My husband and I have had an ongoing discussion about the differences of Coke and Pepsi throughout our 32 year marriage. Sadly, neither one of us have won the debate.
I have watched a number of taste tests on TV and marvel at the response of anyone picking Pepsi over Coke. My husband is a Pepsi lover, and I am a true blue Coke fan, but I have to admit I was not always a Coke fan.
Coke and Pepsi tasted much different when I was younger. I can remember playing very hard, on the playground at the end of my street, on a hot sunny summer’s day. Fortunately for me, across the road from that playground was a little party store, which we, the neighborhood kids, called the candy store. I would go into the candy store and had to stand on my toes to be able to reach into a cooler, that required us to slide the bottle across a metal slot and down the side of the cooler to a spot where the opening was large enough for the bottle to fit through, to get the pop out. The bottles were all glass at that time and the caps did not twist off, they required a bottle opener. I was little so the store owner always helped me.
When you opened those bottles, you got a whiff of that wonderful coke smell. Coke and Pepsi both had a great smell in those days. Your mouth watered before you ever got the drink to your lips. Mmmmmm, What a great memory! Another great memory from my youth, about Coke and Pepsi came from the day’s when my mom took us downtown Detroit to go shopping. She always took us for a treat at one of the fountain counters in Kresges or a great soda shop that was just off Woodward Avenue. Fountain Coke and Pepsi was really a taste delight. The proprietor mixed the drinks themselves, and in those days no one was skimpy with the coke syrup. You would get a drink that even filled with ice was a rich dark brown color, and the smell of Coke circled your head and you could take in the aroma all the way down through your lungs. There was no doubt about what you were about to drink.
Then that first taste, wow. That caramel-like, strong coke syrup sparkling in your mouth giving your tongue reason to live. At that point, you didn’t even care if it was quenching your thirst; it was sweet and flavorful and made you feel good, because it was also popular with all the kids and teenagers that were bigger than you. So you sat at the counter enjoying yourself without anyone ever knowing how blissful you were. You were cool, and happy. Coke and Pepsi were not only drinks; they were part of what was happening, as much as Rock and Roll.
Back in the days of flavor, you would never have been served a drink that you couldn’t recognize. Coke in my opinion had a definite caramel coke flavor that you could taste along the sides of your tongue. While Pepsi’s flavor ran down the center of your tongue, a little sweeter and left after atmosphere, (for lack of a better term) near the back of your tongue and throat. If you are a Pepsi connoisseur, you will understand what I mean.
Both drinks satisfied your taste buds in different ways but I thought, quite equally.
I wish I could give either one of them my seal of approval now a day. I drink Coke because if you try really, really hard you can still taste a hint of the once wonderful flavor that made our generation grateful for those fountain drinks. It’s not as sweet as Pepsi is, and so the old Coke taste has a chance to lick at your conscience mind. But Pepsi, well, I can say it’s sweet. The old after atmosphere is still a little present, but unfortunately, no coke taste perceives it. So you get a sweet tongue and a little something happening in the back of the tongue and throat that is not flavor.
Now as to what is replacing the once wonderful fountain Cokes, the vendors these days, seem to be afraid to put to much Coke and Pepsi syrup into there counter service drinks. I have had drinks given to me that were no more that a slightly sweet fuzzy water. No flavor what’s-so-ever, and the color had barley a hint of brown, then they added ice to that and Voila! I watered the closest plant with it, but after one sip, could not bear to tell myself this was my old favorite.
For those who buy there pop in bottle, I would recommend the 2 liter bottle. I don’t know why or if it is just my imagination, but the flavor seems stronger in that size bottle and definitely 100% stronger than any drink you will find in restaurants, especially fast food restaurants. Now I don’t know if restaurants are mixing them this way to save money or they simply don’t know how to mix a good drink. But it has been my pleasure, to every once in a long while, find a drink that has had more syrup mixed into it. It is like finding a diamond in a pile of rhinestones.
I conclude this taste comparison by saying to both of these companies, give us old folks a break. Bring back our childhood friends; let us enjoy sharing this one lovely memory with our kids and grandchildren. Tell us where there is one Coke fountain sill available in our area that wants to see us over and over again.
Build it and we will come.
