To Coke or Not?

[sandylc]

One question:

Do you drink pop (or soda, soda pop, soft drinks)?

Yes or No?

Just curious.

[rccola]

occasionally with pizza or meatball sandwich or philly cheesesteak or hoagie. That is, greasy Italian. Coke cuts right through the grease.

But the whole scenario is rare. I'm a chevre on sesame crackers with black coffee sort.

[Nanzi]

Nope, Never at home, and only on occasion on vacation. Too many calories and too much sugar, and I have hated all the artificially sweetened ones I've tried, so I gave up trying them.

[mcf]

No, as a rule. Only exception is an occasional diet Gosling's ginger beer, watered down with plenty of ice to make it less sweet.

I drink sparkling mineral water, no plastic bottles.

[globocity]

7-Up on rare occasions.

Coca-Cola is way too sweet for me.

When visiting in the Midwest, I noticed soda was way more common at family meals than in any coastal big city. Found that interesting.

[GraydonCarter]

Interesting new ad campaign by Coca-Cola, "Coming Together" is not about sexual climax but about how coke has lowered calorie count consumption overall. This is actually a pretty cool web site:

http://livepositively.com/comingtoget...

[foxybee]

Never.

I do like sparkling water with a splash of citrus juice on occasion, but mostly I drink water or coffee.

[tardigrade]

I like that first hit of sweetness and sharpness you get from a freshly opened can of Coke, but as I get older I find I'm less able to tolerate sweet drinks. Half a can seems to be my limit these days. I can't stand the taste of aspartame: I'll stick to water or unsweetened tea with meals.

I do make an exception for birch beer when I'm in western New York, since it's rare out here.

[hill food]

once in college while living in a large house with a big mix of folks, I caught my housemate Wendy early one AM swiping somebody else's 2L diet Coke and adding sugar to it (the bottle) before pouring herself a drink and replacing it in the fridge. she still denies it.

[Chemicalkinetics]

She was sleep walking, or you were day dreaming.

[gothamette]

Never. It's the one food item to which I am morally opposed.

[alkapal]

interesting -- the ONE food item to which one would be *morally* opposed.

please, if you would, expand on this; i'm intrigued.

[sandylc]

I guess you could say that the people who make and sell this stuff are evil?

How about the latest news reports regarding both sugar and fake sugar soft drinks?

[mwhitmore]

Usually one DC with lunch. Diet A&W is even better, Of course, beer is better than either, but only if I can schedule a siesta after.

[fldhkybnva]

I've had a 9 month love affair with Diet Barq's. I think I'm finally getting sick of it but now have dozens of cases of soda sitting around the house

[Chemicalkinetics]

I do, but rarely. I say I drink soft drink less than once a month, but I have no problem drinking them. I just don't go out of my way to acquire them.

[gaffk]

I try to never drink software . . . it has such a spaghetti texture.

[Chemicalkinetics]

:) Thanks for the correction. Interestingly, I have independently spotted the mistake later.

[gaffk]

And I have spent way too much time digesting spaghetti code.

[Chemicalkinetics]

:) Now, I know you are a software engineer.

[gaffk]

Guilty as charged.

ETA: English major as undergrad . . . the worst of all worlds.

[afridgetoofar]

My SO is a software engineer and misses "Jolt" cola, the rocket fuel of his generation (his aging arteries are grateful, however).

[alkapal]

i remember "jolt," though never tried it. i guess it was like the "red bull" of the day?

[hill food]

I thought Jolt was still around...

[afridgetoofar]

Is it?? Oh dear. I hope we never spy it on the shelves, then. SO might relapse... Its slogan was, "All the sugar and twice the caffeine."

[Vidute]

actually, reformulation has it at more than 3 times the caffeine. :)

[afridgetoofar]

I will drink diet Pepsi, but don't like Coca Cola, too sweet for my tastes whether diet or high octane. Mostly I stick to milk, and tea. Occasionally I just like a cold, bubbly DP for a pick-me-up, especially on a hot summer morning, there's something about the bubbles tickling my nose that's refreshing sometimes.

[ferret]

Odd, because Pepsi has a touch more sugar (HFCS) than Coke

[sandylc]

I remember Pepsi being much sweeter-tasting than Coke....

[goodhealthgourmet]

I'm going back many, many years, but I always preferred Diet Pepsi because it tasted less sweet to me than Diet Coke. Unfortunately I went to Coca Cola University for undergrad and had to learn to adjust to the taste of Diet Coke - there were no Pepsi products to be found anywhere NEAR campus.

Come to think of it, I also preferred Diet 7-Up over Diet Sprite (a Coca Cola product) because it wasn't as sweet.

[alkapal]

diet 7-up used to be one of the best diet drinks -- nice and dry. then the sweetener changed -- maybe the whole formula -- and it became after-taste city.

[suzigirl]

I agree. It was at the same time when they went to all natural flavors for the regular 7-up.

[hill food]

that's when I re-found Fresca.

[fldhkybnva]

Love Fresca!

[Chemicalkinetics]

Yes, Pepsi is sweeter. However, afridgetoofar may have meant: "DIET pepsi is not as sweet as regular coke"

[afridgetoofar]

Yes, thank you. :) I haven't drunk a high-octane Pepsi for many, many moons. But I do find Coke, all variations, to be far sweeter. My aging taste buds my be responsible, to me diet Pepsi tastes less sweet, to me it's crisp and not cloying.

[alkapal]

afridgetoofar -- great screen name!

(unfortunately, my fridge is not too far…. LOL).

[fldhkybnva]

Yup, I am a diehard diet coke supporter, but really can't stand diet Pepsi as I find it too sweet...same with Coke Zero. Interesting as I usually hear that most find Pepsi sweeter than Coke.

[GraydonCarter]

To me, Coke always tastes a little like Rum and Coke.

[hanmeng]

Too sweet. We add fresh squeezed lime juice sweetened with honey and mix it with club soda. Yum.

[sandylc]

That sounds really yummy!

[KaimukiMan]

Just had my first coke this month . . . been jonesing for one since monday and finally gave in. Been 3 hours now and i've still got a mild buzz going. Jeeze I just love the stuff, but I appreciate it more as a special treat now and then than i did when I drank a 6 pack a day.

[anakalia]

I used to have 1-2 diet cokes every day, all,through my twenties. Last year, I realized I was nearly addicted to,it, and quit cold turkey. After a few weeks, my cravings for it slowly went away. Now I might have one every month or two (I still haven't found anything that tastes as good as a coke with movie popcorn, unfortunately, so that's my occasional downfall!)

[HastaLaPasta]

The one soda I really have a weakness for is Trader Joe's Blood Orange soda. Beyond that I occasionally drink a diet 7-Up, or mix some sparkling mineral water with a splash of cranberry or red grape juice. I try to avoid other sodas as much as possible, which is difficult because my company provides us free soda at the office. I especially try to avoid colas now because a relative who for medical reasons was on a special diet told me their dietician indicated that the phosphates in colas tend to leech calcium out of your bones.

[anakalia]

Yes, I love TJs blood orange soda! If I really want something fizzy, thats what I have!

[gregg407]

I drink no less than 2 litres per day. Diet, of course.

[fldhkybnva]

I'm with you on this! I have recently incorporated other beverages including cranberry juice and water with lemon juice but can't let go of my soda carbonation habit.

[Becca Porter]

I thoroughly enjoy a fountain coke at restaurants, but I never buy them except for the rare party.

My daughter's teenage friends practically dehydrate here when they spend the night. Water and milk are not drinkable apparently.

[aynrandgirl]

Coke per se, heck no. Don't like Pepsi either.

I'm a root beer nut, but it has to be good (Fitz's, St. Arnold's, Old Town Root Beer Company).
San Pellegrino Aranciata
World Market Blood Orange
AJ Stephans Wild Strawberry
NuGrape Grape
Nesbitt's Orange

[fancynancypants]

When I'm on campus, I drink diet coke more than water. It's terrible, but when I'm surrounded by virtually free soda all day every day, it's hard to resist. When I'm not on campus, I'll drink one or two cans per day. When I was living in Europe, I had a hard time adjusting to Cola Lite, it's still too sweet!

During the summer, I'm virtually soda-free because it's just not available at the camp that I work at. I do drink other sodas occasionally (usually mixed with alcohol), but I have a hard time with the idea of drinking calories. I like rootbeer and the occasional grape soda.

[charles_sills]

i dont usually keep it around the apartment, but when i want some pop, i go get some. usually one of those giant monstrosities from the gas station fountain for 80 cents. and also, when i decide i want jack, i also want coke. i never mix it with other whiskies though.

[goodhealthgourmet]

[shudder] i just had a really bad flashback to Jim Beam & Diet Coke from my college days.

[pine time]

We were naive college drinkers trying to be cool--we had Diet Tab (that's how old I am) with sloe gin. It's a wonder I lived to tell of it!

[sandylc]

Ugh, sloe gin! I remember liking that stuff!!! That's like a dozen or so steps below cheap white zinfandel!!

[pine time]

Even lower than cheap white zinfandel: we also loved wine coolers. Instant headache.

[sandylc]

Ugh. Agreed.

[suzigirl]

I had a sloe gin and gingerale experience that I won't soon forget. Holy crap is that bad stuff. To be young and dumb

[mamachef]

Oh, man. I'd forgotten Sloe Gin. In High school, some friends and I stole a bottle from my dad's cabinet. It was a "snatch-n-git" situation, so we didn't have time to be selective and found out too late that that's what I'd grabbed. There were 3 of us, and the bottle was empty in the a. m, and what do I remember of that night? Let's see: flashes of Alice Cooper's "Welcome to My Nightmare;" which was album of choice at the time (haha, she said "album," which pretty much dates me, I realize); 3 of us staggering around in the large field by my house (hell no we didn't drive); a lot of riotous laughter and some crying too; and the exceptionally violent aftermath. So incredibly bad it was all but magical. :)
Thanks for the MEMORIES, suzigirl. :) I didn't even see to whom I was replying 'til after I wrote this - but I am totally unsuprised. Bawhaw!!

[suzigirl]

Picturing you pickled staggering in a field has me in stitches. And the way you got yours was how I got mine. A snatch and grab from the liquor cabinet. And skipping school and drinking and sneaking back on campus to catch the bus home. Memories. But the stuff we had tasted horrid. I have never retried it to see if it was off or if it is just gross

[charles_sills]

im not a huge jim beam guy. ill drink it on the rocks. but it gets lost in my manhattans. i havent tried their rye whiskey, though!

[goodhealthgourmet]

i couldn't stand Jim Beam back then - we only drank it to get wasted :) i probably wouldn't hate it now because i've developed a big appreciation for whiskey, but i rarely drink alcohol at all anymore, so if i'm going to indulge i opt for a good scotch. (i'm itching for a good excuse to break the seal on the bottle of Chivas Royal Salute 21-year i have stashed away in my bar cabinet!)

[eviemichael]

I love carbonation, and would drink a good quality carbonated orange drink or lemonade, but I think I've finally managed to kick my diet coke habit.

I used to drink it everyday and it took me around a month to stop. Caffeine makes me crazy, I wake up with a ton of energy so caffeinated drinks make me spastic.

[hotoynoodle]

as a kid and teenager i was a serious diet pepsi addict. like at least a 64 oz bottle everyday. eesh. wondered why i had such terrible insomnia too!

since my 20s haven't had any. i do drink flavored, unsweetened seltzer for bubble sometimes.

the b/f drinks mexican coke -- the kind with real sugar, a few times per week.

[KaimukiMan]

didn't much care for it when I was young, except Birely's orange soda. started drinking coca-cola mostly during college, never pepsi.

a few years ago i realized i had polished off a six pack sometime between lunch and bedtime and decided i might have a caffeine/sugar addiction building so I went cold turkey - full-on withdrawal.

I went a year and friends told me I wouldn't like it any more. They were wrong. Now I drink coke when i want coke, not just because I'm thirsty. I let myself have maybe 2-4 per week, some weeks I don't have any. But when I want one it sure tastes good.

[ferret]

I was a Coke lifer until the realities of aging set in and I decided the calories were just too wasteful. Went to Diet Coke and really haven't looked back. I wish I could like Coke again but I now find it too sweet. They need to formulate a Coke "10" like Dr. Pepper has, with just enough sugary sweetness.

[CindyJ]

I do, and sometimes I actually have a craving for a Coke -- DIET Coke. I really like the stuff. Oh, and I also really like ginger ale. In fact, that's my drink of choice whenever we have Chinese take-out. Not Vernor's, though. Give me my Canada Dry and I'm happy.

What's so wrong with liking soda anyway? (It's "soda" where I grew up, on the streets of Brooklyn, and that's what I call it still.)

[ocpitmaster]

Ginger Ale w/ sweet tea
Occasional Coke Zero
Fountain soda anytime I can find one!

[mels]

No.

Used to drink it here and there as a kid and through college, but never much. As an adult i decided empty calories should come from alcohol, not soda. Also, I can't tolerate the taste of diet drinks no matter what the sweetener used, so they are also a no go.

[goodhealthgourmet]

nope. i drank various diet sodas - never regular - when i was younger, but haven't touched the stuff in at least 15 years.

[jujuthomas]

after my usual 2 cups of coffee, I generally have a diet coke. sometimes in the evening I'll drink a diet sprite or a caff free diet coke. This time of year I like the cranberry splash diet sierra mist.

[klyeoh]

A can of Diet Coke or Coke Zero - every day.

[caseyjo]

Not really. I drink a lot of sparkling water, and I would never turn down champagne, so that's enough bubbly for me. Sometimes I'll make my own ginger syrup for ginger ale, but it's work so I don't make much. I do like whiskey and diet coke, but I've been trying to eliminate it in favor of other mixers.

I used to drink a ton of Dr. Pepper. After giving up HFCS and cutting way back on sugar, I can't stomach the stuff.

[pedalfaster]

No.
Cup of coffee in the morning. Glass of wine at night. Water the rest of the time.

[sandylc]

We think a lot alike! Tea for me, however....

[Clams047]

My favorite "Coke" is a good root beer. However, the soft drink industry would not survive long if the average person drank just perhaps one 12-oz portion/wk as I might do. Except to wash down greasy burgers & fries, I've never really understood colas with diet drinks being down right vile to me..

For the record, it's soda for me.

[kengk]

I drank two 12 oz diet cokes every morning before going to work where I started in on the coffee. Now that I'm retired I'm going to cut back to one.

[coney with everything]

Only on weekends (and, as I'm in Michigan, it's POP), and like many others I go for Mexican Coke or San Pelligrino

During the week I stick to Polar or La Croix seltzer or iced tea.

[EarlyBird]

I may drink six cans of soda over a year. Thank God I don't have that vice, or I'd be big as a house. Also, the diet stuff isn't good for you either.

[prima]

Yep. I like Coke in glass bottles the best. I used to drink it almost daily, but lately, I drink Coke 2 or 3 times a month.
I drink Pepsi, San Pellegrino Limonata and Ting a few times a year, and a Brio Chinotto maybe once every 18 months.
I've lost my taste for other sodas.

[Tripeler]

Chinotto is fabulous, one of my favorites. But I rarely find it.

[cresyd]

I'm a major Diet Coke fan. Growing up, I wasn't allowed any soda at all, so I've never been hugely aware of the difference between diet and full sugar. I like the Diet Hansons sodas as well, but for me the long time love affair has definitely been with Diet Coke.

However, in a bizarre turn of events I now need more sodium and caffeine in my diet (for health reasons) - so I guess this puts a good seal of approval on the Diet Coke.

[SWISSAIRE]

I found I liked Coke Lite com Limao (with Lime) which was a great discovery in Brasil a decade or so ago. I bought and consumed a lot of the stuff while I worked and lived there.

I never found another Cola product close in taste anywhere in the world. I was told that in Brasil they use real cane sugar, while in other countries it is a sugar substitute, or corn syrup.

So today it is the local Rivella (Red label), or Tonic water with lime. 2-3x per week.

[cresyd]

The Middle East (not as much in Israel but Egypt, Jordan, etc.) also has Coke Lite - but I've never been really able to figure out the difference.

But I have a fairly unsophisticated palate for soda.

[ferret]

Coke Light is the non-US name for Diet Coke. It's the common name in most countries.

[pine time]

I did a dance in a grocery aisle in India the first time I found Diet Coke. Bought a bunch to bring back to my room, and I even drank 'em warm. Guess I'm addicted.
Also brings back teen-age memories: the local "skating rink" allowed us kids to mix flavors. The drink-of-choice was The Everything--a squirt of all 6 flavors. Vile, but popular.

[TheHuntress]

You know I've always said the mark of a true Diet Coke addict is that you will drink it warm. I worked that out when I was 18.

[klyeoh]

I was in Guangzhou (China) a few years ago and, at a restaurant in China World Hotel (run by the Marriott), I noticed Coke listed as a warm beverage on the drink menu.

Yep, they actually boil Coke, add a slice of lemon, and serve it to you in a teacup & saucer. I ordered the Diet Coke version - it actually tasted better than it sounded :-D

[TheHuntress]

Wow...I suppose with the addition of lemon it wouldn't be so bad...

Guess what I'm experimenting with this evening :) LOL

[prima]

We called The Everything "Swamp Water".

[gaffk]

*shudder* Back in high school I worked in a pizza place across from a high school. We called that a "Crazy 8" as we had 8 soda flavors. Even back then I thought it was nasty. Of course, thinking back, it was only guys who ordered it ;)

[suzigirl]

We called it suicide

[sandylc]

Oh, my, so did we....I had forgotten.

[biondanonima]

No. I like carbonation and drink a lot of seltzer, but no soda except a root beer maybe once a year. I think cola is one of the most vile flavors on the planet, and most fruit-flavored sodas in the US are too sweet for my liking. When I'm in Europe, there are a couple of carbonated lemon drinks that I like, but even then I don't drink them frequently.

[Passadumkeg]

Never. I save the calories for a good beer or glass of wine. No brainer for me. In South America, I'd order a Cuba Libre sin Libre; or rum on the rocks.

[Christina D]

I'll drink a soda maybe once every 4-6 months.

Generally, I stick to two beverages...water and wine.

[ahuva]

Diet Pepsi is my drug of choice. not proud of my habit, but it's better than some other ones.

[jlhinwa]

I love Coke. Even better is Barq's root beer, which contains caffeine and is very tasty. I don't drink coffee anymore (too hard on my stomach), but I have a lot of mornings where I need caffeine, so these are my go-to hookups. :-).

[jmcarthur8]

I sometimes get a Diet Coke with lemon or lime if we're out for lunch. Any later than 2:00, it's water, or the caffeine would keep me up all night.

On a hot summer day, after working in the garden, a nice cold Canfield's 50/50 does the trick.

Total sodas per month...probably 2 or 3. Otherwise, I'll have seltzer or decaf iced tea.

[Breadcrumbs]

Yes.

Diet Coke only.

I've likely had no more than 6 other sodas in my life. Just not something I was exposed to or had interest in.

But I do like Diet Coke.

I may have 6 a month.

[MonMauler]

My choice of beverage is always coffee, tea, diet coke, beer or whisky. Diet coke is the choice when I want something cool, crisp and caffeinated. I try not to consume liquid calories if alcohol is not involved.

[Leslie]

If I am really thirsty and the only choice is a soda machine, I will buy a Coke or Pepsi because I refuse to spend $1.25 for a bottle of water but will for the occasional soda.

[TheHuntress]

Yes.

I have a shocking Diet Coke habit. I drink anywhere from 1.5 to about 3 litres a day. I refuse to be ashamed.

I just like Diet Coke. But I will occasionally drink other soda's, not often as I find they're often too sweet.

[eclecticsynergy]

I was a lifelong Coke drinker. Pretty much cut it and other sodas out of my diet a couple of years ago. It was an easy way to eliminate a few thousand calories a week .But I still will have a soda maybe every couple of weeks. I keep a couple of glass bottle Mexican Cokes in the fridge for when I really want The Real Thing- Family Dollar sells 'em for a buck apiece. But there are a few others that I really enjoy. There's an Italian brand called Agrumi, I think, that has very good not-too-sweet sodas in tangerine or grapefruit favor. Great in hot weather. I also like Boylans Black Cherry. And here in Upstate NY a local brand, Saranac, makes a great hot & spicy Ginger Beer and a good old-fashioned Root Beer, along with a good cherry vanilla called "Cherry Cream." And once in a while in hot weather, a cheap Fanta Grape with a slice of pepperoni pizza. A favorite taste of childhood...

[dave_c]

Coca cola only. No Pepsi.
Of course, cheezeburga.... cheezeburga.... cheezeburga....

[Bacardi1]

I drink Diet Coke (with Bacardi rum sometimes - you DO know that the zero calories in the Diet Coke automatically cancels out the calories in the rum. . . .) & Green Tea Ginger Ale mostly, but limit myself to just one or two a day because too much carbonated stuff wreaks havoc with my digestive system. And tonic if I'm enjoying a gin & tonic.

Once in awhile I'll buy & enjoy a specialty carbonated beverage like non-alcohol Ginger Beer or Peregrino sparkling lemonade, etc., etc., but that's not a regular thing.

And since hubby is a seltzer junky, bought him a Soda-Stream machine for his birthday a couple of years ago, so sometimes I'll have a freshly made seltzer as well.

[alkapal]

ha ha -- canceled calories.

in my college dorm, that's what the gals thought as they ate their snickers with a diet coke.

[RetiredChef]

Nope, way to sweet.

[MGZ]

Soda sucks. If I want empty calories and bubbles, give me a beer. At least that way I get something back - and better flavor.

[ferret]

That's why I go diet, it's an empty lack of calories (although I won't say no to a Dr. Pepper 10).

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

I try to avoid sodas, but I have been getting Jarritos Tamarind flavored soda at my Mexican market.

Haven't found Vernors ginger ale anywhere out here.

[chocolatetartguy]

My poison of choice is Abita Root Beer. I like Dr. Pepper and Squirt too and no I am not at the south. When I was in college I worked at the snack bar at the men's gym. I got to try all the sodas and juices in the cooler. Boston Red Sox great Jackie Jensen was a customer.

[OCEllen]

One bottle of Mexican Coke a day.

[rockandroller1]

Nope

[tcamp]

Only on road trips and then only when the gas station has diet dr. pepper or fresca.

[ferret]

If I don't have a cup of coffee in front of me during the day then it's a Diet Coke. I probably have 3-4 of each every day.

[Dax]

Same here.

[Novelli]

Only on the weekends will I go for an ice cold Sprite or 7-UP. I don't like dark sodas or the caffeine, so I will stick with clear, decaf soda.

Although iced tea is usually my drink of choice, when not available or decent, Sprite it is.

[Jeanne]

Is your ice tea decaffeinated Novelli?

[bagelman01]

No Coke, Pepsi........................

I like Diet Pepsi, Fresca, Canada Dry regular Ginger Ale and Barq's Root Beer. NOTHING in a can. I drink about 24 oz per week.

[melpy]

Fresca is also excellent if I am drinking soda. As I said I try to avoid.

[mamachef]

If I don't have at least a few cans around, I get to feeling all insecure-like. True story. (full sugar w/ caffeine,always.)

[Veggo]

Let me know when you require an intervention. For a pal like you, I'll bring the gurney and the duck tape.

[mamachef]

LOL, Veggo. It's so nice to have friends!

[ipsedixit]

Hourly.

[kcshigekawa]

Once or twice a year, I'll order a bottle of Coke when we're out at our favorite Mexican restaurant. The Coke is made and bottled in Mexico; I don't know if it's a different recipe from what's sold in the USA, or it's the fact that it comes in a glass bottle, but it's the *only* Coke I like.

I drink other sodas even less frequently...not much a sweet tooth, and I don't really like very fizzy stuff.

[gaffk]

Mexican Coke is made with real sugar, not the HFCS used now in the US version. I prefer Pepsi Throwback for that same reason--it has sugar, not HFCS--but it's not widely available. And yes, I have a nice cold Pepsi every morning; the rest of the day I stick to ice water.

Also like an occasional Birch Beer, root beer and even a black cherry (but that's usually a once a year phenomenon).

[kcshigekawa]

There' a brew pub n ear my house that makes its own root beer...YUM!

[chefathome]

Oh, man. I had fresh root beer last summer for the first time in years. It was exceptional. When I was a kid friends of our family made root beer in their basement. We would sometimes hear "pop, pop, pop" sounds emanating from one room!

[Vidute]

Same with the Mexican coke and the Pepsi Tthrowback. I've realized that I crave that acidity when I'm coming down with a cold, so, along with the softdrinks, I stock up on chicken soup and cold meds.

[melpy]

I will have a birch beer at the cheesesteak place and a root beer float once a year at the A and W drive in.

[Gabatta]

We generally get a case of Mexican Coke a few times per year and I will drink a few per week, ice cold. I always mean to stop buying the cases asentioned above, if its not here I won't drink it. Also now that our daughter is getting older I'd prefer not to have it in the house.

[shirleyuguest]

As a treat, I buy basically only Mexican Coke because it's bottled in glass + made with cane sugar. Earlier this year, I was shopping for it to take a case to a party and bought a liter bottle of it at my local Fiesta. When I got home, I was shocked to read on the label that after sugar cane was listed, HFCS was also listed. It turns out that there are 4 or 5 (I can't remember exactly) Coke bottling plants in Mexico. Apparently one of them (in the Chihuahua region, I believe) has begun going down the road to increase their profit margin using the U.S. ingredients model. Hopefully the other Mexican plants won't follow suit and that glass bottles will also stay..

[ferret]

There's no cost savings for HFCS outside the US. If it wasn't for inflated sugar prices (due to decades-old protection policies) there would be no cost benefit to HFCS in the US either. We price sugar at roughly double the world market price so HFCS becomes an affordable alternative here, but that's not true anywhere else.

http://www.aei-ideas.org/2012/02/u-s-...

[Clams047]

and don't overlook the heavily subsidized corn syrup in the US. It's a strange government that wants to tax sugary drinks that are primarily made from highly subsidized corn syrup. Wouldn't the "logical" solution be to stop subsidizing corn syrup?

[sandylc]

Yes. The corn industry, for lack of a better term, is a house of cards.

[alkapal]

the logical thing would be to eliminate all subsidies.

~~~~~~
i very occasionally drink a coke, and like to get lemonade or sprite to share with mr. alka at the movies.

sometimes i like the fizzy burn of ginger ale, too.

~~~~~~
out to eat? i usually drink wine in a good place, unsweetened iced tea or water other places….
~~~~~~~~
in summer, driving around doing errands in the brutal heat, i love my mickey d's sweet tea.

[RedTop]

I drink pop.

I'm a Senior. And very, very recently I've become "addicted" to Coca Cola. Must have at least an eight oz. portion each late afternoon.

[sandylc]

When I was in my twenties I couldn't imagine skipping my afternoon Dew. When I stopped, it was a week of withdrawal headaches!

[melpy]

This is why I refuse to get addicted to caffeine.

[melpy]

I try I avoid it. On ocassion I will have a diet coke. I am a sucker for orange soda and cranberry ginger ale. Usually diet if I am going to have anything. I probably drink the equivalent of one can of soda every two months or so.

[FrankJBN]

Up until 3 months ago, I drak about a liter a day of diet soda and have domne so for 20 years.

About 3 m9nths ago, I stopped. Still have the last two bottles I put in the fridge door in the fridge door.

No explanation, no conscious decision.

[chefathome]

Rarely. And when I do it is NEVER diet with aspartame (aspartame is not good for chronic pain). When I do indulge it is usually when on vacation of all things. I save up my pop quota for orange Fanta when in Europe!

[Veggo]

Nope. Even when my meal price includes a soda, I want water. I can't tolerate sugar drinks or artificial sweeteners. My exception is an occasional summer G&T.

[sandylc]

I'm with you. They are both too sweet and the artificial ones taste bad and are likely bad for you.

[4X4]

Very rarely. I switched to flavored seltzer over ten years ago. I might drink a Coke once or twice a year, and occasionally I like to mix Ting (Jamaican grapefruit soda) with vodka.

[sparky403]

Love Orangina and vodka -

Past that I drink a diet coke a couple of times a week..

[Maximilien]

Yes. No shame about it.

I drink "fancy" soda drinks (Fentiman's, Marco's ... ) instead of Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola when those are available even if they cost more.

[Sooeygun]

Generally, no. I have never like the feeling of the bubbles; they hurt my mouth. Didn't even drink it as a kid. On very rare occasions, I will drink orange pop.

[sandylc]

Funny, I'd forgotten that as a kid I considered pop to "burn" my mouth.....

[Florida Hound]

That "burn" was part of the deal when I was a kid, I thought. I believe some Chowhounds speculated on this a few yrs back on a thread where someone said the great "burn" left us when Coke changed its formula and/or when high fructose corn syrup got snuck in. The carbonated bubbles popping out of a glass of coke used to put on a bit of a show...sort of.
But back to the OP, I can go months without any soft drinks, but I am working on some chores around the house today, a day off, and I just finished my second Coke. Very unusual for me.

[viperlush]

I drink it when we buy it so I try not to buy it.

[cleobeach]

Same. I have a daily morning Coke Zero problem but I don't keep it in the house because I wouldn't be able to leave it alone.