Review: Diet Coke with Splenda (4/5 widgets)
June 1st, 2005
Diet Coke is the first of the big-boy soda lines to add Splenda (Sucralose) to their flagship diet beverage. It can hardly be called a daring, bold move since, A: Splenda has been available for years now, with quite an enthusiastic response from consumers, and B: for now, at least, Diet Coke with NutraSweet isn’t going away.
I’ve never liked Diet Coke, although I love regular Coke. Conversely I dislike regular Pepsi, but have always preferred the diet version. Diet coke is not simply regular Coke with a sugar replacement substituted for High Fructose Corn Syrup (or sugar in Canada and during Passover), it is a radically different formulation. The predominant taste in regular Coke is a bold, aromatic note of cinnamon, or perhaps cassia. Diet Coke’s dominant flavors have historically been a combination of NutraSweet and a big dollop of artificial vanilla flavoring.
The new Diet Coke with Splenda has a cleaner flavor, closer to that of sugar than NutraSweet, but it is still redolent of artificial vanilla. Even so, I count this as a big improvement. I also get the fact that Diet Coke is far and away the most popular diet soda known to mankind. Taking into account the fact that, apparently, my tastes are abberant, I give Diet Coke with Splenda a 4 out of 5 Widgets.
If Coca-Cola, Inc ever decides to put Splenda into regular coke, THAT would be a 5 of 5.
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Entry Filed under: Caffeine, Diet, Popular
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4 Comments Add your own
1. Levi Wallach | June 1st, 2005 at 11:29 am
Pepsi also has a Splenda product called Pepsi One. I haven’t tried either yet, but have been drinking Diet Rite which has had Splenda for years. Plus it has no caffein, and since I’m currently staying away from caffein, I’m going to stay away from these Coke and Pepsi products until they come out with something without. But I think you put the nail on the head with the comment about the artificial vanilla. Let’s not kid ourselves, soft drinks, even with Splenda, are not the most healthy thing for you - certainly not as healthy as just water. When they get rid of all the artificial colors and flavors, maybe, but even then they will still have carbonation, which can be detrimental to bones. Currently I’m drinking about a 16oz bottle a day, but I want to cut that to once a week, which is moderate enough, I think, not to be too bad. The problem is that even things that taste like sugar can sometimes have the same addictive qualities, and you end up eating/drinking more and more…
2. Mister Tut | June 1st, 2005 at 11:53 am
Hi Levi,
As usual, I agree completely. I am currently tapering off the caffeine myself, as I am in a weight-loss plateau and Dr Atkins always warned that caffeine could cause that. I am currently having mostly caf-free diet pepsi, with a couple cans of regular diet pepsi spaced out through the day to prevent migraines. As I type this, I am glugging an 8oz Poland Spring water.
I hope to get to no caffeine and mostly water eventually, but I am doing the gradual taper.
3. Christopher Baker | June 3rd, 2005 at 4:52 pm
Diet Coke, regardless of its sweetener is just the failed Coke II of 1985 infamy. Having written several letters to the CEO and Board of Coca Cola about putting Splenda into Classic Coke’s formula in place of the sugar and calling it Carb-Free Classic, i ponder the formula of the soon-to-be-released Coke Zero?
4. Mister Tut | June 3rd, 2005 at 9:59 pm
Hi Christopher,
I’m glad to hear of your activism! I am with you 100%. It is strange, though how resistant the majors have been to Sucralose. I know that in the early days supplies of Sucralose were unreliable, and would often dry up. There was a long wait for it to be available in bulk for retail sale. There was an even longer wait for it in carb-free liquid form (is it widely available now?). I’d even settle for classic Coke with a blend of Splenda and Ace K.
While I agree that “New Coke” was abjectly horrid, my recollection is that it was merely bland… blander than pepsi… blander than some store brands, even! But I don’t remember it having that nasty vanilla taste. On the other hand, it wasn’t until I gave up Coke for several years and then tried it again that I really could taste it at all. I was drinking so much as a kid that I never really noticed the flavor.
Anyway, thanks for the comment!
-Tut
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