Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Coke Zero (Sugar)

Coke Zero (Sugar)


Sometime in the mid to late 1990s, I discovered a new form of Coca-Cola, called "Coke Zero."  It was in a white container with the familiar Coke logo. I thought it interesting, and when Sandra went up to Canada to open the summer home, I packed it away for her, thinking she'd like it.

When she got back, she still had most of the Coke Zero. She told me that perhaps I would like it; it was too sweet for her.

I tried it, and to me, it tasted just like regular Coca Cola. The idea of a sugar-free drink that I would actually drink intrigued me; I could do without all that sugar in my diet.

From that point on, I avoided the sugary drink and preferred the "Zero" version of the drink. Soon afterward, Sprite Zero appeared, although it didn't taste much different (if at all) from "Diet Sprite" that preceded it. (I actually liked both Diet Sprite and Sprite Zero.)

I cannot really describe the taste of Coke Zero except to say that it tastes more like Coca Cola to me than Diet Coke ever did (I never learned to like that bitter aftertaste of Diet Coke). I've talked to others about it, and found something quite interesting: people either loved it or hated it.

I'm not sure why there were such black and white opinions about the formula, but since other people's opinions regarding the taste of soft drinks weren't about to change my own, it never bothered me.

Recently, my youngest daughter informed me that Coke Zero was soon going to be changing its formula—perhaps just slightly. There would be a new name as well: Coke Zero Sugar.

At the time, I figured the name change was for marketing purposes. Pepsi had their own "Pepsi Zero" and I guess you really cannot trademark a number, so Coke wanted to differentiate from their competitor.

Yesterday, I tasted the new formula for the first time.

My initial thought was that it was too sweet.

That struck me as funny. That was Sandra's first opinion of Coke Zero. However, I realized that the taste wasn't all that different from Coke Zero, so I finished the bottle and decided it wasn't particularly bad.

Perhaps the new formula will appeal more widely to the people that absolutely hated the old Coke Zero. If that's true, then I hope they give it at last a chance.