What's the deal with...

[Anthile]

...cola? I often hear people (including my own sister) talking about how they dislike specific brands of cola, how some cannot stand diet coke and sometimes even figure out when they change the formula. I, for one, think they are full of shit because I couldn't figure out the difference between two sorts of coke if my life depended on it. It all tastes the same to me. It became even more baffling when some days ago I discovered in my (German) supermarket that they now sell "American Style' cola which I translated in my head automatically as "twice as unhealthy as regular cola" but what the hell does it actually mean?
It's not even that I could say my taste buds are just that bad, it's quite the opposite.

Spoiler

 

[Kuu]

Diet coke tastes like shit! It's true. Really. Well at least the Coca-cola and Pepsi brands...

I'm not really a fan of it "diet" or not...

 

[pjoa09]

huh. on the contrary, i am addicted to coke zero simply because it doesnt taste like coke, doesnt have the bloat feeling, nor the aftertaste.

i guess it appeals to certain people, i drink it almost everyday even though its still unhealthy.

 

[Fukyo]

All brands of Coke taste differently to me. The diet/light variety tastes a lot sweeter than the regular kind. It probably has something to do with the artificial sweeteners.

It became even more baffling when some days ago I discovered in my (German) supermarket that they now sell "American Style' cola which I translated in my head automatically as "twice as unhealthy as regular cola" but what the hell does it actually mean?

Maybe it's a marketing stunt, and maybe it has real coke in it, like in the good old days.

 

[cheese]

They really have very distinct flavours. Pepsi Max is best if you want something sweet, full-bodied and not as fizzy; Coke Light for something light and refreshing, Coke Zero for something full-bodied, Coke for, well, Coke, Sprite Zero for shit.

The diet versions are good for not leaving that decomposing-sugar aftertaste.

 

[Cognisant]

Diet coke tastes like... the smell of a chemistry lab.

Now I like that smell, but I don't like it as a taste.

 

[KazeCraven]

@Anthile: you can't taste the aftertaste due to artificial sweetener?

 

[Silas]

I'm unsure if I could perceive the difference either, but I compare it to GCSE music, in which the teacher progressively became exasperated at my utter indifference to the difference between A, B, C, D, E, F and G, which I could not for the life of me discern.
Therefore I must accept that some people have a brilliant 'musical ear', I don't.
My sense of smell and taste is also shite, so variations in coke likely remain unacknowledged by me!

 

[Inappropriate Behavior]

It's not even that I could say my taste buds are just that bad, it's quite the opposite.

They all taste different (different formulas) but your taste buds might not be attuned to those taste differences. With some things, you really need to training to differentiate the flavors. If you could get the actual ingredients and taste them individually it would help. Not sure where to get cola ingredients though.

 

[Cavallier]

^Agreed. I believe people who can taste the difference. I can't taste the difference though. However, I can count on one hand the number of colas I've had in my life.

"American Style' cola which I translated in my head automatically as "twice as unhealthy as regular cola"

I resent that! Just because...nah, you're right.

 

[Trebuchet]

I mostly don't drink sodas, but I do sometimes. Aspartame and sucralose are gross. They taste and smell awful, and leave a nasty aftertaste. I'm surprised anyone is unable to tell, but I have an impaired sense of smell, so who am I to criticize someone else's sense of taste?

I tried my own taste test, unscientifically and completely by accident. I had a party at our house, and all the moms I know insist on drinking diet beverages, so I had some bottles of Diet Coke. I also had regular Coke in case anyone preferred that. There were also cups and ice set out. At the end of the party, most people had had at least one cup, but the Diet Coke was completely untouched. All those moms who said they only drank diet soda chose regular when they drank from an unlabeled cup. I started to think Diet Coke was sold by peer pressure.

 

[ckm]

The last time I had cola of any sort was about two years ago and it had whiskey in it. I didn't notice, although at the time I remember not hating the taste as much as I normally did.

 

[Lobstrich]

...cola? I often hear people (including my own sister) talking about how they dislike specific brands of cola, how some cannot stand diet coke and sometimes even figure out when they change the formula. I, for one, think they are full of shit because I couldn't figure out the difference between two sorts of coke if my life depended on it. It all tastes the same to me.

Aha.. So because YOU can't taste the difference that means that we're all idiots for making such a big deal (because of course, that must mean we can't taste a difference as well.. We're just making it up)

It's like anything else.. You like this dressing, you dislike that dressing. Same thing with Coke and diet coke. They do taste different.

 

[Jedi]

The reason Diet Coke taste so different from Regular is because the diet was released back in the 80s when they introduced the 'New Coke' formula, which was to taste more like Pepsi. After much rioting and nasty phone calls Coke went back to their original 'classic' formula but since diet was selling so well, particularly to women, they left it as is. Coke didn't have a legit diet until Zero was birthed.

 

[Lostwitheal]

Try Fentiman's Curiosity Cola. If you can't tell the difference between that and Coke then you should save yourself money by drinking pond water and eating cardboard

 

[Ermine]

It all tastes like cough syrup to me. And that's what it was originally anyway, just laced with carbonated water, alcohol, and cocaine.

 

[Crazythinker1]

I Don't drink coke.

I drink Dr. Pepper.

Mostly however, I drink spring water.

 

[lafmeche]

I can most definitely tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi, as well as diet vs. regular. Regular Coke has an almost caramel-ish kind of taste to it. Diet tastes like chemicals.

If I drink soda these days, I usually prefer root beer or Dr. Pepper. I only drink cola if I want caffeine or if the others aren't available.

 

[Oblivious]

Diet coke gives a cheap sugary taste that is hollow and leaves me feeling cheated. I think it sucks because it uses some artificial sweetener to achieve its zero calorie value. The real original coke has a full bodied feeling that is not wine, but actually has a body to it. Diet also has this weird characteristic of making me hungrier when, I posit, my body feels cheated of calories it expects when it tastes something sweet.

That's just personal impression. You will find this very obvious once you go through two cans of diet (low level torture) vs two cans of original coke.

Pepsi is just a less screwed up version of diet imo. It gives you this sugar rush that is great on the first few sips but quickly becomes bland before the end of the can. This is why it outperformed coke on the sip test, which was actually just a marketing ploy. Pepsi just cannot stand up to coke in quantities larger than a can. It competes with coke because of those first few sugary sips and cheaper price.

As an aside, I loved the vanilla coke. People hated it I think because of the cherry medicine taste to it, but I just did not notice it. When I tried looking for it in a taste, yeah I found what could be described at that. However I think there was a real delicious vanilla taste in it at that complimented that classic creamy taste in coke. Maybe if they found a way to mitigate the weird cherry medicine effect if possible, it would be more popular. Until then, I am a sad panda since no one stocks vanilla coke no more

Root beer has the same body as coke, but is much fuller and creamier and is quite tasty. However this sometimes can be too rich especially if I just had some other greasy or rich milk based food. Coke has a body, but it cuts through grease much better than root beer since its not too creamy.

My favourite drink in a can is, however, not a soda, it's Jasmine Green Tea. Stuff's just awesome. I drink so much tea (not just Green Tea) I speak good English English, talk uppity to strangers and am able to magically sprout a monocle from my eye.

 

[echoplex]

I personally think they're all crap. However, I realize this is at least partially due to my blood sugar issues (colas make me feel awful, and the fact that most of them are made with HFCS doesn't help). When I was younger and could handle them better, I usually liked root beer and I also remember liking vanilla coke; I've always loved vanilla in general. I'd like to find some that aren't so sweet because I like fizzy drinks. More flavor and less sweet, basically.

I mostly like tea, but my favorite drink is probably water. I'm boring like that.

 

[Anthile]

So I tried this "American Taste" cola yesterday and I have to say it was pretty disgusting. It was like someone shoved a handful of sugar cubes down my throat. I almost threw up. Never again.
I believe everytime someone drinks a bottle of this stuff, a dentist spontaneously combusts.

 

[Words]

I do not like Diet anything. If I have to drink it, I will put more sugar. It does not taste well without sugar. I have sweet tooth and diabetes runs in my family.

Yes, exercise your Se Anthile.

 

[SpaceYeti]

...cola? I often hear people (including my own sister) talking about how they dislike specific brands of cola, how some cannot stand diet coke and sometimes even figure out when they change the formula. I, for one, think they are full of shit because I couldn't figure out the difference between two sorts of coke if my life depended on it. It all tastes the same to me. It became even more baffling when some days ago I discovered in my (German) supermarket that they now sell "American Style' cola which I translated in my head automatically as "twice as unhealthy as regular cola" but what the hell does it actually mean?
It's not even that I could say my taste buds are just that bad, it's quite the opposite.

Spoiler

Everybody has a different layout of taste buds in their mouth. Further, some people have twice the normal number, and others have half. I suspect you simply have few taste buds, or at least few of the appropriate kind to taste the difference in colas. I, for one, notice the difference in taste between everything. My grandmother used to argue with me about how you needed less sweet and low because it was sweeter than sugar. I would argue that it's not sweeter, it's simply more flavorful. That flavor, though, is more bitter and less sweet than normal sugar. I recently had two different diet sodas, and the lack of sweetness was obvious to me again, even though it wasn't actually lacking inf flavor. It was a more mild flavor, and it tasted... hollow, if that makes sense. Regular sodas have a sweeter flavor. Further, Pepsi is just a tad too sweet for a cola. Coke has it right on. The original Mountain Dew was the perfect soda, and the more modern MD is almost as good, but you can tell there's a difference of some kind (it's the kind of sugar they use, but you can't know that from just the flavor).