Perhaps it’s the glass bottles. Or it could be the lack of high fructose corn syrup. Maybe it just tastes better. Whatever the reason, a growing number of folks on the north side of the Rio Grande are drinking Coca Cola bottled in Mexico.
One of the major reasons is the aforementioned absence of HFCS is Mexican Coke, which still uses cane sugar as its sweetener. While the debate continues over whether or not HFCS is any worse for you than sugar, there are many who say there is a marked difference in the taste of the two sweeteners.
Mexican Coke also provides those soda shoppers with something to sip on during those months when Kosher for Passover Coke isn’t on sale.
DailyFinance spoke to Coke’s vice president and general manager of Importation and Commercialization (try to fit that on a business card), who added that the growing Hispanic population in the U.S. is contributing to the increase in imported pop:
When purchasing Coca-Cola from Mexico, Hispanics are purchasing a bit of nostalgia — it’s like getting a piece of home… Some of that feeling may have to do with the packaging and the fact that it is imported.
Of course, many people who prefer Mexican Coke have to pay extra to do so. Here in New York, a 12 oz. bottle of the imported stuff will cost you around twice as much as a same-size can of the domestic.
Mexican Coca-Cola Is Finding Sweet Success in the U.S. [DailyFinance.com]
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I would drink Coke more often if it were all made with real sugar. Mexican coke definitely tastes better.
Live in TX. Buy it at Costco for pretty much the same price as regular Coke. Tastes better, and the glass bottle keeps it cold.
Coke already makes a sugar version in the US. It’s sold in Cleveland and part of Pennsylvania. I’m not sure how to vote, since I have American sugar coke right here.
If buying the Mexican Coke bottles, pay attention to the nutritional information sticker. Some bottles will only list sugar but often times the ingredients listed say [sugar or high fructose corn syrup]. You can bet your bottom dollar if the sticker says “sugar or high fructose corn syrup”, you’re getting high fructose corn syrup only.
My local Costco is FINALLY carrying the Mexican Cokes, but they are not cheap. A case of 24 8oz bottles goes for close to $30.
It’s actually a better deal for me to get it at the local Mexican grocery where a bigger 500ml (16.9oz) bottle goes for just over a dollar.
I think in Canada its sugar, not HFCS
What a timely article. The Costco in Leesburg, VA sells a cases of this for $19.00 and I have been buying a case every time I go there. Last night I almost had the will power NOT to buy another case, but I am afraid at anytime they will stop getting it.
At $19.00 a case I try to limit myself to only one per day.
It’s good stuff. it’s about $1 a bottle here, there’s a little stand of it next to the ethnic foods aisle.
It just tastes less sticky, really.
Yeah, Costco started carrying this in our area (Denver) a few years ago, and I buy it for our very large scale BBQs. It’s always a bit hit.
I haven’t tried any actual taste testing, and I frankly wonder if I could distinguish it from HFCS Coke. But I really like the glass bottles (which is a theme of the BBQs: I buy as many different sodas as I can find in actual glass bottles).
By the way, the nearest Sam’s Club not only caries the Mexican Coke, it also carries the Mexican Orange Fanta (12 oz. bottles, cane sugar). Bought two cases of that for our most recent BBQ, and it all vanished as well.
I rarely drink any soda, but I have a Mexican coke once every couple of weeks. It tastes so much better than regular coke, thanks to the cane sugar.
The mexican coke tastes soooo better. And it has no aftertaste. It’s just smooth delicious goodness.
I think a lot of soft drinks bottled in Texas are also made with cane sugar. I used to know some Texans who would order cases of their preferred drinks to be shipped from bottlers in Texas because they prefer the flavor.
Me, the only soda I drink anymore is Jarritos, and that’s just a rare treat. Usually I go for orange or guava, but if I can find grapefruit I’m all over it. It’s especially good mixed with a little tequila. Muy bueno!
the grapefruit is awesome, it’s $.88 per bottle at my local grocery store, but i can’t think of a good alcohol to mix it with, what would complement the sour of the grapefruit?
Eh, both sugar and hfcs are bad for you if you over do it. May as well have the version that tastes better.
I can buy it in Kroger, and no, I’m not in the Mexican part of town.
Get a bottle of both the Mexican stuff and a glass bottle of the domestic stuff and do a taste test. The real sugar stuff tastes better. Better mouth-feel. Better all around. Pepsi throwback was good, but out of a can it just can’t compete.
My husband, who loves his Coke, thought I was nuts with my anti-HFCS campaign until our local Costco started carrying Mexican Coke (around $18 a case) and I brought one home for him. Now he’s in love.
The bonus is that, because he knows its more expensive, he doesn’t drink as much of it, which is better for him.
I don’t normally drink sugared soda, but if I am going to indulge, Mexican Coke all the way.
I noticed that our local Costco was carrying this too.
I drink mexican coke I buy from costco.
It doesn’t taste significantly different– it feels different. HFCS coke just feels sticky when you drink it. Cane sugar coke doesn’t.
The glass bottle helps as well. Rum and coke isn’t all that classy, but pouring the coke from a glass bottle sure does help.
That’s the difference for me. It’s not so much the taste. HCFS leaves me with a sticky taste – it’s like coating my tongue with syrup. Sugar is cleaner. It also makes me feel full, so I drink less, and drink more slowly. I stick with diet most of the time, but I do enjoy the occasional sugar-sweetened soda.
Coke made with sugar tastes good but I won’t buy it cuz it costs nearly $20.00 a case.
I know of a gas station near me that sells 2-litre’s of Pepsi “Throwback” for 2 bucks each. Also I’ll buy the individual Pepsi Throwback’s for the lesser price and a local grocer sells Dr Pepper/sugar 12-packs for cheap also. Until Coca-Cola does the same, I’ll buy Pepsi. I like Pepsi better anyhow.
I like how the coke rep listed every reason but HFCS
I might be that HFCS is no different than the sugars they use in Mexican coke.
They could be using pure fructose, which is worse calorie per calorie than HFCS.
It is the fructose that is the bad actor in the sweetener.
These HFCS alternatives could actually be worse for us.
Nutrition labels should let us know the exact sugars in our sugar drinks.
and make sure to read the ingredients – the local supermercado carries mexican coca cola in both formulations
with HFCS
http://www.flickr.com/photos/catastrophegirl/4697457001
and with real sugar
http://www.flickr.com/photos/catastrophegirl/4697452421
HFCS is gross and the products that use it are trash.
But beware, fructose is what is bad with high fructose corn syrup, and if you read “sugar” on a label that doesn’t tell you what form it comes in, just that it wasn’t processed as HFCS.
You people realize that it’s not “sugar” that they mix into the vats, it’s invert sugar. They take the sugar and pre-dissolve it with an acid like ascorbic acid and it breaks down the sucrose into 40% glucose, 40% fructose, and 10% other sugars.
It’s in every way nearly identical to the HFCS version. The fact that they change the flavor for different markets is not surprising.
All I know is that American Coke has an absolutely vile aftertaste that the Mexican Coke in the little glass bottles doesn’t.
Why would you import Mexical cola all the way to NYC, when Canadian cola also uses cane sugar, and is a heck of a lot closer?
The Mexican Cokes have more flavor, period. I go to MX every few weeks, and usually drink some local stuff. No matter if it’s regular or diet, it has a much better flavor. MX “Coca-Cola Light” is very good, far better than Diet Coke. I think they are skimping on the flavor syrup in the U.S.
The Meijer here in Muncie started carrying MexiCoke last month. I bought a bottle on a whim to try it and was very surprised at how much better it tastes than US Coke. It just didn’t have that thick syrupy mouthfeel that HFCS Coke has, which probably added to my impression that MexiCoke was a bit less sweet than US Coke. I could taste more of the actual flavors of whatever is in Coke.
One of the things I loved about working over in Germany, last year, was that all the sodas were made with cane sugar rather than corn syrup. Since coming back, I’ve stocked up on soda every time Pepsi does its periodic sales of “throwback” Mtn. Dew. It tastes SO much better. Hell, I won’t drink regular Pepsi, but Throwback Pepsi is quite decent. I actually prefer it to normal coke. But, yeah, when I can get cane sugar coke for a reasonable price, I snatch it up.
I have a 24 pack of Mexican Coke sitting in my closet here as I type this. Sugar vs. HFCS is the key issue for me. Both for possible health effects and taste.
C’mon Coke, get some balls and sell us this stuff, made in the USA. Ditch HFCS.
As a Canadian, it’s a bummer that we don’t have cane sugar Coke here. We still haven’t even gotten the “Throwback” sodas yet, at least that I’ve seen. There’s a huge difference in taste, bring it back Coke.
But we do have cane sugar ketchup : Heinz Organic.
FYI coke with cane sugar is produced in the US. It just isn’t produced year round. For passover Coke produces a limited run of “Kosher Coke”. Head to your local jewish enclave and you should be able to find it. It usually comes with a yellow cap but Coke uses the yellow cap frequently. Check the label.
I buy as much as I can but its only produced in 2 liter plastic bottles so shelf life is only 2-3 months. I wish they produced it in aluminum cans.
“Hispanics are purchasing a bit of nostalgia — it’s like getting a piece of home”
For Americans as well- both Mexican Coke and Pepsi Throwback taste like the sodas I drank as a kid. I thought my taste buds had changed, but trying these products made me realize, no, it’s Coke and Pepsi that have changed. They should make this change permanent, and apply it to the garden-variety Coke and Pepsi as well.
There is a definite taste & feel difference; Coke made with sugar is better but also has more calories. The HFCS also makes you feel bloated. Did you know that Canada still uses sugar in their coke too? Just a little interesting tidbit…Back when Coca-Cola Classic came out in the us it had the tag line original formula but Canada had the tag line original taste. Even Coke recognized the difference in their packaging.
I have been buying Mexican Coke over a year now. It reminds me of Coke before the “New Coke” debacle… I stopped buying any coke products till they brought out “Classic” which is still new coke with a slightly old flavor. I have stopped buying any American Coke products again.
I tell everyone about Mexican Coke when I go through the pop isle at the store, many grab a bottle to give it a try.
My favorite way to drink Mexican Coke, an ounce of Bacardi gold, a slice of lime and Coke over ice…
ENJOY!