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Comment by BatteryMountain | Hacker News Reader

I don't drink much soda, maybe a coke once a year. Over the years the taste of coke has changed. Every year when I get that craving and drink one, it tastes different. So either the recipe has changed multiple times and there isn't one true coke flavour, or my taste buds might be faulty.

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Coke is actually very different from country to country and less so from state to state. This is because Coke uses local bottle companies and they might be using different water. The coke you buy at your local store is probably bottled somewhere close to keep shipping costs down.

If you're a fan of Dr.Pepper, you'll notice they have 2 different bottles based on where you buy. That's because in some regions, Dr.Pepper uses Pepsi for bottling and in others it uses Coke bottlers.

It's not only the water, there are more differences like high fructose corn syrup versus other sugar forms.

As far as I know, the HFCS vs Sucrose is unlikely to be the reason for the difference in taste. I'm basing that off this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY66qpMFOYo

TLDR: carbonic acid breaks down sucrose to glucose/fructose anyway

How long does the breakdown take?

Coke used to be mixed, bottled, and shipped out in an extremely quick timeframe. Inventory turned over fast.

I suspect the separated components wind up being equal to what a stale soda has, one that has been on the shelf. It’s like buying a soda whose sugar component has already gone stale.

Sure, the rest of the flavors are there and still fresh, unaffected by the carbonated water, but the sweetness one is off.

Isn't Coca Cola water reverse osmosis filtered?

The taste of local water should be irrelevant.

Honestly, the water is just a guess since the taste is different and the syrup comes directly from Coke. In other comments here, people mention the cans used but I’ve had Coke in glass from different countries taste different.

They don't do full reverse osmosis to the purest extent. There are still quite some minerals left. That's actually better for the end product

I can't speak for coke, but for bottled water, they often add minerals back in.

I divide Coke into USA vs ROW. The HFCS stuff in USA tastes absolutely nothing like the cane sugar Coke from anywhere else, which is why everyone is always trying to buy the Mexican stuff in the USA.

You should try the Coke made in Mexico. Easiest way I find it is by searching for “Mexico coke” on uber eats or something similar.

Most stores carrying products made in Mexico have it.

Mexico coke is cane sugar based instead of made with high fructose corn syrup. But didn't Trump say that they will ban HFCS in coke in favor of cane sugar?

1) Mexican coke was cane sugar based (as was US coke at one point), but the huge excess of corn created by US ag policy has shifted much of their production to HFCS

2) As it turns out, a cane sugar (sucrose) base for a dilute acidic liquid will very quickly assume an equilibrium ratio of intact sucrose to sucrose that's been cleaved in half into glucose & fructose, dictated by molecular interactions. Testing these drinks will always find a good amount of fructose.

Coke from Mexico also has a slightly different flavor profile that has nothing to do with the source of sugar.

The sugar sweetened Coke’s are unique, but I think McDonald’s consistently has the best Coke you can get. Unlike most restaurants, they store syrup in stainless steal containers instead of plastic bags and they use a higher syrup to soda ratio than most places.

I’m not sure if the flavor has changed much in the past 30 years, but I do know that a McDonald’s Coke is almost always good.

I worked at McDonald’s 20 years ago and we used plastic syrup bags…. Never heard about these stainless steel containers you speak of.

Odd. It seems dependent on the location. I see lots of comments on Reddit echoing your experience, but a few that mention steel tanks.

McDonald’s consistently has the worst Coke. Its so watered down and flat.

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