If I recall correctly, Coca-Cola quit bottling the "old Coke" in the U.S. and sold the formulation to their European bottlers. That's why the U.S. ended up getting "new Coke" which was a bummer...

When people became upset because the "new Coke" wasn't any good, Coca-Cola introduced the "new-old Coke," but it isn't the same formula as that sold in Europe. It's a new formula which is supposed to taste like the old Coke but doesn't...

So... no matter what it costs us, we have to go to Spain to get a real Coke. Isn't that a real bummer...

You can really taste the difference though. I compare it to drinking out of toilet compared to drinking sparkling fresh spring water.

Wolf (Who at least sniffs the water before adding it to his Jack.)

[ 08-28-2001: Message edited by: Wolfgang81 ]

i really appreciated europes glass bottles.

classy

Really? And, how does it taste like? Is it like the cherry coke?

Corporate America is often very dumb!

I recall years back when Coca Cola began marketing their products on a large scale here in Spain. Supermarket sales were crapola and they wondered why for a very long time until some genious discovered that the wide-bodied 2 and 3 liter bottles that they sell in the U.S.A. to go into thos huge refrigerators would not fit in the doors of the Spanish ones and hence were not selling.

DUH!

Saludos,
jer...

Ignacio,

It's like almost all imitations of the real thing, it just doesn't have that flavor that Coke should have. It leaves a horrible "after taste" in my mouth, and is bitter, compared to the subtle taste of the real thing. I always feel like I have to brush my teeth, just by having a Coke...

Jer is right about corporate America. Their gurus often don't see the subtle differences between cultures, and blindly jump into markets without any idea as to what the repercussions will be. They never count on subtle things like the size of refrigerators being important.

Wolf

Wolf:

Although I can find a difference between Coke and Pepsi, or Coke and local colas, I don't pay much attention. When I get to a bar and there is not coke, pepsi is alright for me. Have tried, however some that are really bad.

One of the times I was to Cuba, it came out that cuban people preferred Coke to Tropicola (the local cola drink), which was very good. I thought it tasted much the same (once somebody told me Castro had had stolen the formula), and that people just liked it more because it was from the States, but it may come out they have a more sophisticated taste for soft drinks. :p :p

[ 08-28-2001: Message edited by: Ignacio ]

Ignacio,

There's another thing I really enjoy about the way Coke is served in Spain. Adding the slice of lemon. Over the years, my wife and I have began asking for a slice when we have a Coke here in the States. The servers look at us like we're crazy. They have no idea how much it adds to the taste. Here, it helps disguize it... in Spain... enhances it.

They've gone so far as to say, "That'll be 50 cents more. I think." Then, whether or not it's added to the tab, they do as we ask, and you can see people looking at us like we didn't have good sense.

Of course, if they knew what we do, they'd do the same thing. I know friends who come to our house get a slice of lemon in their drink, and it's amazing how many ask for a Coke now, instead of ice tea, like they did in the past.

Wolf

I think this 'old/new coke story' is a bit different than Wolfgang explained.

Now I could be wrong , but I do have or had , some close dealings with food and beverage industry.
As far as I know the formula for Classic Coke today is exactly same as it was before introduction of the 'New Coke'.

What I do know for a fact is ,that many foods produced here for european consumption are slightly different from their domestic counterpart , for example; texture , sweetness , saltiness etc etc .
The same applies to european foods produced for US markets .
Best and easiest example is swiss or belgian chocolates. Wax content is different , even colour , and it is not as sweet as in europe.

Coke complies with different bottling requirements over there , especially concerning plastic bottles , pressure per sq. inch etc etc , and they do have more sugar in EU formula . So less fizz and just a bit more sugar over there makes Coke taste different , and its more noticeable in 2 liter plastic bottles than small glass ones.

Now this is what I've heard from industry experts , personal experience is limited to mostly into spices , tea , chocolates and some other high-end gourmet foods.

Zzeuss11,

I believe they are different. In fact I subscribe to the belief that there have been three formulas.

Here's info on the change. http://www.uiowa.edu/~commstud/adclass/segmentation/missing_lngredients.html As written at the University of Iowa.

What this doesn't cover is that when they went back to the "old coke," there were allegedly still changes in the new formula, because of the cost of the ingredients themselves. A good reason that Coke decided to change the formula in the first place, to remain competitive.

There's a lot of information on this available. I've even read related stories that come from brokerage firms who became leerie of Coca-Cola as a viable stock for growth back in the 80s.

While I don't fancy myself as an expert on soft drinks myself, I do know that there have been three different tastes in the U.S., and the Coke in Spain seems to be exactly like the original that I drank for over 35 years until they made their changes.

Wolf

Very interesting , I do not see any info re: new Classic Coke formula.
But as always , some information is for public consumption , some is not.

As I said , I could be wrong.


Zzeus11 , life long Coke drinker.