4 ms·

Out of curiosity, have you actually tested your ability to tell the difference? You know, someone other than you puts, say, 10 samples in identical cups, random

Out of curiosity, have you actually tested your ability to tell the difference? You know, someone other than you puts, say, 10 samples in identical cups, randomly makes 2 coke, 3 pepsi, 1 Dr Pepper, and 4 from another brand unfamiliar to you, and you're able to identify each by smell each time?

ashark 10y ago
That could get tough if the unfamiliar ones were carefully-chosen to smell similar to the three main ones, for instance. I picked out those three because they're so easy to tell from one another (which is why the Pepsi Challenge things strikes me as silly) and because "blind" Pepsi/Coke taste-tests were the topic. I'd guess something like RC thrown in the mix could make me confuse it for Pepsi, and some of the closer Dr. Pepper clones might get me, especially on a smell-only trial. Coke'd be tricky since its got the mildest odor of those three and I'd have mainly picked it out by process of elimination. With the other brands thrown in I could well miss a few. [EDIT] if it helps, it seems to me that having a "Pepsi Challenge" is like having an "Orange Challenge" where the other contender is a lime. It's not exactly gonna be hard to tell which one you're dealing with, even if the sample's the same size and you're blindfolded. Throw in a half-dozen other citrus fruits and yeah, I could see getting a couple of them wrong but just those two? No. Judging from the reaction here, though, I'm starting to wonder if I need to re-evaluate my sense of smell/taste. Maybe it's not only farther from normal than I thought, but in the opposite direction.
- eropple 10y ago
  > if it helps, it seems to me that having a "Pepsi Challenge" is like having an "Orange Challenge" where the other contender is a lime. One thing you might not be realizing is that many people have absolutely shot their palates with modern flavorings, sugar bombing, etc. (though these days, smoking at least is less of a thing). I too don't have trouble telling the difference between Coke and Pepsi (and have done it blind), but if you took away visual cues, I think you'd be surprised how many people would bilge even the orange/lime test.
CocaKoala 10y ago
Once when I was in college, I could get Pepsi from the nearby vending machine but no coke. I figured, "pepsi and coke are basically the same, this will be fine!" and proceeded to pour some bourbon into my pepsi. It turns out that they are not the same, and there's a reason lots of people order whiskey and coke and nobody orders whiskey and pepsi.
- ashark 10y ago
  Did that once with the plain Cola flavor Jones Soda. "I'm sure it'll work. Hell, it'll probably be better!" It was not better.
  - homero 10y ago
    Why
nikdaheratik 10y ago
I've tested coke/pepsi/RC by random identical cups and I was able to tell, but it was more difficult than I expected it to be. I believe some of that is the way your brain works to where, if you believe you know what you are about to eat/drink, it primes you with your memory of the flavors. Going in blind makes it more difficult to do so. To me at least, Coke has more citrus notes and is a bit more sour. RC, at least in the US is slightly more bitter and also seems to have a slightly sweet aftertaste, but not that different from Coke. Pepsi is more sweeter as well, and doesn't have the citrus hit. The more interesting difference is Sugar cane Coke, like they have in Australia, and Corn Syrup. They are both equally sweet, IMO, but the corn syrup has a different aftertaste and texture. Still mostly identical.

ashark 10y ago

That could get tough if the unfamiliar ones were carefully-chosen to smell similar to the three main ones, for instance. I picked out those three because they're so easy to tell from one another (which is why the Pepsi Challenge things strikes me as silly) and because "blind" Pepsi/Coke taste-tests were the topic. I'd guess something like RC thrown in the mix could make me confuse it for Pepsi, and some of the closer Dr. Pepper clones might get me, especially on a smell-only trial. Coke'd be tricky since its got the mildest odor of those three and I'd have mainly picked it out by process of elimination. With the other brands thrown in I could well miss a few. [EDIT] if it helps, it seems to me that having a "Pepsi Challenge" is like having an "Orange Challenge" where the other contender is a lime. It's not exactly gonna be hard to tell which one you're dealing with, even if the sample's the same size and you're blindfolded. Throw in a half-dozen other citrus fruits and yeah, I could see getting a couple of them wrong but just those two? No. Judging from the reaction here, though, I'm starting to wonder if I need to re-evaluate my sense of smell/taste. Maybe it's not only farther from normal than I thought, but in the opposite direction.

eropple 10y ago
> if it helps, it seems to me that having a "Pepsi Challenge" is like having an "Orange Challenge" where the other contender is a lime. One thing you might not be realizing is that many people have absolutely shot their palates with modern flavorings, sugar bombing, etc. (though these days, smoking at least is less of a thing). I too don't have trouble telling the difference between Coke and Pepsi (and have done it blind), but if you took away visual cues, I think you'd be surprised how many people would bilge even the orange/lime test.

CocaKoala 10y ago

Once when I was in college, I could get Pepsi from the nearby vending machine but no coke. I figured, "pepsi and coke are basically the same, this will be fine!" and proceeded to pour some bourbon into my pepsi. It turns out that they are not the same, and there's a reason lots of people order whiskey and coke and nobody orders whiskey and pepsi.

ashark 10y ago
Did that once with the plain Cola flavor Jones Soda. "I'm sure it'll work. Hell, it'll probably be better!" It was not better.
- homero 10y ago
  Why

nikdaheratik 10y ago

I've tested coke/pepsi/RC by random identical cups and I was able to tell, but it was more difficult than I expected it to be. I believe some of that is the way your brain works to where, if you believe you know what you are about to eat/drink, it primes you with your memory of the flavors. Going in blind makes it more difficult to do so. To me at least, Coke has more citrus notes and is a bit more sour. RC, at least in the US is slightly more bitter and also seems to have a slightly sweet aftertaste, but not that different from Coke. Pepsi is more sweeter as well, and doesn't have the citrus hit. The more interesting difference is Sugar cane Coke, like they have in Australia, and Corn Syrup. They are both equally sweet, IMO, but the corn syrup has a different aftertaste and texture. Still mostly identical.