephews around the new year. they had a special holiday "gingerbread" coke in the tasting room. it was heavenly. would be a HUGE seller if they marketed it. not sure why they don't.

i don't even like coke, but i'd drink that. that said, i do drink barq's root beer and that's a coca-cola product...

3 thelarmis   ~  Sep 13, 2011 1:17 pm

[1] i was *just* thinkin' about you! it's been a minute. i'm off to teach in a few, but let's catch up soon... hope you're well!

4 Diane Firstman   ~  Sep 13, 2011 1:35 pm

[3]

Yeah, haven't been around here much, been focusing on getting my own blog some momentum. I'm doing pretty well.

5 kenboyer made me cry   ~  Sep 13, 2011 3:09 pm

Mexican Coke just tastes better. The glass bottle, the real sugar, the burn in the throat. It's just superior. If I'm being duped, so be it.

Costco sells it by the case at a fairly reasonable cost, and Stew Leonard's sell it at 4 for $5.

6 Alex Belth   ~  Sep 13, 2011 3:55 pm

Costco is $18 for a case, not bad. And yeah, the bottle helps. Got to be super cold though.

7 cult of basebaal   ~  Sep 13, 2011 7:04 pm

Make sure you throw some Kosher coke into the mix as well ...

8 cult of basebaal   ~  Sep 13, 2011 7:05 pm

Damn, I just back from a long walk, and that frosty bottle is pure temptation, may have to wander over to the CVS and pick up a bottle of Mexican coke!

9 Cliff Corcoran   ~  Sep 13, 2011 10:47 pm

There is a difference. When my wife and I went on our honeymoon in Italy, the first pace we ate I ordered a Coke and on the first sip commented to her that it was tastier in some way. This was before I had become well versed in the wonders of Kosher Coke, which I now try to stock up on every spring. It's not the bottle, it's the real sugar. Kosher Coke from a plastic 2 liter bottle beats the regular stuff by a mile, and I'm a fan of the regular stuff too.

Darn corn subsidies. Corn is so cheap at the grocery store it's almost free. They don't know what to do with it all, so they put it in everything via high fructose corn syrup. There has to be a smarter/healthier/tastier/and more cost-effective way to do things.

10 Alex Belth   ~  Sep 14, 2011 11:39 am

9) Where to find kosher Coke?

11 Pete   ~  Sep 15, 2011 4:54 pm

How does Mexican Coke compare to Pepsi Throwback? I've been hoarding the latter and only breaking it out on special occasions.

My brain had almost blocked out what a 'real' soda is supposed to taste like, and dare I say it's almost *refreshing* compared to a corn-syrup flavored brand.

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