Whats so special about cokes formula?

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The discussion centers around the perceived differences between Coca-Cola and Pepsi, with participants expressing strong opinions on their taste. Many argue that while Coke and Pepsi have distinct flavors, with Coke being preferred for its less sweet profile, others claim the differences are minimal, suggesting that store brands taste similar to both. The secrecy surrounding Coke's formula is questioned, with some participants believing that the actual differences may be exaggerated. The conversation also touches on regional terminology for soft drinks, with debates on whether to call them "soda" or "pop." Additionally, there are humorous exchanges about the historical ingredients of Coke, including references to its original formulation containing cocaine. Overall, the thread reflects a mix of personal preferences, regional language differences, and light-hearted banter about soft drink culture.
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COKE ACTS like its formula is super secret. pepsi and store brand taste similar enough, that i don't doubt the formulas arent too different...
yes i can tell the difference,and love coke better,but i don't get what's so secret about this coke.
 
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Coke and pepsi taste the same? Not so much. Pepsi is a little bit more "tangy" than coke.

Also, pepsi sucks horribly.
 
Coke and pepsi formulas are secret. Pepsi is too sweet for me.
 
sportsstar469 said:
COKE ACTS like its formula is super secret.
The logical course of action is therefore to drink water.:wink:
 
sportsstar469 said:
COKE ACTS like its formula is super secret. pepsi and store brand taste similar enough, that i don't doubt the formulas arent too different...
yes i can tell the difference,and love coke better,but i don't get what's so secret about this coke.

KalamMekhar said:
Coke and pepsi taste the same? Not so much. Pepsi is a little bit more "tangy" than coke.

Also, pepsi sucks horribly.

i was unaware said they tasted the same.but yeah i don't like pepsi too much..except the throwback pepsi
 
bp_psy said:
The logical course of action is therefore to drink water.:wink:
water doesn't contain artery clogging high fructose corn syrup though. ;(
 
sportsstar469 said:
COKE ACTS like its formula is super secret. pepsi and store brand taste similar enough, that i don't doubt the formulas arent too different...
yes i can tell the difference,and love coke better,but i don't get what's so secret about this coke.

The proof is in the pudding. Coke is and stays more popular than Pepsi. 'nuff said.
 
sportsstar469 said:
water doesn't contain artery clogging high fructose corn syrup though. ;(

The logical course of action is therefore to drink http://www.ecplaza.net/tradeleads/seller/6040825/fructose_syrup.html" .:biggrin:
 
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Evo said:
Coke and pepsi formulas are secret. Pepsi is too sweet for me.

Me too. At least I thought so many years ago, it's been that long since I've had any soda. Both would likely be too sweet for me now.
 
  • #10
lisab said:
it's been that long since I've had any soda.
Soda?? We're not baking cookies here, we're talking pop.
 
  • #11
DaveC426913 said:
Soda?? We're not baking cookies here, we're talking pop.

I remember when I first heard my cousins from Pennsylvania say that. It sounded so silly. "Pop". Adults say that too?
 
  • #12
DaveC426913 said:
Soda?? We're not baking cookies here, we're talking pop.

thats why i don't see how the formulas are so different.
 
  • #13
leroyjenkens said:
I remember when I first heard my cousins from Pennsylvania say that. It sounded so silly. "Pop". Adults say that too?
In central and Western PA, yes. In Southeastern PA, we asy "soda".
 
  • #14
sportsstar469 said:
thats why i don't see how the formulas are so different.

I think they differ by only one ingredient. Maybe that's a wives tale though. (Caramel?)
 
  • #15
Cyrus said:
I think they differ by only one ingredient. Maybe that's a wives tale though. (Caramel?)
My understanding is that the recipe is actually split up and no single person has the entire recipe.
 
  • #16
"To this day, Coca-Cola uses as an ingredient a cocaine-free coca leaf extract prepared at a Stepan Company plant in Maywood, New Jersey.

In the United States, Stepan Company is the only manufacturing plant authorized by the Federal Government to import and process the coca plant,[32] which it obtains mainly from Peru and, to a lesser extent, Bolivia."
~Wikipedia

I think its clear why coke is better than pepsi. :smile:
 
  • #17
Does Snopes count as a source of information around here?

If so, according to Snopes, the rumour about several people knowing only parts of the formula is false. And the "secret ingredient" is "decocainized flavor essence of the cocoa leaf" that is illegal in the States. According to Snopes, only one plant in New Jersey "has the necessary DEA permit to import the leaves and remove the cocaine from them". And that the whole mystery behind Coke's secret is hype about the secret.

http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/formula.asp

And yes, it's pop, not soda. And, no, I don't drink pop.
 
  • #18
Time to weigh in. I normally do not drink pop, (yes in Indiana we call it pop). However, when the weather heats up, I'm dripping with sweat and someone offers me a frosty cold cola, given the choice, I will choose diet pepsi. I like the flavor better. (I don't do sugar).
 
  • #19
Coca-cola still has bits(microscopic now) of cocaine.
 
  • #20
It's actually the most cost-efficient way of reprocessing nuclear waste.
 
  • #21
Ouabache said:
Time to weigh in. I normally do not drink pop, (yes in Indiana we call it pop). However, when the weather heats up, I'm dripping with sweat and someone offers me a frosty cold cola, given the choice, I will choose diet pepsi. I like the flavor better. (I don't do sugar).

So if I may paraphrase

I don't always drink pop, but when I do, I prefer diet pepsi.

Stay thirsty, my friends
 
  • #22
Evo said:
Pepsi is too sweet for me.

Me too! Interesting though, when I traveled to Africa it was the opposite! Pepsi tasted like Coke and Coke was sweeter than the Pepsi in the States.
 
  • #23
Sagert said:
Coca-cola still has bits(microscopic now) of cocaine.

Ahhhhhhhhh...that must be why it's so good. Coke IS it!
 
  • #24
GeorginaS said:
Does Snopes count as a source of information around here?

If so, according to Snopes, the rumour about several people knowing only parts of the formula is false. And the "secret ingredient" is "decocainized flavor essence of the cocoa leaf" that is illegal in the States. According to Snopes, only one plant in New Jersey "has the necessary DEA permit to import the leaves and remove the cocaine from them". And that the whole mystery behind Coke's secret is hype about the secret.

http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/formula.asp

And yes, it's pop, not soda. And, no, I don't drink pop.

What do you think would required by law to be considered "cocane free"? Less than 1%?
 
  • #25
And yes, it's pop, not soda.
That's a little arrogant. The official name is pop because that's what you call it?
 
  • #26
leroyjenkens said:
That's a little arrogant. The official name is pop because that's what you call it?
Yes.
 
  • #27
GeorginaS said:
Does Snopes count as a source of information around here?

If so, according to Snopes, the rumour about several people knowing only parts of the formula is false. And the "secret ingredient" is "decocainized flavor essence of the cocoa leaf" that is illegal in the States. According to Snopes, only one plant in New Jersey "has the necessary DEA permit to import the leaves and remove the cocaine from them". And that the whole mystery behind Coke's secret is hype about the secret.

http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/formula.asp

And yes, it's pop, not soda. And, no, I don't drink pop.
Ah, it was the KFC recipe that is broken into halves and no one place has the entire formula. They're owned by Pepsi. Coke has only two people that know the recipe. It was on tv a couple of weeks ago.
It's soda in the south and midwest US.
 
  • #28
It's called Soda, YOU DONKEYS!
 
  • #29
cyrus said:
it's called soda, you donkeys!
lol.
 
  • #30
leroyjenkens said:
That's a little arrogant. The official name is pop because that's what you call it?

What Dave said.
 
  • #31
I used to work in a plant that made syrup for soft drinks and knew one of the flavor chemists. She told me that there were about 30 different formulas for orange pop and that she could taste a sample and identify which formula it was. Likewise with about 50 different formulas for root beer.

She also told me that many years ago Coca Cola wanted a presence in the south pacific but it wasn't economical to ship their product there. They authorized this plant to copy Coke's flavor as best they could and sell it there under Coke's name paying royalties to Coke. She said the flavor they used was a mixture of almond and cashew.
 
  • #32
GeorginaS said:
What Dave said.

Then we have a paradox. Come to find out, I say soda, and therefore say that because that's what I say, it must be the official name for it. I really am that important.
 
  • #33
In Maine, if you call soda "pop", people will look at you funny. My cousins from CT would get odd looks when they asked for "tonic"

To the OP, there is probably nothing really secret about the Coke formula thanks to analytical equipment. Ever wonder how cheap and pretty accurate knock-offs of expensive perfumes get to the market? Chromatographs and mass-spectrometers can make it easy to analyze a bit of the stuff and pretty much nail the ingredients - even inactive ones that may be there for "filler" or perhaps to slow the degradation of a scent once it is applied.
 
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  • #34
leroyjenkens said:
Then we have a paradox. Come to find out, I say soda, and therefore say that because that's what I say, it must be the official name for it. I really am that important.

No paradox. You see, we are also in charge of who is in charge.
 
  • #36
timeline.png

http://tastyresearch.com/2006/10/05/pop-vs-soda-vs-coke/
 
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  • #37
You foreigners and your fancy words. It's "läsk". Or "dricka".
 
  • #38
A requirement of Coke should be that it's served ice cold, in a glass bottle.
 
  • #39
In Spanish cola means tail and asking for a little cola in Mexico can have strong sexual connotations.
 
  • #40
xxChrisxx said:
A requirement of Coke should be that it's served ice cold, in a glass bottle.
Seconded on both counts. You da man.
 
  • #41
That map isn't very accurate, from my personal experience (having lived and worked in 9 states). They have the entire states of Kansas wrong and Missouri wrong. If it is a "coke flavoured" drink, it's coke, things like Dr Pepper, Orange Crush, etc.. would be a soft drink. It was the same in Philadelphia, not sure about the rest of the state, but I dated a guy from Wilkes Barre and he said soda. My cousins that lived in a teeny tiny town in rural Illinois said pop.

I said soda because the two options were soda and pop. In reality I say "soft drink", and this is the most common term I have heard.
 
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  • #42
Evo said:
That map isn't very accurate
Well the legend is broken into percentages. So even the dark-reddest of counties only 4 in 5 people might say "Coke".
 
  • #43
DaveC426913 said:
Well the legend is broken into percentages. So even the dark-reddest of counties only 4 in 5 people might say "Coke".
It shows, for example the state of Kansas as blue, in reality it should be red/yellow.
 
  • #44
Yes, that county where it claims 30% of the population uses the word pop... we have an example of someone using the word coke! Clearly wrong :-p
 
  • #45
Evo said:
It shows, for example the state of Kansas as blue, in reality it should be red/yellow.

I don't think you can vouch for an entire state on what they call soda.
 
  • #46
leroyjenkens said:
I don't think you can vouch for an entire state on what they call soda.
Of course not, but based on living in Kansas and knowing lots of people from all over Kansas, I know what people call things. The word "pop" would stick out as it's not something I'm used to hearing. The only person I've known (aside from my cousins) that used "pop" was from Minnesota.
 
  • #47
Please don't paraphrase, or you will miss the whole point.
Office_Shredder said:
So if I may paraphrase
As you are also seeing on that demographic map, pop is a pervasive term for soda, across the midwest, north central and northwestern states. A couple of additional interesting terms I've heard are 'sack' for a paper bag and 'buggy' for a shopping cart. You can find these and other regional word usage, in the Dictionary of Regional American English
 
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  • #48
We could do a Poll!
 
  • #49
I'll represent Maine! If you call any kind of soda "pop" here, you are immediately marked as a flat-lander. Even worse, if you called soda "tonic" you would be branded as a hoity-toity flatlander from Boston, Hartford, or maybe Providence. Definitely not the kind of people respectable Mainiacs would willingly associate with.
 
  • #50
Evo said:
Of course not, but based on living in Kansas and knowing lots of people from all over Kansas, I know what people call things. The word "pop" would stick out as it's not something I'm used to hearing. The only person I've known (aside from my cousins) that used "pop" was from Minnesota.

Those people you know may be from the no data zones. You may also be talking with the other 70-20% of those who don't say pop. Or you may not realize that you've never heard them generally refer to a carbonated drink and they may in fact say pop.
 

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