pepsi

I hope you're enjoying the exciting world of sugar vs. high fructose corn syrup here at SCBC. Today is the 3rd and final day, unless of course, someone can find me an American Fanta in a glass bottle. (They have Mexican Fantas at my grocery store. I love my neighborhood!)

I will admit I cheated a little bit with Pepsi. I was so excited to find a Mexican Pepsi that I didn't even think that it might be impossible to find a Pepsi in a glass bottle. Yeah. So, I found one, but ALAS it does not have a bottle cap.

There is another issue that Michael noticed on the Mexican Pepsi's labeling. On the bottle, it clearly says that the beverage is made with sugar. HOWEVER, on the bottle cap it says that it is made with jarabe de maiz alta fructosa AKA high fructose corn syrup! (Cue ominous music.) Who do I believe? The bottle or the crown?! Or my mouth?!? (More ominous music.)

Michael and I both took sips: neither one was particularly sweet. The Mexican one was slightly smoother but both had a bit of a metallic quality that we saw in both the Sprite and Coke from the U.S. I went back and tasted both without ice, just to see if there was a difference. It was very, very slight, if any. I'm not entirely sure that they're different. Or if they are, it is too subtle for my taste buds.

How about the bottle cap? Well, as mentioned above, I wasn't able to find an American Pepsi in a glass bottle with a crown, so all I have to go on is what I have from Mexico, and some images from the internet.

The Mexican crown doesn't even say Pepsi. It just has the red, white, and blue swirl. Very international.

I found an antique bottle cap on the web with the swirly text and the red, white, and blue as a contrast. I love the old fashioned image. And you can definitely see the evolution to where we are today.

I just wish I knew for sure if the Mexican Pepsi I drank was really full of sugar!

coca cola

At the risk of seeming repetitive, I'll admit that I've written about Coke before, but I couldn't resist a taste test with this signature beverage as well. I've had many a conversation with friends and co-workers about the availability of Mexican Coke in NY, which is easy to find in pretty much any grocery store. Some people say they swear by it and will ONLY drink that version.

Now I can see why.

Again, as with Sprite, there is clearly a difference between high fructose corn syrup and cane sugar when it comes to these sodas. Coke with sugar has a fuller, sweeter taste with a smooth finish. Coke with HFCS, sadly, tastes like chemicals. It has a metallic tinniness to it. It tastes flat. People: if you have the option of avoiding American Coke, then don't drink it. It just isn't good.

And yet, check this out: American Coke's bottle cap is just that: "Coke" with a (R)egistered trademark that could also be a Period. Coke. Period. The font looks slightly off, almost lazy. It's clearly not the official font for Coke, and I don't know why they would have changed it to something so bland.

The Mexican Coca-Cola, in contrast, has the loopy script that has been long-associated with the Coca-Cola Brand. Beautiful, classic, simple.

I also wanted to take this chance to highlight a few of the other Coca-Cola bottle caps I have, both from here and abroad. I won't re-hash what I've already discussed (Coke World!) but check this out:

Here we have Coca-Cola Classic and Coke Classic. What I find interesting about the Coca-Cola Classic crown is it highlights the "original formula," which probably has to do with distinguishing it from that misbegotten New Coke experiment in the 80s. I find it interesting because isn't the original formula with sugar? Not HFSC, which it clearly states as the 2nd ingredient. In other words, it's a bit of false advertising, clearly not derived from the classic formula that the Coke company keeps hidden in a vault somewhere in Atlanta.

Coke Classic has the signature white twisty line, and it's the font I remember from my youth. Nice.

I also have a stash of older Coca-Cola crowns: one red, one silver. The red one is also South American: I think Michael got it on a trip to Chile (it says Talca on the side!). And the silver Coca-Cola lists its ingredients as water, sugar... so you know it's, like, classic.

It really is fascinating to do the side-by-side taste test. And even if you think you don't have a sophisticated palate, try it if you can.  You'll be blown away. Trust me.

**P.S.  Happy Valentines Day, everyone.  Red Coca-Cola crowns for V Day, right?!

sprite

I have written about Sprite in these pages before. But just recently, I found some Mexican Sprite in my local grocery store, alongside a few other Mexican sodas. And it made me think: this is the perfect opportunity to do side-by-side comparisons of high fructose cane sugar Sprite and cane sugar Sprite, along with the inevitable bottle cap comparisons.

First, the taste: It is amazing when you taste these two sodas side-by-side. American Sprite, with its high fructose corn syrup, tastes metallic and flat. There is a sharp aftertaste, not necessarily sweet but more chemical-like. Mexican Sprite, on the other hand, tastes sweet and smooth and coats your throat with a sugary, but not too sweet, aftertaste.

The bottle caps?  Both pretty cool!  The American bottle cap is green, with Sprite in big, bold white letters. The Mexican bottle cap is blue with white letters. Not as bold as the American, but still clean and bright. Both "I"s are dotted with lemon/limes.

I also wanted to bring up the interesting contrast between a few other Sprite crowns that I have:

The white one is from South America--Santiago, specifically--and is a Sprite Zero, just for the record. It is difficult to read, and has the ingredients right on the crown. Not the best design, to be honest. It pairs well, though, with this blue Sprite crown that I have, which is sort of an "in-between" crown -- that is, on a design chart, it falls somewhere between the South American and the Mexican. It is blue, has Sprite across the top, but also has the lemon/lime i dot, as well as the ingredients. You can almost see the evolution!

I also have this really old Sprite crown: pre-lemon-lime i dot, and it includes the ingredients. The crown also has a crazy-looking font, as if Sprite is still searching for its identity.

All in all, an interesting range. The caps evolved nicely into the clean-looking design we have today, but the taste....well, clearly, Sprite would have been bettered served if it had stuck with cane sugar.

jarritos

I'm surprised that this is the first time I'm discussing Jarritos, the weird Mexican soda that I find in bodegas and restaurants across NYC. Recently, I came across a 200th anniversary (a bicentennial, if you will) commemorative bottle of Jarritos for Mexican Independence. Granted, their bicentennial was in 2010, and I found this bottle about 6 months ago, but no matter (EW!!!). I guess soda keeps??

Anyway, this bottle cap has a celebratory bird, is gold and black, and frankly a little busy compared to Jarritos regular bottle cap:

Which is green, silver, and white and very clean looking.  And it clearly tells you, in Spanish of course, that it is made in Mexico.

Jarritos also has a seltzer line, with its own bottle cap: blue and white with the word "Mineragua" across the top in place of the usual Jarritos. But don't be fooled. Mineragua just means mineral water in Spanish (thanks Spanish 101!)

Jarritos has unfortunate flavors like tamarind and pineapple. No one wants these flavors. Please stick with tutifruti (fruit punch!) and lemon-lime. Anything more adventurous than that is going into crazy, sticky sweet territory, and I just can't take it! Thank goodness they don't all have different bottle caps.  There would be a lot of soda going down the drain.

sidral aga

I have written about Sidral Mundet before, but I don't believe I've touched upon the apple soda Sidral Aga. Except for their bottle caps, they're pretty interchangeable. Although, it does beg the question: which would hold up better in a taste test? I have my work cut out for me, if I'm ever able to find both Sidrals again.

Sidral Aga was procured during out recent sojourn to Corona, and when the weird Mexican sodas abounded, Michael and I took the call. We were double-fisting our way down 106th St in Queens with wacky, oddly-colored drinks in our hands. Sidral Aga, as mentioned before, is an apple soda, and tastes like every other apple soda I've ever had.

The bottle cap is up there -- we have the green background, huge red apple, and Sidral in flowing letters and AGA in bold, purple letters. If you didn't know you were getting an apple soda via that bottle cap, well, you just don't get it, do you?!

The more I think about it, the more I think I need an Aga vs. Mundet taste test. Who's in? It would also, of course, feature a head-to-head comparison of the bottle caps. Bonus post? I think so.

p.s. Check out the Sidral Aga website: it has a curiously amazing song playing upon entry to the English site. Pop/techno/muzak thing going on with some awesome synthesizers. What that has to do apple soda and Mexico, I really couldn't tell you.

O. Key

Ohhhkaaayy. O. Key. Mexico, when will you learn?

O. Key is a bright yellow Mexican pineapple soda that I found at a sketchy deli in my 'hood (the same place where I found the bottled Sangria). Michael and I were extremely nervous when opening this puppy.

Michael tried it first. I'm not sure I can accurately describe the look on his face and subsequent actions, but it approximated horror, disgust, placing the bottle down gently and slowly backing away without actually turning his back on O. Key -- for fear that it might leap out of the bottle and physically assault him. And then the inevitable: "You gotta try it." Sigh.

I smelled it first: nothing special. I brought it to my lips, hesitating. I almost held my nose, but managed to get one sip down before practically throwing it across the room in disgust. Sticky sweet pineapple grossness filled my mouth. That was it. The rest was going down the drain.

I'm sorry, O.Key. You are disgusting.

Your bottle cap is kind of gnarly, too. But I realize that can't be helped. You've been sitting on the back shelf at Sketch-City-Bodega for what could possibly have been years, developing a film that I'm not sure anyone can scrub off.

All I can do is rescue you from deli purgatory. I hope you appreciate what I've done for you. What have you done for me lately, except provide fodder for a blog post? I guess that will have to do.

topo sabores & barrilitos

Target is good for many things.  Bizarre Mexican Sodas can now be added to that list.

I found Topo Sabores and Barrilitos in the very back of the soda aisle in Target. They were heavily discounted -- both bottles were less than $.70.

Topo Sabores was a strawberry soda that tasted, well, sticky. I had one sip before I needed to chase it with some seltzer. Even Michael couldn't finish this one for me!

The Barrilitos fared much better.  Usually apple is a good way to go with international sodas, and this one was no different. It basically tasted like a sparking cider.

I'm not sure what to do about these Mexican sodas. They're really turning into another version of Malta for me. I know they're good for the whole "international" aspect of this blog, but really, I just don't know if I can take many more of them! I might have to stick to apple varieties only.

As for the crowns, they're pretty fun. Topo Sabores is the more unusual one, with the florid font -- usually Mexican sodas stick with bolder fonts, such as the one on Barrilitos.

In any case, hopefully this means no more strawberry soda for me for a while. I can focus on root beers, regular beers, and other tasty drinks.  Wish me luck!

manzanita sol - guest post by michael lober

Lauren asked me to do a guest post this week. We both live in an ethnically diverse neighborhood of New York City, and one of the things we enjoy doing occasionally is strolling through grocery stores and mini-marts and taking stock of the packaged food imported from all corners of the globe--powdered milk from Greece, mate from Brazil and, of course, sodas from everywhere. If Lauren weren't interested in the design and packaging of these products, we'd probably stick with plastic bottles of Coke, Diet Coke, and Sprite like most everyone else; instead, we search for bottles stacked somewhere near the back in their own section of overlooked drinks that look like they've been gathering dust for years. On a recent trip we found bottled sodas from Slovenia, Jordan, and Peru all in the same store!

Yet, as we've learned, searching for these bottled sodas is often more fun than consuming them. In my admittedly limited experience, too many international sodas are overly sweet and leave an aftertaste that coats your entire mouth. Case in point: Manzanita Sol. We found this sparkling apple drink from Mexico in the back freezer of a neighborhood convenience store, and were mildly optimistic, since fruit flavored international sodas usually go down better than colas and, especially, malt sodas. The bottle cap is rather plain--bright red and perhaps reflective of a tropical landscape. But the soda is a sugar overload--a carbonated apple juice concoction with three scoops of sugar mixed in. The experience is akin to drinking an apple-flavored lollipop. Perhaps what I'm trying to say is that if you ever see a bottle of this soda sitting forlornly on a rack in the back freezer of your convenience store, well, stick with what you know.