Coca-Cola Taste Test: High Fructose Corn Syrup vs. Sugar

Nearly 30 years ago, Coca-Cola switched over from sugar to high-fructose corn syrup to sweeten America's beloved carbonated soft drink. With corn subsidized by the government, its sugary syrup became a more affordable option for the beverage company.

While this switch went largely unnoticed for quite some time (though it's common knowledge these days), it didn't take place on an international level. Actually, the sweetener used in Coca-Cola varies from country to country based on what ingredient is most affordable for the bottling plant's location. And in many countries, Mexico included, Coke is still made with real sugar.

Mexican Coke, which comes in an old-fashioned glass bottle, was first imported to the U.S. market for the immigrant population and initially could only be found in little bodegas. But it's now available in a number of major grocery stores across the country.

Why does Mexican Coke share the same shelf as regular Coke? The answer is simple: it has a cult following that has created the demand. This sugar-sweetened soda ranks high on the list of foodies across the country and even has a Facebook page with thousands of followers. Its fans believe that Mexican Coke has a "more real, authentic flavor," though the Coca-Cola company denies that there's a discernible difference between any of their cokes.

Coke spokesman Scott Williamson told Rob Walker of the New York Times that despite the different use of sweeteners “all of our consumer research indicates that from a taste standpoint, the difference is imperceptible.” We decided to find out for ourselves: is there a palatable difference between regular Coke and Mexican Coke? Or are people just charmed by Mexican Coke's nostalgic glass bottle? Our team of 20 editors conducted a taste test to get real answers.

The Verdict

Twenty editors blind taste-tested the two cokes, side by side, and found ...

• 85 percent of our tasters could tell the difference between regular Coke and Mexican Coke.
• 80 percent of our tasters preferred Mexican Coke to regular Coke.

Here's what our tasters thought:

Regular Coke: "Tastes thicker, sweeter." "Didn't taste good, kind of bland." "Has interesting, almost vanilla, aftertaste, yet weird chemical flavor at first." "Tang -- long aftertaste."

Mexican Coke: "Viva Coca-Cola Mexicana!" "I don't really like soda, but the sugar variety is quite palatable." "Has a cleaner, less artificial flavor." "A little brighter." "Seems sweeter." "Feels thicker." "Pure bubbles."

Other: "Couldn't really taste the difference." "Difference is slight, can't pick a favorite."

IN SUMMARY: Despite what Coke spokespeople may say, there's a very discernable difference between Coke sweetened with sugar and Coke sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup. And the numbers suggest that Mexican Coke is a clear-cut favorite. Now we just need to figure how we can all get our hands on some.

UPDATE: Michael Blanding, author of The Coke Machine: The Dirty Truth Behind the World's Favorite Soft Drink brought to light an excerpt from an earnings conference call by Coca-Cola FEMSA, the Mexican bottler of Coke, in 2009. The speaker is the CFO of the company. This call highlights that Mexican Coke has lowered their mix to, basically, 70 percent local sugar versus 30 percent high-fructose corn syrup. Apparently, that ratio could be closer to 60 percent sugar and 40 percent high-fructose now.

Can you taste a difference between the two Cokes? Leave a comment.

WATCH: 10 Curious Facts About Coke

Comments

[UNSKINATOR]

12:38 PM on 05/08/2013

I have a coke fan for a long time. When i came to USA coke was a disappointment. Later i found out about the HFCS. That is why i now buy the Mexican one. It tastes real. I resided a long time in Swaziland Where they have a factory that makes the suryp for the whole of africa south of sahara. There it is based on sugar because Swaziland grows a LOT of sugarcane. There is a difference on sugars favor.

[Liz Berq]

12:35 AM on 04/21/2013

I can't believe it's just the type of sugar. I've just discovered Mexican Coke and I find it less carbonated, less sweet, more acidic and more refreshing. There is no way I could "chug" a bottle of Mexican coke when I could easily down a bottle of regular coke without thinking about it.

Way back with the New Coke fiasco, I accused Coke of taking itself off the market to "tweak". It never tasted the same after that. Sure I would like to compare it to pre-1985 stuff, but I can't. I am sure that the Mexican stuff is much closer than the Coke we get up here.

[b ears]

02:29 AM on 04/03/2013

Scott Williamson along with the rest of the employees of Coca-Cola should get their taste buds checked . . . HFCS Coke is disgusting, but do you think they really care? It's all about $$$

[jdypat]

04:34 PM on 12/26/2012

Yep.. Yep.. it ws about 30 years ago when I wrote a letter to Coke and complained that Coke no longer tasted like Coke.. A male represenative came to my home in Nashville Tennessee, gave my family a case of coke and explained to me that not one thing had changed about Coke except the coloring agent.. he insisted that they switched to a Cameral Coloring and that it had no taste at all, just the caramel color. I told him then that I was devastated and that he could say nothing that would convince me that the taste of my beloved Coke was not gone.. Now 30 years later, I still do not enjoy Coke, I have switched to Diet Coke but do not get the huge benefit of taste and satisfaction that I got from the real Coke in the 70s,
I am validated now 30 years later to know that Im not alone in this opinion. I am scared to know just how much I would pay for a case of that Real Coke of the 70's...It gave refreshing a new meaning.. it gave satisfaction a new meaning. Im convinced now more than ever that there was something very very good taken out of Coke..and why? It must have been very bad for us and it would must have been very very bad to ignore the monetary effects of putting it back in there now..

[Jake N Dani Reeder]

06:45 PM on 02/08/2013

I agree with you. Coca-Cola is only real, when it has real sugar. I am doing a study on high fructose corn syrup in school, and believe me, that is why obesity has increased over the last 30 years. I have been living in Brazil for the last two years where the Coke is delicious... I only began to like Coca-Cola here because of how delicious it is!!!! HFCS is really bad for you, and more than 40% of the products bought in the store these days are sweetened with this unhealthy sweetener. The companies care more about the cost than they do the quality, or otherwise they would be using real sugar.

[Magnus Thunderson]

08:27 PM on 12/23/2012

Rum and coke was the number on drink in the USA but crashed and burned once new coke then HFCS new coke and the HFCS classic come out as it did not taste right and run and coke is still only good with sugar based coke for me the only soda I drink is mt dew throwback and sierra mist but realy miss my rum and coke so the next time I go crusing I bring back as three times as much coke as rum which will be quite a few cases as I bring back 2 cases of rum per cruse

[Duc Duong]

07:15 PM on 11/04/2012

Maybe you have a bad sense of smell. I can smell the Diff btw Regular and Diet, and can totaly tell when a soda is made with real sugar vs HFCS.

[Jerry Bourbon]

12:28 AM on 09/04/2012

A case of 24 8 oz bottles can be had from the bottler in Tijuana for 84 Mexican Pesos, which is a bit less then $6.50.

[apprin2000]

04:53 PM on 09/02/2012

It's all about getting people to line up and accept Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) products. Corn is the first one to really storm our culture, thus, corn syrup is putting GMOs (and their countless health risks) into our diets earlier than other products. It is all an enormous part of companies like Monsanto getting their hooks into the population control scheme earlier than others. Corn is easier to manipulate than other foods and nowadays, most corn is GMO corn. Don't forget that corn is also the biggest source of food for the cattle that we eat daily; therefore, we are consuming it via numerous facets. Everything other product in our food-sourced world is falling in line quite quickly. Yes, I am an alarmist; however, we need to be alarmed by this reality.

[b ears]

02:08 AM on 04/03/2013

Great post ... and you are not an alarmist ... you're just letting the truth be known ... too bad the masses don't get it : (

[Coke Drinker]

10:36 PM on 07/19/2012

I drink way too much Coke. It is my drink of choice. I just recently discovered the Mexican coke. It tastes so much better than coke with HFCS. Without a doubt! The glass bottle has nothing to do with it. Put it in a can and it will still taste better.

[monkeymuggs]

01:22 PM on 08/15/2012

I think for people like myself who remember the Coke of the 70's is something you'd do anything for. Obviously for the majority of my life I've been drinking the HFCS kind.
But my Brother and I bought about 20 bottles from a little hole in the wall Mexican eatery and my brother got 8 out of 10 and I got it 7 out of 10. That's pretty good considering the huge gap of time that has passed since we had the Real Sugar coke.
I dn't think its got anything at all to do with the Bottle like some people think.

[b ears]

02:40 AM on 04/03/2013

What foods are pcakaged in has a huge impact on how they taste. All drinks packaged in glass taste better, including soda ... Can't you tell the difference between Coke in a plastic bottle vs an aluminium can?

[Kodi Walker]

05:52 PM on 07/07/2012

A local Dollar General started selling 355 ml Mexican glass bottled Coke for $1 ea and I bought a few. I dont taste any difference at all between American and Mexican. I think the main appeal to Mexican Coke is the original glass bottles. The novelty of drinking from a glass bottle after you pry the top off is worth the search for a Mexican Coke though.

[Chockolate]

09:39 PM on 06/28/2012

This is like smokers discussing their preferred type of lung cancer.

[Jerry Bourbon]

12:27 AM on 09/04/2012

And do you know what is REALLY cool? No one is going to make YOU drink the stuff. Ain't freedom great?

[Chockolate]

05:52 AM on 09/04/2012

Except when they market to kids to don't know any better, and by the time they're adults they already have diabetes.

[heardandnotseen]

08:53 PM on 12/21/2012

True no one will make you do anything, but we don't know what GMO's we are drinking or eating if the food is not labeled. It is labeled around the world like Europe but not in the US of A. I call labeling FREEDOM. Not hiding what's in our foods. Hiding the fact that so many GMO's are now rampant, GMO= sugar beet, corn, squash, papaya, canola, soy, cottonseed, (wonder why the cotton fibers are not as good as they used to be, do your research) and now, low and behold, ALFALFA! FREEDOM to me is not just a choice, but being aware of what those choices are without deception from a government food czar.. Did you ever wonder why Obama has so many people from Monsanto foods around and on his team? Money Money Money. GMO's are bad, but check it out yourself. Poland does not want are GMO's they believe it is hurting the bees. Yes we are killing off the natural cycles and we are worried about global warming. Hello is anyone home in there!

[jdypat]

04:40 PM on 12/26/2012

You are not very bright. School will open up soon and you can find something to do.

[sflesch]

09:41 AM on 06/25/2012

Your taste testers hit it right on the head describing the differences! I've grown to dislike colas and just recently tried Mexican Coke for the first time. Whether its the glass bottle or the sugar, Mexican Coke is notably better!

[agento1001]

12:40 PM on 04/21/2012

Two words... MADE KOSHER look for the (MK) on Coke from Pizza Pizza! REAL SUGAR MMMMMMMMMMM Also yellow cap bottles at certain times a year! (Jewish Holidays?)

[MikeLawson]

05:56 PM on 04/20/2012

Riddle I sent to Coca Cola through their website:

Question: How do you get a lifelong Coke drinker to start drinking Pepsi over Coke?

Answer: Pepsi Throwback made with Real Sugar.

Wonder if they'll sort this out at some point, that folks like me have switched to a brand we never preferred just because we think real sugar cola tastes better.

[x123x]

03:52 PM on 03/23/2012

"Viva Coca-Cola Mexicana!" "I don't really like soda, but the sugar variety is quite palatable." "Has a cleaner, less artificial flavor."

LOL, this was obviously not a blind test, so it's really invalid. :)

[jem19166]

04:56 AM on 06/29/2012

How do you figure that? Blind doesn't mean the tasters had blindfolds on, if that's what you're thinking - just that they didn't know which was which when they tasted them, but were obviously told afterwards, enabling them to make statements like that.
I just bought some Mexican Coca-cola this evening - going to try it tomorrow!