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.