the great molius coke challenge (part 1)

well, i had been hoping to do this last weekend, but getting screwed by work postponed things. i would have liked to have done this sooner, but i've only just now been able to it.

the challengers:

• coke classic
  
• diet coke
  
• diet coke with splenda
  
• coke zero
  
• c2

in between tastings, i would eat a little pita to cleanse the taste buds.

coke classic: this is what i grew up on. i have no other way to describe it other than it's 'coke'. what i expected, and what i remember. the baseline for my taste test. i've always liked it, i probably always will.

diet coke: suprisingly, the intial taste in my mouth was the flavor of coke classic. i wasn't expecting that, but then it changed and that's when the aspertame kicks in and the taste changes, and gives you that aftertaste that we associate with many diet sodas.

diet coke with splenda: quite good. this tasted more like coke classic than diet coke. in the later tastings, the only real difference i found between diet coke w/splenda and coke classic, is that coke classic has a more sugary texture to it. no suprise there, that would be the corn syrup, but i can now say with confidence that diet coke w/splenda really does taste more like coke classic than diet coke.

coke zero: the new one. a wildcard as it just sorta appeared and i didn't know what to make of it. well, it's an interesting suprise. looking at it, one would expect it to be like diet coke, but the pleasant suprise it that while it uses aspertame as its sweetener, it doesn't leave that diet coke aftertaste. i also felt that the flavor was smoother than diet, which seems somewhat sharp. when i compared it to diet coke w/splenda, i thought the flavors were similar, but that coke zero was a drier flavor (reminded me of a dry white wine).

C2: a cross between coke classic and diet using splenda. to be fair, the drink by date on it was 7/11/05, so it was nearing the end of life. and it did remind me of coke that is past its prime. so it's hard to really compare it to the others, but before the past prime flavor kicks in, it does taste like a cross between coke classic and diet coke. when i tried it a while back, that was my reaction then as well. it didn't do anything for me.

so, where does that leave us? well, i still prefer coke classic over all, but with that cutting back on sugar thing i've been doing for some time, here are my results:

1. Coke Classic
   
2. Diet Coke w/Splenda
   
3. Coke Zero
   
4. Diet Coke
   
5. C2

looks like all in all, of the diet/lower sugar varieties of coke, Diet Coke w/Splenda is the clear victor. it tastes more like Coke Classic, has a full flavor, but isn't as sticky/sugary as Coke Classic. Coke Zero is a good alternative and i think this is what Diet Coke should have been way back when it was introduced. i like how it doesn't have the aftertaste of diet coke.

so, there you go. initial impressions. tomorrow i'll repeat the test, and with help from M, we may even do a blind taste test to see which we like the best. more results shortly.