Do Mexican sodas really taste different?

[xiphias]

It is my belief that Coke products produced in Mexico taste better than ones made in the United States.  Enough other people have this belief that it is now imported to our local stores.

 

Still, is this just my imagination, or is it real?  At my last grocery trip, I decided to find out.  Sprite and Coke.

 

I got six things: three Sprites and three Cokes, and we just tried the Sprites.

 

We had Mexican Sprite in a glass bottle, a 7.5 oz can of American Sprite, and a 20 oz plastic bottle of American Sprite.  We didn't taste them blind, though.

 

Results?  The Mexican Sprite had actual citrus flavor that the American ones lacked.  They were barely  even SIMILAR.  However, all three were cloying to our taste.

 

The Mexican Sprite would be good with a decent gin; the American ones just wouldn't work.

Comments

[arib.livejournal.com]

I haven't tried Mexican Sprite yet, just the Coca-Cola and orange Fanta. I know what I'm doing tomorrow.

[kalmn.livejournal.com]

um. yes. they use real sugar in mexico.

[yehoshua.livejournal.com]

There's more to it than just that, although that's a significant factor. There's also the recipe licensure problem, where Coca Cola Corporation has adjusted their domestic US recipe over time, but not every country has spent the money to keep up because they don't think they'll realize a significant profit on it. So Mexican Coke has always tasted basically the same through my lifetime and the US version, stocked on the shelf right next to it, has fluctuated.

FWIW, I think the real money for Mexican soda manufacturers is in flavors we don't even make in the US, like tamarind. I introduced buffpixie to it a few weeks ago and I think I made a convert.

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

Indeed, when we brought Mexican Coke to a family gathering, my parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents all were hit hard with a taste memory. They said that it tasted like they remembered Coke tasting when they were kids.

And they were right.

[ron_newman]

Are the Jarritos sodas at Anna's Tacqueria genuinely Mexican, or just US imitations?

[yehoshua.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure, honestly, I never order sodas there, but get my burrito to go instead.

I see a research project in my future.

[seventorches.livejournal.com]

When my mother introduced me to tamarind when I was a kid I thought it tasted just like flat Coke. (That's a good thing, I like flat Coke.)

[xiphias.livejournal.com]

One of the ones I'm looking forward to is Mexican vs Pesach. What I'm given to understand is that the distinction between regular American Coke and Pesach Coke is noticeable, but the distinction between Pesach Coke and Mexican Coke is far, far greater. I want to do THAT taste test, too.

[arib.livejournal.com]

I find that Mexi-coke and Pesach-coke taste closer to each other. THat said, I've never done a side by side tasting of the two of them.

[yehoshua.livejournal.com]

One thing I've noticed about both pesadich and Mexican Coke is that the real sugar provides a different mouth feel for both versus "regular" Coke, even though it's clear to me that there are other differences. I wonder how much of what different people perceive is down not to the flavours themselves, but the associated differences in things like viscosity.

[cafemusique.livejournal.com]

I think this is a big part of it. I can not drink US Pepsi. I can drink the Pepsi Throwback, because it tastes like I remember Canadian Pepsi tasting like, before I moved here 3 or 4 years ago. The same with Orange Crush. The US version tastes disgusting to me. I bought a 12-pack of cans when we were in Canada, and it tastes as wonderful as I remembered it.

But as other commenters say, it's not just HFCS. Because I can drink US Coke without much problem at all. But I'm pretty sure it's a large factor.

FTR, when I'm ordering in a restaurant it'll either be Coke or Sierra Mist, depending on which line of drinks is sold there.

[dandelion-diva.livejournal.com]

Sierra Mist tastes to me like Sprite tasted when I was a kid.

[solipsistnation.livejournal.com]

If you can find the Mexican Sangria soda, try it!