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I'm honestly baffled that people can't tell the difference between coke and pepsi in a double blind test. this was a common science fair experiment at my middle

I'm honestly baffled that people can't tell the difference between coke and pepsi in a double blind test. this was a common science fair experiment at my middle school, and whenever i participated I could easily tell the difference. often restaurants will serve Pepsi when you order coke if that's all they have. I consistently notice this as well (as confirmed by the branding on the soda fountain). Pepsi has a different flavor and has significantly more sugar than coke, so I'm not sure what people are missing.

i_am_proteus 8y ago
Perhaps you consistently notice this because you drink one (or the other, or both) regularly and your sense of taste is calibrated. Anecdotally, I drink soda very infrequently, and can't tell the difference; both just taste "extremely sweet."
- mixmastamyk 8y ago
  Coke has a much greater acidic, carbonated "bite." Should be obvious after a few moment's instruction.
- ArchTypical 8y ago
  I can tell the difference between Coke, Pepsi, Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, fountain or bottle or can, and often which fast food establishment the coke came from if it's fountain. There's nothing about special about it, anymore than telling the difference between tuna and toro. After a bit of experience, it's not challenging.
  - ksec 8y ago
    This, and it has nothing to do with drinking so much about one brand. Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Pepsi, Pepsi Lite, Dr Pepper, Or even some Sainsbury ( UK Supermarket ) Branded Coke. They are God Damn Different. Not only that, Coke from UK, US, HK, Japan and Mexico taste different as well. Big Bottle 1.5+L taste different to 330ml can, along with Glass Bottled Coke. And I don't drink them often. May be once every few months or a year. Note: I never tasted the US version of Pepsi though, so may be they are similar.
Hoasi 8y ago
I'm pretty sure I couldn't tell the difference due to never drinking soda. But then it is unlikely that I would even ever order one.
- Tsubasachan 8y ago
  Smart move. Quit about 10 years. Whats wrong with tea or water? Sadly when you here stories about schools serving pizza and coke at their cafeteria... No pizza is not a vegetables.
  - Skunkleton 8y ago
    Pizza is made out of cheese, wheat, and tomatoes. Wheat is from a plant. Cheese is basically a plant because it is made out of 100% grass (with some processing). Tomatoes are obviously a vegetable. As you can see, pizza is almost 100% vegetable.
    - bryanrasmussen 8y ago
      I feel that the HN community should be firmly on the side of Tomatoes are obviously a fruit https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/explore/is-a-tomato-a-fruit-or-a-vegetable/ https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/explore/is-a-tomato-a-frui...
    - JCharante 8y ago
      Do we really expect cafeteria pizza to have its cheese sourced from grass fed cows?
      - zrobotics 8y ago
        Well, does the (flimsy) reasoning break down if the cow is fed corn instead? Corn is still a vegetable. Even adding animal-based products like bone meal should be fine, since the bones are made out of processed vegetables.
        8y ago
happytoexplain 8y ago
The senses are subtle, especially taste and smell. They also seem to vary more between people than the other senses. I drink soda pretty regularly and don't consider either very sweet, but I can't distinguish them.
giancarlostoro 8y ago
Coke also has a certain harshness when from a can or bottle. I absolutely love Coke, but do not mind getting pepsi. I will always prefer coke.
williamdclt 8y ago
It's really not that surprising, a lot of people don't drink either regularly, and there's nothing closer in taste to a can of coke than a can of Pepsi.
trainingaccount 8y ago
John Sculley, then CEO of Pepsi, failed a blind taste test in front of reporters.
- retsibsi 8y ago
  Could that have been intentional? I'm completely speculating, but a public belief that 'they both taste the same' could benefit the challenger at the expense of the market leader.
koyote 8y ago
I can tell the difference between different bottled water but not Pepsi and Coke. But that might be because I rarely drink either.
jerf 8y ago
For those of you who think you can't tell the difference, or it's very "subtle", are you properly inhaling the drink? Make sure you inhale the fumes slowly and with agitation of the drink in your mouth, and exhale slowly while the drink covers your tongue. I also suggest doing this with chilled bottle or can; fountain beverages add a lot of randomness to the mix. Human variance being what it is, I'm sure the result will still be indistinguishable to some people, but I also think there's a lot of people who will suddenly be able to tell the difference quite strongly after this exercise. They're certainly in the same "genre" of drink, but quite substantially different. After this exercise you may also understand why Coke is strongly favored for mixed drink applications. (I mean, to the extent that either is favored. Still, "Rum and Coke" is a thing; "Rum and Pepsi", well, it may get you what you ask for, but you may get a bit of a "look" from the bartender.) (I was raised fairly typically midwest American, and the injunction to keep your mouth closed while eating was rigorously enforced. I have often wondered if the resulting non-inhalation of the food's volatiles has contributed to the generally poor quality of American cuisine at the time, and its slow progress since then. I've also wondered if "don't inhale your food!", which figuratively means not to eat it too rapidly, also has the literal meaning resonate in our brains and prevent us from doing the good and proper kind of inhalation.)
- emiliobumachar 8y ago
  I usually see these concepts applied to wine. But sure, it's an important insight that they apply much more broadly.
  - jerf 8y ago
    Wine was my gateway to these ideas, yes, because otherwise wine is just somewhat strongly flavored grape juice in a lot of cases. But then I noticed it was something you need to do for a lot of things. I presume this is common knowledge on the one hand, but on the other, I've literally never encountered anyone talking about it in a general food context. (YMMV of course.) One of the best kept secrets of "common" knowledge?

i_am_proteus 8y ago

Perhaps you consistently notice this because you drink one (or the other, or both) regularly and your sense of taste is calibrated. Anecdotally, I drink soda very infrequently, and can't tell the difference; both just taste "extremely sweet."

mixmastamyk 8y ago
Coke has a much greater acidic, carbonated "bite." Should be obvious after a few moment's instruction.
ArchTypical 8y ago
I can tell the difference between Coke, Pepsi, Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi, fountain or bottle or can, and often which fast food establishment the coke came from if it's fountain. There's nothing about special about it, anymore than telling the difference between tuna and toro. After a bit of experience, it's not challenging.
- ksec 8y ago
  This, and it has nothing to do with drinking so much about one brand. Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Pepsi, Pepsi Lite, Dr Pepper, Or even some Sainsbury ( UK Supermarket ) Branded Coke. They are God Damn Different. Not only that, Coke from UK, US, HK, Japan and Mexico taste different as well. Big Bottle 1.5+L taste different to 330ml can, along with Glass Bottled Coke. And I don't drink them often. May be once every few months or a year. Note: I never tasted the US version of Pepsi though, so may be they are similar.

Hoasi 8y ago

I'm pretty sure I couldn't tell the difference due to never drinking soda. But then it is unlikely that I would even ever order one.

Tsubasachan 8y ago
Smart move. Quit about 10 years. Whats wrong with tea or water? Sadly when you here stories about schools serving pizza and coke at their cafeteria... No pizza is not a vegetables.
- Skunkleton 8y ago
  Pizza is made out of cheese, wheat, and tomatoes. Wheat is from a plant. Cheese is basically a plant because it is made out of 100% grass (with some processing). Tomatoes are obviously a vegetable. As you can see, pizza is almost 100% vegetable.
  - bryanrasmussen 8y ago
    I feel that the HN community should be firmly on the side of Tomatoes are obviously a fruit https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/explore/is-a-tomato-a-fruit-or-a-vegetable/ https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/explore/is-a-tomato-a-frui...
  - JCharante 8y ago
    Do we really expect cafeteria pizza to have its cheese sourced from grass fed cows?
    - zrobotics 8y ago
      Well, does the (flimsy) reasoning break down if the cow is fed corn instead? Corn is still a vegetable. Even adding animal-based products like bone meal should be fine, since the bones are made out of processed vegetables.
      - 8y ago

happytoexplain 8y ago

The senses are subtle, especially taste and smell. They also seem to vary more between people than the other senses. I drink soda pretty regularly and don't consider either very sweet, but I can't distinguish them.

giancarlostoro 8y ago

Coke also has a certain harshness when from a can or bottle. I absolutely love Coke, but do not mind getting pepsi. I will always prefer coke.

williamdclt 8y ago

It's really not that surprising, a lot of people don't drink either regularly, and there's nothing closer in taste to a can of coke than a can of Pepsi.

trainingaccount 8y ago

John Sculley, then CEO of Pepsi, failed a blind taste test in front of reporters.

retsibsi 8y ago
Could that have been intentional? I'm completely speculating, but a public belief that 'they both taste the same' could benefit the challenger at the expense of the market leader.

koyote 8y ago

I can tell the difference between different bottled water but not Pepsi and Coke. But that might be because I rarely drink either.

jerf 8y ago

For those of you who think you can't tell the difference, or it's very "subtle", are you properly inhaling the drink? Make sure you inhale the fumes slowly and with agitation of the drink in your mouth, and exhale slowly while the drink covers your tongue. I also suggest doing this with chilled bottle or can; fountain beverages add a lot of randomness to the mix. Human variance being what it is, I'm sure the result will still be indistinguishable to some people, but I also think there's a lot of people who will suddenly be able to tell the difference quite strongly after this exercise. They're certainly in the same "genre" of drink, but quite substantially different. After this exercise you may also understand why Coke is strongly favored for mixed drink applications. (I mean, to the extent that either is favored. Still, "Rum and Coke" is a thing; "Rum and Pepsi", well, it may get you what you ask for, but you may get a bit of a "look" from the bartender.) (I was raised fairly typically midwest American, and the injunction to keep your mouth closed while eating was rigorously enforced. I have often wondered if the resulting non-inhalation of the food's volatiles has contributed to the generally poor quality of American cuisine at the time, and its slow progress since then. I've also wondered if "don't inhale your food!", which figuratively means not to eat it too rapidly, also has the literal meaning resonate in our brains and prevent us from doing the good and proper kind of inhalation.)

emiliobumachar 8y ago
I usually see these concepts applied to wine. But sure, it's an important insight that they apply much more broadly.
- jerf 8y ago
  Wine was my gateway to these ideas, yes, because otherwise wine is just somewhat strongly flavored grape juice in a lot of cases. But then I noticed it was something you need to do for a lot of things. I presume this is common knowledge on the one hand, but on the other, I've literally never encountered anyone talking about it in a general food context. (YMMV of course.) One of the best kept secrets of "common" knowledge?