5 ms·

as a treat i will occasionally let my boys get a "mexican coke", which is coke from mexico that comes in a real glass bottle and has real sugar, rather than cor

as a treat i will occasionally let my boys get a "mexican coke", which is coke from mexico that comes in a real glass bottle and has real sugar, rather than corn syrup my oldest asked why, since it tastes so much better and feels so much nicer to hold glass, we don't have this style of coke here well, son, we are too rich to afford that

alex_young 5y ago
The bottles you’re drinking out of may actually be reused too. We used to do the same thing in the US, but we shipped all of the equipment to Mexico when we ‘upgraded’ to plastic.
lhorie 5y ago
These days, the story is a bit more complicated. Not all Mexican coke is made with sugar anymore[0] > In 2013, a Mexican Coca-Cola bottler announced it would stop using cane sugar in favor of glucose-fructose syrup. It later clarified this change would not affect those bottles specifically exported to the United States as "Coca-Cola Nostalgia" products. > A scientific analysis of Mexican Coke found no sucrose (standard sugar), but instead found total fructose and glucose levels similar to other soft drinks sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, though in different ratios. The shift to plastic, as I understand, mostly has to do with freight economics: glass is heavier and more fragile. Personally, I wouldn't mind a third alternate consumption model: fill your own container. Many places already have fountain drink machines. It's really not that big of a stretch to allow reusable bottles there [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Coke https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Coke
- lobocinza 5y ago
  Coke on Brazil has a returnable container. It's not glass though but a thick plastic. When you return it to the store you pay a lot less. Returnable glass bottles for beer are also predominant here. Logistically it makes sense because the trucks would return base empty otherwise.
- nielsbot 5y ago
  What about a home carbonator and cola syrup?
  - AYBABTME 5y ago
    How about not drinking pop? I know a "just change your behaviour" response isn't fashionable, but in the case of pop... it's a completely harmful and unnecessary product.
    - sigstoat 5y ago
      necessity is a wonderful sounding criteria when being applied to things you don’t care for, and ghastly when applied to things you enjoy. we could sooner justify the elimination of all alcohol products on these grounds than soda. sugary beverages just have calories; alcohol has got the calories along with liver damage, alcoholism, drunk driving etc.
      - wincy 5y ago
        Also if horribly unhealthy sugary drinks were banned, who would sponsor professional sports? They’ve already banned the tobacco companies from sponsoring them like in the good old days.
      - AYBABTME 5y ago
        I'm not suggesting banning anything, or taking any position as to whether pop should or shouldn't be banned.
    - a_lost_needle 5y ago
      How about enjoying life? I weigh in at a 130lbs at 5'9", and have the body and skin of a woman much younger. Moderation, not abstinence, is where the happiest life is.
      - dtgriscom 5y ago
        What are you going to do when she asks for it back?
- alsobrsp 5y ago
  > The shift to plastic, as I understand, mostly has to do with freight economics: glass is heavier and more fragile. Having tried to do online pasta sauce, I can confirm glass is expensive to ship. 6 jars cost us $30USD to ship and some would break. We insured the shipment and made more on the broken reships than a normal sale.
- megablast 5y ago
  Soda stream.
  - nebula8804 5y ago
    No matter how hard I try I cannot replicate the exact bubbles of big brands with Sodastream. Also, unless I want to just make seltzer, I am stuck with their branded syrups that attempt to copy drinks like coke, sprite, dr.pepper and others. They are all terrible and produce soda on par but typically worse than dollar store brands. Combine this with the added cost of doing all this, makes the system uneconomical. Finally, I know some will have qualms of supporting an Israeli company but this is much worse than that. This company has been mired in controversy for years first for operating a factory on settlement lands, mistreatment of the Palestinian workers, and finally after years of protests in UK and european countries, the closing of the factory and laying off all but 75 Palestinian workers who were then denied a permit to move to the new factory. There has been so much back and forth that we don't even know the exact truth about what really happened. Some say the workers were treated very well. Others say that the workers feared doing anything to piss off the Israeli bosses who could easily just replace them. Given that the product itself is not revolutionary it seems better to consider other brands such as Drinkmate. I tried using a special bottle designed to circumvent their proprietary bottle system (SodaMod) but I found that it does not produce any better bubbles than the OEM sodastream bottles. My next experiment will be to purchase an alternative system once my Sodastream runs out in the hopes that the mechanism to dispense the CO2 will be better in the new system. Other than that I am all out of ideas to replicate the great bubbles and taste that the OEM brands produce.
fencepost 5y ago
If the big factor for you is sugar vs corn syrup, Pepsi has you covered year-round for some products with "Pepsi Throwback" and "Mountain Dew Throwback" though they may have changed the branding. The 12-can cases of them will have either a script-style logo or a retro design. On a more seasonal basis I believe both Coke and Pepsi do "kosher for Passover" versions with cane sugar that may be available in your area.
cassepipe 5y ago
Actually I have read something about it but I can't find the source anymore. From memory : More than half of people tested in a blind test could not make any difference between mexican coke and regular coke. The fact that it uses (or used to , can't remember) saccharine instead of corn syrup does make much difference as both decompose in a mix of fructose and glucose. Mexican coke had a bit more fructose that glucose but both are very simple form of sugar and science has not been able to establish than one is better than the other for your health. It did establish that simple sugars are bad a bad diet though.
- pvaldes 5y ago
  There was some humidity and the soluble coffe (from a popular brand) compacted in the glass canister, so after doing a little pick work I had the great idea of putting it in the microwave (to remove all the water and have a coffee powder again, Easy peasy). To my surprise the result was worse, all melted into a sort of really sticky chocolate tar. It seems that everything has sugar added currently.
brandonmenc 5y ago
> it tastes so much better Disagree. I know I'm in the minority, but I prefer the mouthfeel of corn syrup or artificial sweetener and I find that real sugar is way too sweet. I mean, I'll still drink it - I just think it's way overrated. I wonder if I'll ever meet anyone who agrees.
- loonster 5y ago
  It's the actual glass bottle that I prefer. I also prefer drinking beer from a pop off bottle instead of a twist off. And either much more than a can.

alex_young 5y ago

The bottles you’re drinking out of may actually be reused too. We used to do the same thing in the US, but we shipped all of the equipment to Mexico when we ‘upgraded’ to plastic.

lhorie 5y ago

These days, the story is a bit more complicated. Not all Mexican coke is made with sugar anymore[0] > In 2013, a Mexican Coca-Cola bottler announced it would stop using cane sugar in favor of glucose-fructose syrup. It later clarified this change would not affect those bottles specifically exported to the United States as "Coca-Cola Nostalgia" products. > A scientific analysis of Mexican Coke found no sucrose (standard sugar), but instead found total fructose and glucose levels similar to other soft drinks sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, though in different ratios. The shift to plastic, as I understand, mostly has to do with freight economics: glass is heavier and more fragile. Personally, I wouldn't mind a third alternate consumption model: fill your own container. Many places already have fountain drink machines. It's really not that big of a stretch to allow reusable bottles there [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Coke https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Coke

lobocinza 5y ago
Coke on Brazil has a returnable container. It's not glass though but a thick plastic. When you return it to the store you pay a lot less. Returnable glass bottles for beer are also predominant here. Logistically it makes sense because the trucks would return base empty otherwise.
nielsbot 5y ago
What about a home carbonator and cola syrup?
- AYBABTME 5y ago
  How about not drinking pop? I know a "just change your behaviour" response isn't fashionable, but in the case of pop... it's a completely harmful and unnecessary product.
  - sigstoat 5y ago
    necessity is a wonderful sounding criteria when being applied to things you don’t care for, and ghastly when applied to things you enjoy. we could sooner justify the elimination of all alcohol products on these grounds than soda. sugary beverages just have calories; alcohol has got the calories along with liver damage, alcoholism, drunk driving etc.
    - wincy 5y ago
      Also if horribly unhealthy sugary drinks were banned, who would sponsor professional sports? They’ve already banned the tobacco companies from sponsoring them like in the good old days.
    - AYBABTME 5y ago
      I'm not suggesting banning anything, or taking any position as to whether pop should or shouldn't be banned.
  - a_lost_needle 5y ago
    How about enjoying life? I weigh in at a 130lbs at 5'9", and have the body and skin of a woman much younger. Moderation, not abstinence, is where the happiest life is.
    - dtgriscom 5y ago
      What are you going to do when she asks for it back?
alsobrsp 5y ago
> The shift to plastic, as I understand, mostly has to do with freight economics: glass is heavier and more fragile. Having tried to do online pasta sauce, I can confirm glass is expensive to ship. 6 jars cost us $30USD to ship and some would break. We insured the shipment and made more on the broken reships than a normal sale.
megablast 5y ago
Soda stream.
- nebula8804 5y ago
  No matter how hard I try I cannot replicate the exact bubbles of big brands with Sodastream. Also, unless I want to just make seltzer, I am stuck with their branded syrups that attempt to copy drinks like coke, sprite, dr.pepper and others. They are all terrible and produce soda on par but typically worse than dollar store brands. Combine this with the added cost of doing all this, makes the system uneconomical. Finally, I know some will have qualms of supporting an Israeli company but this is much worse than that. This company has been mired in controversy for years first for operating a factory on settlement lands, mistreatment of the Palestinian workers, and finally after years of protests in UK and european countries, the closing of the factory and laying off all but 75 Palestinian workers who were then denied a permit to move to the new factory. There has been so much back and forth that we don't even know the exact truth about what really happened. Some say the workers were treated very well. Others say that the workers feared doing anything to piss off the Israeli bosses who could easily just replace them. Given that the product itself is not revolutionary it seems better to consider other brands such as Drinkmate. I tried using a special bottle designed to circumvent their proprietary bottle system (SodaMod) but I found that it does not produce any better bubbles than the OEM sodastream bottles. My next experiment will be to purchase an alternative system once my Sodastream runs out in the hopes that the mechanism to dispense the CO2 will be better in the new system. Other than that I am all out of ideas to replicate the great bubbles and taste that the OEM brands produce.

fencepost 5y ago

If the big factor for you is sugar vs corn syrup, Pepsi has you covered year-round for some products with "Pepsi Throwback" and "Mountain Dew Throwback" though they may have changed the branding. The 12-can cases of them will have either a script-style logo or a retro design. On a more seasonal basis I believe both Coke and Pepsi do "kosher for Passover" versions with cane sugar that may be available in your area.

cassepipe 5y ago

Actually I have read something about it but I can't find the source anymore. From memory : More than half of people tested in a blind test could not make any difference between mexican coke and regular coke. The fact that it uses (or used to , can't remember) saccharine instead of corn syrup does make much difference as both decompose in a mix of fructose and glucose. Mexican coke had a bit more fructose that glucose but both are very simple form of sugar and science has not been able to establish than one is better than the other for your health. It did establish that simple sugars are bad a bad diet though.

pvaldes 5y ago
There was some humidity and the soluble coffe (from a popular brand) compacted in the glass canister, so after doing a little pick work I had the great idea of putting it in the microwave (to remove all the water and have a coffee powder again, Easy peasy). To my surprise the result was worse, all melted into a sort of really sticky chocolate tar. It seems that everything has sugar added currently.

brandonmenc 5y ago

> it tastes so much better Disagree. I know I'm in the minority, but I prefer the mouthfeel of corn syrup or artificial sweetener and I find that real sugar is way too sweet. I mean, I'll still drink it - I just think it's way overrated. I wonder if I'll ever meet anyone who agrees.

loonster 5y ago
It's the actual glass bottle that I prefer. I also prefer drinking beer from a pop off bottle instead of a twist off. And either much more than a can.