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1.  

   

   Lawrence D’Oliveiro, Jul 6th, 2011 @ 10:55pm

   
   

   Apparently, At The Opening Of The First Coca-Cola Plant In Russia ...

   ... President Boris Yeltsin is reputed to have sampled the product and proclaimed “Tastes like Pepsi!”.

    

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2.  

   

   Michael Ho (profile), Jul 7th, 2011 @ 12:36am

   
   

   Re: Apparently, At The Opening Of The First Coca-Cola Plant In Russia ...

   Some kind of citation is needed for that quote... (preferably not from the Pepsi marketing division.)

    

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3.  

   

   darryl, Jul 7th, 2011 @ 2:27am

   
   

   From the 'big issues' department

   Do You Want To Sell Sugar Water For The Rest Of Your Life?
   
   I dont know, but I expect it is better than selling snake oil for the rest of your life.
   
   Really, anyone who thinks Coke and pepsi taste even close to each other has lost their ability to taste. (give up smoking).
   
   More people prefer pepsi ?? funny that reality does not agree with you :)

    

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4.  

   

   PaulT (profile), Jul 7th, 2011 @ 4:45am

   
   

   Yuck

   I'll have to remember to avoid Dr. Pepper next time I'm in the US then... I can't stand the taste or the texture of anything made with HCFS and the bigger portions you guys have over there aren't worth the pain.

    

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5.  

   

   ChrisB (profile), Jul 7th, 2011 @ 6:46am

   
   

   Re: Yuck

   > I can't stand the taste or the texture of anything made with HCFS
   
   High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is chemically the same as sugar. Sugar (sucrose) is one molecule of glucose bonded to one molecule of fructose. HFCS is simply a (approximately) 50-50 mix of glucose and fructose. The only difference is HFCS is missing the extra oxygen atom that bonds the glucose to the fructose. I'm pretty sure you can't taste that.
   
   In summary,
   Sugar = glucose + fructose
   HFCS = glucose & fructose

    

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6.  

   

   AJBarnes, Jul 7th, 2011 @ 7:07am

   
   

   Who's really to blame

   Archer Daniels Midland is in this knee-deep, right? Studies are finding that high-fructose corn syrup is a big part of the problems we're having with weight and health-in-general. http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/
   
   Yet, there has been a HUGE push to keep this particular poison around to keep their sales high. So much so, they're trying to confuse things by changing the name!
   
   I'm dying to try this Dr. Pepper. Did anyone taste the retro-Mt. Dew when it made its limited debut last year? It was AWESOME.
   
   So, why do these idiots not just change from HFCS to sugar? Seems to me they'd sell a TON of it, and maybe kick Coke and Pepsi to last place!
   
   I guess Archer Daniels is doing whatever it can to kill off innovation and the return to more natural products that won't kill you as fast as theirs.

    

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7.  

   

   trish, Jul 7th, 2011 @ 7:16am

   
   

   synthehol!

   I sure hope it's as unpalatable to me as to commander riker!

    

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8.  

   

   PaulT (profile), Jul 7th, 2011 @ 7:23am

   
   

   Re: Re: Yuck

   Well, maybe it's the whole recipe rather than just the use of HFCS but I can definitely taste the difference. I tried Coke, 7-up and Dr Pepper last time I was in the states and there was a distinct difference in flavour (especially regarding a strange, dry aftertaste) as well as the drinks being very sticky in comparison to what I'm used to if I spilled any while walking around.
   
   Other travellers with me commented on noticing similar differences, and I'm pretty sure those people weren't as aware of the differences in ingredients as I am. Meanwhile, I've never noticed any difference in taste or texture when travelling in areas that use sugar-based recipes, be that in Mexico, Europe or North Africa.
   
   As I say, maybe it's more than just the use of HFCS, but there's definitely a difference and I will be avoiding the HFCS recipe as I find it noticeably inferior.

    

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9.  

   

   rob1138, Jul 7th, 2011 @ 9:10am

   
   

   Re: Re: Yuck

   I can taste the difference. Plus a missing atom can make a difference. Look at lead its just one electron from gold.

    

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10.  

    

    Charles (profile), Jul 7th, 2011 @ 11:55am

    
    

    Dublin Dr. Pepper

    My wife is a long time Pepper drinker. There is no doubt in her mind that Dublin Dr. Pepper tastes much, much better. This may make her quit drinking Dr. Pepper.
    
    HFCS sucks!

     

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11.  

    

    Rekrul, Jul 7th, 2011 @ 12:37pm

    
    

    Re: From the 'big issues' department

    Really, anyone who thinks Coke and pepsi taste even close to each other has lost their ability to taste.
    
    You have to qualify that with whether they were tasting Coke & Pepsi out of factory packaging or out of a soda fountain. I can taste the difference in cans and bottles, but out of a soda fountain, they both taste pretty much the same. Of course there's no guarantee than the place isn't just filling up both dispensers with generic cola.

     

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12.  

    

    Bill, Jul 7th, 2011 @ 12:58pm

    
    

    Re: Re: Re: Yuck

    Yea, but does that electron make lead and gold taste different?

     

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13.  

    

    Michael Ho (profile), Jul 7th, 2011 @ 1:08pm

    
    

    Re: Re: Yuck

    All sugars are NOT created equal.. There definitely *can* be a variation in how different sugars taste!
    
    The summary that "Sugar" equals glucose+fructose and HFCS = G&F doesn't capture the whole story.
    
    Different sugars can have different "sweetness" factors:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Relativesweetness.png
    
    So soda companies could be using different concentrations of different sugars to achieve a desired level of sweetness, but the different concentrations could make the sugar water more/less viscous or syrup-like and affect how people perceive the taste of the overall beverage.... It's not a simple thing to change a formulation of Coke (ahem, New Coke!).

     

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