A few weeks back, Coca-Cola informed us that there is no distinguishable difference in taste between Coke made with High-Fructose Corn Syrup and Coke made with cane sugar. But when we asked the people at Pepsi the same question, they had a very different answer.
Says a rep for Pepsi to Consumerist:
We do believe there is a taste difference between HFCS and sucrose. While some consumers do not taste a difference, others express a preference for one or the other. Millions of consumers love Pepsi the way it is made today — with HFCS — and we know that products like Pepsi Throwback, Mountain Dew Throwback and, now Sierra Mist Natural, which are sweetened with sucrose have devoted followings.
Without getting into the hotly debated topic of whether or not HFCS is any worse for consumers than sucrose, the rep did say that people are buying the real-sugar products for a variety of reasons: “Some consumers prefer sucrose for taste reasons, others for nostalgia reasons or because they think of it as a more natural sweetener option,” she said.
As for the continued and future availability of the Throwback beverages, the rep tells Consumerist, “Both Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback have traditionally been ‘limited time offer’ products — available for only a few weeks at a time. Due to consumer demand we have extended their availability and brought them back a few times. For next year we’ve already made plans to bring them back, but availability may change due to a variety of factors including regional popularity and retail space.”
We also asked why, in places like New York City, it’s often easier to find Throwback drinks in small corner stores than it is at larger, chain groceries. The rep explained that it’s likely due to local bottlers and distributors finding these stores more willing to purchase and try out small quantities of the relatively new products.
More From Consumerist
-
Pepsi Wants You To Try New Yogurt Flavors Like “Choco Balls”
-
Hold On To Your Cans, Diet Pepsi Devotees: Your Soda's Sweetener Is Getting Tweaked
-
Japan’s New “Pepsi Special” Claims It Can Reduce Fat So You Can Eat Crap, Be Skinny
-
Diet Pepsi Switches Up Its Sweetener Ever So Quietly
-
Pepsi-Chicken Lay’s Potato Chips Are Tastier Than They Sound, But Only Sold In China
It’s no surprise that Pepsi would make this claim, considering they’ve invested significant capital into a “throwback” campaign that happens to include no-HFCS versions of Pepsi and Mountain Dew. Coincidence? I think not.
Heh. Yeah, really. Just like in 1985 how Pepsi had the balls to say it tastes better than Coke, and to even go so far as to “challenge” Coke to a “taste test”.
Ballsy!
But in this case – they’re right. I cant stand non-mexican coke. Throwback? I’ll drink that stuff all day long.
Now if only they had Pepsi Natural. . .
Oh, I agree that they’re right; I was just pointing out that in addition to being right, they have a large financial incentive for making the claim.
OMG. I’ve been looking for Pepsi Natural for over a year now. It’s gone for good, isn’t it? sniff
I just got back from Chicago and saw it in a few places there, including vending machines. Seems it’s still available in some areas
Pepsi throwback is made with sugar. There was also a limited release of something called Pepsi Natural that was only sold in bottles like gourmet bottled drinks. I have not been able to find any of that but I can find Pepsi throwback most of the time.
Coke screwed themselves by refusing to come out with a sugar option. We used to stock up on Passover Coke when we were somewhere civilized in the spring since they don’t sell it where we live. Coke’s refusal to offer a sugar option that is easy to find just threw us over to Pepsi. I blame throwback for starting to drink soda again dammit.
it’s widely known that was kind of a scam. pepsi is sweeter so tests better if you’re only drinking a sip. Pepsi used that to their advantage. the Pepsi marketers from back then said as much.
+1. There’s no way Pepsi could make the same claim since they have these products out on the market.
As someone who used to work for one of Pepsi’s main ad agencies, I’m actually surprised at how good their PR response was.
I thought the Throwback versions were extended indefinitely. I’ve exhausted my only source (a local gas station) and have been searching for weeks for more.
The sam’s here in town has throwback. It is cheap, too. That and the Dollar General. Apparently, it is a popular item.
My local walmart has it but the local Price Chopper doesn’t. Have yet to check out Tops.
lucky you, cant find it anywhere!!!!
My store has a seemingly-infinite supply of Throwback… bottles and cans….. unfortunately I can’t find any Heritage Dr Pepper lately
Have you tried calling your local bottler and asking? I’ve called Coca-Cola bottler before to ask where KFP Coca-Cola was being sold and they were glad to help.
Have you tried the discounter stores like Costco, BJs, Sam’s club? I usually get my sucrose drinks(Mexican coke too!) from Costco. They’ve had throwback a couple of times too.
Nice to see them say it, but not like they didn’t have a reason. Every press release is calculating and self-serving… this this case promoting Throwback while also disparaging Coke’s claim that they’re the same.
That does not make it any less true. In fact, throwback is NOT available year round. They are basically saying enough of the population can taste the difference to influence buying behavior. Jones soda dumped HFCS and switched exclusively to sucrose. They announced it. It is not a cost savings tool like coke is doing saying there is no difference.
Yeah, but its true. I don’t get this whole “Well, of course they’d say that” reaction. Maybe, but its also true. Doesn’t that sort of trump any desire to be suspicious or corporations. The truth may benefit them, but its still the truth.
I prefer HFCS Pepsi and Sugarfied Mountain Dew. I also prefer Mountain Dew that is called Mountain Dew and not Mnt Dw or whatever it is now. I do wish they stuck with the first iteration of Dew Throwback packaging, though.
And if no one told you that your current beverage had one sweetener or the other, you wouldn’t know the difference.
They’ve tested this. For decades. People only “taste” a difference when they’re told one way or the other.
Same with bottled water. Local tap water consistently blind-tests as “better tasting” than bottled water, but if you outright *ask* someone whether “bottled water” or “tap water” tastes better, they’ll say “bottled.”
Well, that’s a tough one. The water, that is. I live in Portland, we have delicious tap water (assuming you don’t have nasty pipes, which a basic filter can deal with). But, when I go to california, hell no- bottled water all the way cuz tap down there always tastes like butt. So, tap water is *extremely* subjective.
As for the HFCS vs Sugar… I see a taste test in my future. I need some regular pepsi, pepsi throwback, regular coke, and mexican coke… and my roommates as guinea pigs.
There are seriously people that can’t taste the difference? I feel sorry for what I can only assume would be their more narrow pallet of taste. Honestly. Not to say that I think the throwback tastes better, it makes me pretty sick pretty quickly.
Agreed. I can taste it, and i cant get through a 20oz bottle without feeling ooey gooey inside.
I find that drink less mexican Coke but enjoy it more than the HFCS stuff. I feel full after drinking a bottle with lunch whereas not so much with regular Coke.
That’s the beauty of my body telling me it’s full of sucrose and enough is enough…
Exactly. * I enjoy mexicoke FAR more than regular (in fact I can’t even drink regular anymore) but I drink less of it. Throwback pepsi the same, can’t stand any variety of Mtn Dew, and Throwback DP I can take or leave.
*Single anecdotal submission only; not intended to substitute for real data with a real sample size; your mileage may vary; not intended to diagnose, treat, or cause disease; if you are drinking Mexicoke for more than 4 hours, please contact your doctor immediately as this could cause permanent injury.
I can absolutely tell the difference.
In an effort to silence an obnoxiously skeptical co-worker, I did a blind taste-test. 10 out of 10 times, I correctly identified Pepsi Throwback over Pepsi, and Mexican Coke (sometimes known as Kosher Coke) over regular Coke.
Yeah, a lot of effort just to make a point, but the guy was really being a taint about it.
I’d venture a guess that the recipe for Throwback and regular Pepsi are not 100% the same, sans sweetener.
They probably had to tweak the recipe to allow the use of HFCS. So if you’re suggesting that Throwback is the same product we used to drink as kids, you’re right.
And I just love me some Sierra Mist Natural. It’s “cleaner”, with a more pronounced lemon flavor.
I’m just saying that just because someone can taste the difference between Throwback and regular Pepsi doesn’t mean that they can taste the difference between sugar and HFCS.
Even better is the Cranberry Sierra Mist…fantastic stuff.
All Coke is kosher, but only Coke with sugar is kosher for Passover.
I’m actually a supertaster and I can’t taste the difference. Some can, I guess, but I can’t, but it doesn’t seem to have any other consequences for my taste palate. Why would it?
Thank you for the correct use of palate. I was wondering what his narrow skid had to do with tasting things.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pallet
Touche’ to be honest I’d never used the word in writing. Thanks though.
crashfrog you are not a supertaster if you cant taste the difference. The difference is pretty big.
And what is that difference, exactly?
Look, I’m taking your word that you can taste the difference, but frankly I’m skeptical. You might as well be claiming to be able to see into the infrared. I mean, it’s possible but unlikely. And what tests have you done? If you think being able to tell the difference between Mexican and American Coke is somehow the same thing, you missed today’s story that Mexican Coke is HFCS, too.
Get some corn syrup and some sucrose, dissolve in plain water at various concentrations, and tell me the minimum concentration before you’re able to discern the difference in a blinded, nose-pinched taste test at least 80% of the time – then I’ll believe you can taste the difference. Of course, under these conditions, not even verified supertasters could reliably detect a difference in flavor at anything but absurd concentrations, and that was explained as a detectable difference in viscosity, not flavor.
You hit the nail on the head – it is primarily a difference in viscosity that I notice. The “throwback” versions leave less of a slimy afterfeel in my mouth after I swig, and this affects the aftertaste as well.
“I’m actually a supertaster and I can’t taste the difference.”
No, you aren’t. You’re a fussy eater. Your pickiness does not make you a more apt taster.
Finely powered sugar and granulated sugar are exactly the same chemically, yet most people notice differences in taste. Why wouldn’t they notice differences between things that are actually chermically different?
Good for them for admitting it. It does sort of make me want to switch from Coke Zero to Pepsi Max, but since neither are made with HFCS, that kind of defeats the purpose. Plus, Coke Zero is amazing. Pepsi Max isn’t bad, either, and way better than that awful Diet Pepsi.
I agree. Coke Zero is great, but with this latest Pepsi move I would love to support them.
OMG how dare you put down my diet pepsi!! I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN.
/ homicidal rant.
I love Pepsi Max and 2nd is Coke Zero. Hate diet coke! When I was I kid, I could never drink these kinds of drinks. Well, you live and learn.
Pepsi One is sort of the improved version of Diet Pepsi. But Pepsi One is all but abandoned now.
Pepsi One is the true competitor to Coke Zero.
Pepsi Max is getting all the attention but the truth is, it’s not the same kind of drink. The ginseng in it makes it “something else” besides a diet cola. Almost an energy drink. And it’s still full of aspartame.
I never liked Pepsi and where I live we have few choices because it never really had success.
On the other hand, I agree with them, because different sweeteners produce a different taste.
If you use honey to sweeten tea or milk, it tastes differently, as well as you use fructose, cane sugar or beet sugar (that in Europe is more common).
No-sugar sodas are in my opinion too sweet and I don’t like them.
As regards the problems or threats to health of each sweetener, I have always had the suspect (a really heavy one) that the results vary with regard to the people who commissioned the study.
“…cane sugar or beet sugar (that in Europe is more common).”
Isn’t it the other way around? Isn’t beet sugar the norm, by a very wide margin, in the USA?
As a matter of fact I haven’t the data, I just thought it was like that.
When I was in the USA I only saw cane sugar, but it might have been the places where I went and I wasn’t there enough to produce a statistic.
I think beet sugar is mostly used in prepared products as the sugar ingredient unless it says cane sugar.
I hope you’re reading this Pepsi – please send Mountain Dew throwback to the HEBs in Corpus Christi. Thank you.
And please continue to make both “Throwback” sodas indefinitely. It is all I buy now.
Welcome fellow South Texan!
Oh, and check your local small corner stores, not the huge HEB’s. Sunrise Market has the Throwback family in the reach in coolers.
Make that HEBs everywhere!
Whoa cool 361 REPRESENT!!!!
Yeah yeah, soda blah blah, what I REALLY want is more grocery store options than just HEB or Walmart. I don’t set foot in Walmarts on principle, and I like HEB, but some competition would be nice. And I would kill for a Costco. Did the HEB cabal go break the kneecaps of other grocery chains when they eyed this market, or something?
(End of off-topic rant.)
We have them here at a few HEB’s in San Antonio! Come on up for a weekend trip, and get your MD Throwbacks!
I can taste a difference. I love Pepsi throwback and very strongly dislike regular Pepsi.
Kudos to Pepsi. Even if it wasn’t true, they are taking an innovative approach to try to differenciate themselves from Coke.
You know, Years ago I used to believe there was no difference. Then a co-worker and Coke fanatic heard I couldn’t tell the difference. He brought be two cans of Coke from different bottlers in a brown bag and asked me to try both.
One easily won the taste test, but it was very hard to describe the difference in flavor. The winner? Sugar. Losing was the HFCS.
i did a similar taste test a year ago and between the 4 of us, nobody could really tell a differece. if you can, then more power to you get what you prefer.
why from different bottlers? Can you get both versions from the same bottler?
I can’t even tell diet vs. non diet, so I drink diet. So…I don’t really care about all this HFCS crap. And no, I’m not going to get cancer from the aspartame or whatever.
Bless you for being able to not tell a difference. Diet cola makes me want to vomit because of the aftertaste. This, of course, because I don’t regularly drink diet.
This was a few years ago. The Philadelphia Coke bottler used HFCS while Coatesville still used sugar.
I agree that it’s hard to pinpoint the difference. I think the sugar one is actually both more tart and sweeter… but beyond that it’s almost like a texture/consistency difference, as weird as that is to say about a beverage.
“We also asked why, in places like New York City, it’s often easier to find Throwback drinks in small corner stores than it is at larger, chain groceries. The rep explained that it’s likely due to local bottlers and distributors finding these stores more willing to purchase and try out small quantities of the relatively new products.”
There is more profit in a 0 oz than a 3 liter. I don’t believe the spokesman statement.
Isn’t it also because it’s (more) Kosher? I think the theory is that during the processing of HFCS, that it may undergo some amount of fermentation. I imagine that people become accustomed to the taste during passover and then they just keep drinking it.
kosher for passover means it’s not made from specific things, in this case corn
“kitniyot” is the term covering the prohibition against corn in this article
http://judaism.about.com/library/3_askrabbi_o/bl_simmons_passoverkosher.htm
The rep may be right. Space profitability does not scale. A six pack sold at a large or super grocery store has a different profit margin than a small store. For a large store, it may be seen as a risky venture to allocate an equal amount of space for the new product (which would reduce the space of the existing product by about half).
If a large store wants to try something out at in a smaller amount, it usually gets a rebate or reduced cost by the vendor. Small amounts in a large store usually charge a higher premium (example: IBC rootbeer costs more than a pepsi six pack).
I think part of this may also be a matter of large stores having higher product turnover than corner stores. If Throwback is available for three weeks, then the large stores will sell out of it shortly after those three weeks end, while smaller stores will have it on the shelves longer.
I know this happens in my area of the Chicago ‘burbs.
I did a personal taste test between Pepsi current and throwback. I found that the HFCS version smelt more and tasted more intense versus the original. This is good or bad depending on how you think about it. I’d go with the sugar version when I can afford it. Otherwise Publix brand HFCS cola (regular and decaf) all the way for me at about 79¢ a bottle…
I can’t initially taste the difference between HFCS and sugar, but I can sure tell just minutes later. HFCS leaves a heavy after taste, sugar not. HFCS gives me a ferocious headache 10 mins. later. Sugar doesn’t. HFCS makes me feel tired, not sugar. So, sure, HFCS isn’t easy for me to initial taste, but I can sure tell which sweetener a soda uses very quickly.
I can agree with you and others about the taste difference, but as far as the physical reaction difference in the body biologically, I have a hard time understanding why the fructose/glucose combination in HFCS is different than that in cane sugar.
Google has told me that Sucrose is made of 50% fructose and 50% glucose, whereas high-fructose corn syrup can be either 55% fructose, 45% glucose, or 42% fructose, 58% glucose.
If this is true, is that much of a disparity, though enough to change the taste, enough to cause headaches / nausea? Any biochemists able to chime in?
Anecdotal evidence – I had a co-worker one time who was apparently allergic to all things corn. So no sodas for him, no chips at the Mexican joint, nothing. Gave him the same symptom – a raging headache shortly after ingestion. So in vastrightwing’s case, it may be something similar – not the ratio difference, but the fact that it comes from corn instead…
That makes a good amount of sense then; I was thinking that perhaps there was an additional change in the recipes, aside the sugar used.
Reading up on corn allergies… I think I might stay away from corn for two weeks just to check if my own joints / headaches get better.
I really wanted to like the Mountain Dew Throwback, but it had an odd taste. “Peppery” for lack of a better word.
My thoughts exactly. Its not like I remember it.
Us high-society types call that “Piquant”.
N shit.
Maybe I got a bad bottle, but I thought it tasted like flat HFCS Mt. Dew. Bit sweeter, but no tang.
Six:
You might want to double check the expiration date on that soda. Had the exact same experience with a can of regular Pepsi… Tasted just like ground pepper. It was two months past its expiration date. Swapped it out at the shop I bought it from. Always check the dates!
No kidding? Alright, it’s worth another try.
The big difference, as far as I can tell, is that the Throwback versions are made less sweet than their normal counterparts. With Mountian Dew Throwback, it lets you really taste the citrus in it.
I can definitely taste the difference. My ex was a soda fanatic. I’m not fond of any drinks that contain any sugar of any sort, but I could drink his soda if I was desperate. He bought some of the throwback sodas once, and I decided to try them. I couldn’t get past the first sip. I don’t know what the difference was, but I hated it.
If I had to describe the taste difference between throwback and regular pepsi, I’d say that throwback has more of a crisp taste that trails off quickly, while regular pepsi has more of a sticky wave of a taste that trails off much more slowly. I also kind of think the HFCS tastes a tad bit metallic in cola drinks.
What’s the big deal? They both taste like chicken to me.
I’m waiting for Crystal Pepsi Throwback…waiting…waiting…waiting…come on already!
lol I remember Crystal Pepsi. I bought a bottle on ebay a few years ago for my best friend who loved it. I actually didn’t like it very much. It tasted like flat Pepsi that had been re-carbonated. He still has his bottle on display though. It has been getting more and more yellow as time goes by…
Thanks to throwback mountain dew, I learned why diet mountain dew tastes so bad: diet and throwback taste almost exactly the same. Apparently the HFCS makes mountain dew bearable.
Some can tell the difference, some can’t. The ad is self-serving either way.
“Pepsi Has The Balls To Say What Coke Won’t: HFCS Doesn’t Taste Exactly The Same As Sugar“
No, it didn’t. Pepsi said nothing about its opinion on the matter. And no spokesperson from Pepsi gave an opinion. What Pepsi said was that some customers have a preference for the sugared products over the HFCS products. That’s basically the same thing Coke said. Coke’s solution to that preference was to have customers drink the version imported from Mexico.
Sierra Mist Natural is delicious. Mountain Dew Throwback tastes incredible. Pepsi I could take it or leave it. I’m glad Pepsi has agreed to keep them around. I may only drink one or two a week but it’s nice to have the choice.
I do prefer mexican coke for my rum and cokes, even at $2-3 a bottle.
Wow. They’ve been 10 for $10 at Albertson’s for awhile, and you can get them at Costco in an 18-bottle case for about a dollar a bottle, too. $2-$3 sounds like highway robbery. Sorry about that
My Costco has them for 75 cents a bottle, but I do only live about fifty miles away from the border.
$1.50 for it in my local grocery store in omaha, i get about 1 a week for rum(appleton FTW) and coke, tried throwback and rum , not the same
Real Coke is definitely the best for a rum & coke. I think the fact that you have two cane sugar products together produces a real “resonance” in the taste. I buy a few bottles at my local deli every once in a while for $1.50 or $1.59. I’m sure I could get it cheaper at Costco but I like to keep it as an occasional treat, as it’s something that I could get way too fond of. On the plus side, I can barely stand to drink HCFS Coke, so it’s removed that temptation altogether.
$2-$3 a bottle for Mexican Coke? I can buy it for 99 cents a bottle (along with orange pop from Mexico in glass bottles at the same price) at my local small-town grocery store. It comes complete with the writing in Spanish. Surprisingly for a town with few Mexican inhabitants, it sold out relatively quickly, even though people couldn’t read the labels other than it had the Coke logo on it.
Well, the fact that they use different formulas for sucrose vs. HFCS sweetened sodas also explains the taste difference. That’s why the first version of MD throwback stunk. They didn’t add in orange juice, and it was horrible.
When are they making Pepsi Quantum?
I could tell you the date, or I could tell you where it will be sold, but I can’t tell you both.
Nice Fallout reference.
The varied comments on sugar vs. HFCS vs. Coke vs. Pepsi vs. Mt. Dew, etc. all highlight the challenges that food and drink manufacturers face: things taste different to different people.
Rather than making the issue one of “My soda beats your soda” or “My soda flavor with the following ingredients is the One True Soda,” it seems we should find what we like and leave it at that. Beyond the sugar vs. HFCS issue, what about all the other things in the brown liquid (or urine-colored Mtn. Dew) that might cause us health issues? Or we could just accept that fact that anything we buy has been designed to appeal to the largest group of people and return the most profit to the makers?
I have no problem with Pepsi or Coke trying to maximize their profits – that is what they are in business to do and selling sodas of varying flavors is how they do it. Advertising by its nature and intent is self-serving. Each consumer who opts to buy something at a lower price is self-serving by attempting to minimize personal costs while maximizing personal value.
We don’t have to worry about the other things in the sugar salt water, it is the sugar, the fructose that is in both High Fructose Corn Syrup, and in table sugar (Sucrose), which is unhealthy for us (well that and the salt).
Fructose is unhealthy because it does not provide us any benefit to our bodies (like a nutrient could), and because it is processed only by our livers (putting a strain on our livers depending on how much we are having our liver process and what else our livers are doing at the time).
Does everyone know how unhealthy the amount of sugar we ingest is? I think that on one hand we all do, but on the other advertisements and everyday life makes it seem trivial, just as smoking cigarettes seemed trivial a century ago even though common sense told people it wasn’t healthy (the coughing is a dead give-away). Soda is seen as safe for children, and generally, it is probably a lot safer than driving or school sports.
The HFCS/Cane Sugar debate does overlook the health concern, and has us arguing over what poison tastes better; but if we all know it is poison shouldn’t we be interested in getting the best enjoyment out of it?
In the Northeast Ohio area, Coke has quietly replaced HFCS with Sucrose. No drama, no throwbacks, just real sugar in the Coke. Another thing I have noticed since Costco started selling cases of Mexican Coke here: Coke in glass, 100x better than coke in plastic or metal.
are there sugar beet farms in the area? maybe it’s cheaper for the bottler
Pop in glass bottles is awesome. But I can’t find them anywhere.
I have a pretty sensitive tongue and I can tell you that there is certainly a major difference in taste between HFCS and Sugar and I’ll choose Sugar every time.
There’s definitely a difference. Definitely. It’s not so radical that it’s worth calling it by a different name, but it’s noticeable if you were to taste them side-by-side.
here it is.
All of us with a sweet tooth have a keen appreciation for sugar. But few of us realize that the United States is the world’s fourth-largest producer of sugar (after Brazil, India, and the European Union), or that more than half of U.S. sugar production comes from sugar beets. (Most of the rest comes from sugarcane.) U.S. sugar beet production has grown significantly over the past decade, tied primarily to expanded processing capacity among sugar beet factories. U.S. farmers produced 33 million tons of sugar beets on 1.6 million acres in 2000, versus 28 million tons of sugar beets on 1.4 million acres in 1990. Most sugar beets were processed in 26 factories near production areas to minimize transportation costs and deterioration of sugar content.
U.S. sugar beets are generally grown in areas with cooler climates; the Red River Valley (in western Minnesota and eastern North Dakota) is the largest and fastest-growing sugar beet-producing region, accounting for nearly half of U.S. total beet acreage in 2000. The Pacific Northwest, Great Plains, and Great Lakes regions also have substantial sugar beet production. However, some sugar beets are grown in warmer climates like the Imperial Valley of California.
http://www.ers.usda.gov/amberwaves/february05/findings/Sugarbeets.htm
numbers are from 2005, so number most likely have changed slightly. Easter Michigan has a big sugar beet production area.
Come to Canada, we’ve been using sugar forever and our Pepsi tastes just fine.
Trust Americans to get hooked on HFCS.
Mountain Dew throwback is delicious!
Dew Throwback is pretty damned good. Wish they made White Out with sugar. Seriously I can’t wait until February when Mt Dew White Out joins the regular lineup. Seriously it’s the best Mt Dew variety yet.
Pepsi and Coke will sell whatever the public wants. If there was a market for soda spiked with Tabasco or chicken then they would sell that. Apparently they are not yet convinced that there is a large enough market for non-HFCS to make it profitable & worth the expense.
eventually someone will start a petition [if there isn't already one somewhere on the web] and it will gain momentum and get sent to pepsi and coke. in the face of so much consumer pressure they might actually go for it
I love the Sierra Mist Natural, it’s amazing.
The Mountain Dew throwback I had a taste of about a year ago made me gag, it tasted sorta skunky. I’ve been told the recipe has changed, but that one drink put me of Mountain Dew entierly.
I haven’t had the Pepsi throwback yet, but all this talk of soda makes me want one. If it’s anything like Mexican coke, it should be amazing and have a much smoother taste.
I tried the pepsi throwbacks, and they were disgusting. Give me that delicious corn sugar, let me bathe in it, let me make love to it. So much better than sugar.
-1 internets for calling it “corn sugar”.
Just tried a Mexican Coke outside of Atlanta on Sunday.
Absolutely tasted different, and perhaps even better (I got a sense I was tasting more “cola” flavor than “sweet” flavor). Plus it seemed a bit smoother [less viscous] which was a nice effect.
Granted for the past 2 days I’ve been fighting off a bit of food poisoning, but Waffle House, Taco Bell, and a dirty water fountain on a golf course are all above the Mexican Coke on my list of suspects.
I cannot stand regular Coca-Cola….it just tastes way too heavy and syrup-y. I don’t know if it is a local bottler issue or what, because I have had Coke in other parts of the country and it tastes much better (I’m talking about the HFCS variety). Pepsi is much better, and glad they see the popularity of Throwback and how there is a difference in taste.
I can say this, thank the lord we have a large enough mexican population here in Florida to have mexican coke all ways available….even Fresh Market carries it here.
Well, they are right. It’s a huge difference. I’ll admit, it doesn’t taste *as* different in coke, but in Pepsi products, you instantly notice the difference. I think cola masks the taste difference more than say, Mt. Dew, Dr. Pepper.
I love Pepsi Throwback, i always stock up on it when I see it… But I feel like HFCS is a fundamental part of Mountain Dew, i tried the throwback Dew and it just tasted strange.
We were lucky enough to get Mexican Pepsi in one of our stores. I did a side by side with Pepsi Throwback. Even that tastes different. (mexican pepsi was WAY TOO SWEET)
If you cant taste the difference between the 2 you have some serious issues. Normal Mountain Dew and Throwback Mountain Dew taste so different you wouldnt even know one was Mountain Dew unless someone told you..and you noticed it was green.
A simple taste test between a spoonful of high-fructose corn syrup and a spoonful of sugar will prove there is a difference. Only problem is pure HFCS is only approved for industrial use. Closest thing a consumer can buy is regular corn syrup sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup. I can even buy cancer-causing pure saccharin if I wanted to, but no HFCS. Why is that?
corn is good for making cattle fat
I recommend trying Trader Joe’s Vintage Cola in you have one near you ($3.50 for a 4-pack of 12 oz. bottles). It comes in glass bottles, tastes great, and is made with real sugar (with no artificial colors, sweeteners, flavors, preservatives, or phosphoric acid). What more could ask for?
I can absolutely taste the difference. I hate the way HFCS tastes, its a musty kind of sweetness compared to the crispness of real sugar.
I stand by my love for all things Throwback, but only because no one distributes Red Rock cola around here….
I for one can tell the difference every time between sugar and HCFS. I can also tell the difference between sodas in cans or in glass bottles. Sodas from cans have a metallic tang to them when I drink them.
The biggest difference between HCFS and Sugar in sodas for me is the texture. HCFS drinks seem thicker to me than sugar. I can also usually taste more of all the flavors used when it’s sweetened with Sugar.
I’ve had throwback dew and pepsi. pepsi I wasn’t really thrilled about. But the mountain dew throwback has a taste of citris that is much more pronounced than HCFS Mountain Dew. The citris notes were MUCH more noticable to me in the sugar version.
The most pronounced flavor change for me was with Dr Pepper Heritage. In the sugar version you can taste the cherry notes much more than you can the HCFS and that flavor lasts a bit longer. I pick this up ANYTIME I see it in a store.
Cilantro also tastes like bleach smells to me, I won’t even touch the stuff and can tell if there is ANY in any dish I have. Makes the whole thing taste like bleach.
There are tons of studies showing that some people are super tasters and some people are inhibited and also people in between. So how each of us experiences taste is different and also highly subjective.
V
I completely agree about the sugar Dr. Pepper. The difference is immediately obvious, the sugar version being much smoother IMO. I can take or leave normal Dr. Pepper but gosh the sugar version is good. If (when) they take it off the shelf I’ll likely stop drinking Dr. Pepper again.
I’m one of those that can taste the difference. I love the Throwback Pepsi products as well as the elusive vintage Dr. Pepper with natural sugar and buy them over the normal versions. I wish all pop was made that way instead of HFCS now.