var json_comments = new Array("
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ngoandy
April 30, 2009 2:15 PM
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It is funny how we start to think a natural food has a 'chemical' taste when we compare it to the food we are accustomed to.

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6 replies
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bobcatred
May 1, 2009 7:09 AM
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@ngoandy: I don't know about a significant difference in flavor, but you'd be surprised how many people are allergic to corn, and basically feel like crap all the time because it's near impossible to live in the U.S. and avoid corn products

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Kurokawa
April 30, 2009 5:38 PM
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@ngoandy: The Reality is Unrealistic trope comes to mind but that applies in instances where fiction is held to higher standards of realism than reality itself.

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Megladon
April 30, 2009 2:45 PM
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@ngoandy:


Serious, I'm in pakistan where I've been drinking the sugar made coke for a few months, and i found a 12 pack of American coke at the consulate and after drinking the American HFCS coke, i gotta say its alot better then the sugar stuff. The pepsi with sugar isnt bad though.

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novacthall
April 30, 2009 8:33 PM
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@Megladon: Really? Maybe it's just Pepsi, but I've had \"normal\" Coke and I've also had Mexican Coke, which is made with cane sugar. The difference is clear: Mexican Coke is vastly superior, has a less sticky aftertaste, and is a tad sweeter.

I don't care so much about the so-called \"health implications\" of HFCS. I like the taste of sugar better. Then again, I'd sooner surgically remove my tongue with a pair of needlenose pliers without any anesthetic than use Splenda, Sweet 'n Low, or any of their ilk.

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chrisjames
April 30, 2009 2:44 PM
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@ngoandy: Or really how we associate \"chemical\" with \"manufactured\" and \"dangerous,\" and \"natural\" with \"organic,\" \"unadulterated,\" or even just \"something I enjoy.\" Both of those words, chemical and natural, have lost and gained quite a lot of meaning over the years.

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quirkyrachel
April 30, 2009 2:37 PM
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@ngoandy: A friend of mine once said that fresh whole grain bread tasted \"weird\" compared to the processed white bread he was used to.

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rdm
April 30, 2009 2:18 PM
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I try to buy real sugar products as much as I can. Here in Texas we can get the glass-bottled Coke they sell in Mexico and it has real sugar. The cost is a little bit more but you can really tell the difference. I also try to buy Jones soda when it's available.

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9 replies
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cuchanu
April 30, 2009 5:52 PM
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@rdm:
I'm pretty sure that diet coke is the worst beverage in the history of mankind. Not to mention it has aspartame which is a lot more controversial than HFCS.

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henwy
May 1, 2009 8:39 AM
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@cuchanu:

Controversial because some scientists made a mistake and people are pig-ignorant.

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allstarecho
April 30, 2009 5:25 PM
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@rdm: Mexican Coke: Now sweetened with Swine Flu!

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korybing
April 30, 2009 4:12 PM
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@rdm: They sell the glass-bottled Sugar Coke in the hispanic sections of the grocery stores here in Missouri, which I always found a little weird. I have had friends go out of their way to get specifically that Coke, though. They love it.

I can't hack carbonation so I've never developed a taste for any sorta soda, so I can't really weigh in on this one.

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joecoolest
April 30, 2009 4:03 PM
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@rdm: I drink very few sodas these days, but we buy the Mexican cokes from Costco for the occasions when I do crave a soda. I buy them because I think they taste better and the HFCS products tend to make my throat phlegmy (might be due to a slight alergy).

As a general rule we try not to consume HFCS. Maybe I've been brainwashed, but I think the jury is out on how natural or neutral it is. Until I see more definitive proof that it is not harmful I will continue to do my best to avoid it.

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KyleOrton
April 30, 2009 5:47 PM
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@joecoolest: I get the phlegm thing you mentioned too. My wife also noticed that if I drink a regular soda (I almost always drink diet) I very frequently get a sore throat the next day.

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GMFish
April 30, 2009 2:38 PM
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@rdm: Some of the gas stations/convenience stores in Michigan sells Mexican soda. Unfortunately, I've been drinking diet soda for so long that that regular soda tastes weird to me.

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me and the sysop
April 30, 2009 2:44 PM
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@GMFish: I have that problem. I grew up drinking Diet Coke because that's what my mom drinks all the time. Now my reaction is opposite the norm: when I drink normal Coke it tastes gross.

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Andrew Dorsett
April 30, 2009 2:30 PM
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@rdm: I was a little surprised to be walking through a local Target and found the same Mexican coke they sell off of the roach coaches. It was conveniently labeled \"Mexican Coke\". Not a huge surprise in Southern California

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davere
April 30, 2009 2:21 PM
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I bought one of the Pepsi bottles the other day. It was so good, took me back to my childhood.

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6 replies
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cuchanu
April 30, 2009 5:53 PM
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@davere:
Do any of you actually remember them switching from sugar to HFCS? My dad was commenting that the taste is so different (in the sugar version's favor, of course) that they couldn't have switched it cold turkey or there would have been an outcry. Does anybody know?

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karmaghost
April 30, 2009 5:29 PM
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@davere: I haven't had a chance to try the Pepsi or Mt. Dew throwbacks, but I saw a coworker drinking a 20oz Pepsi throwback the other day and I asked him about it. He had no idea what I was talking about. He hadn't noticed that it tasted any different and hadn't noticed that the bottle was different, as the color is very similar to regular Pepsi 20ozs.

I wonder if this is a matter of personal taste or whether there's a slight placebo affect going on here.

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henwy
May 1, 2009 8:40 AM
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@karmaghost:

Replace slight placebo effect with huge placebo effect and you've hit it on the nose.

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bastion72
April 30, 2009 3:32 PM
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@davere: Same here. I had a Mexican Coke and I was transported back to my birthday party when I was about 10. Amazing what a long forgotten taste can do to jog your memory.

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Gann
April 30, 2009 3:11 PM
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@davere: I haven't found one yet, but your comment has convinced me that I will today. I love the Mexi-cokes, and used to love Pepsi before the big switch.

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sasquatch28
April 30, 2009 3:08 PM
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@davere: I thought the same thing when i tried one. I hope pepsi plans on keeping it around.

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econobiker
April 30, 2009 2:22 PM
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Yes, this consumer does. Nothing tasted better than that mixed fountain Pepsi I drank as a youth in the 1970's.


When New Coke was announced in the 1980's I purchased a six pack of \"old\" Coke right before it was discontinued- even have the original receipt for it with date. I got a six of cans with gold tops similar to what they were using on Diet or Caffinee Free Coke. I figured they were using out the old print cans with what ever tops they had around. I had the six all these years though it lost three cans that corroded through the sides (and ticked off my mother in regards to Coke slime down a closet wall once!). Funny that I never looked at the contents until moving recently. Sugar. So I call bunk that they changed to HFCS before changing to New Coke.

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Wes_Sabi
April 30, 2009 3:11 PM
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@econobiker:

Both Coca Cola and Pepsi announced they were switching from sugar to HFCS on Nov 6th, 1984 due to import quotas. New Coke was released on April 23, 1985 and might have been planned to cover the change from sugar to HFCS.

[www.fff.org]

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henwy
May 1, 2009 8:42 AM
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@Wes_Sabi:

Sure, sure. Those are just facts though and who trusts them. They don't match up compared to someone's gut feeling.

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chipslave
April 30, 2009 2:22 PM
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I tried one of the throwbacks for Pepsi. 67g of sugar. Wow! I don't need another. Water seems like a better option to me.

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10 replies
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sbcpunkrocker
April 30, 2009 4:18 PM
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@chipslave: Thanks health police, I usually limit myself to a can of soda per day. On the 20oz bottles, a serving is usually listed as 8oz, no need to drink the whole bottle.

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chiieddy
April 30, 2009 11:01 PM
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@sbcpunkrocker: This is the first non-diet soda I've had in a YEAR (and I maybe get one soda a month as it is and just drink coffee and water). I think I can enjoy the treat with rather little consequence.

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crunchberries
April 30, 2009 10:13 PM
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@sbcpunkrocker: What on earth does chipslave's preference for a drink with less sugar have to do with you? Did you suddenly switch bodies with them or something?

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GMFish
April 30, 2009 2:41 PM
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@chipslave: \"Water seems like a better option to me.\"

I bet you're a heck of a party host. Water with a side of organic lettuce. I never understood people who are so busy trying to extend their life that they forget to live it.

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bobcatred
May 1, 2009 7:20 AM
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@BeerManMike:
Well, I can't speak for everyone, but the Nutrasweet that they use in most diet sodas gives me (and everyone in my family, for that matter) crazy-bad migraines. Blinding pain that makes me puke seems pretty bad for me.

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serreca
April 30, 2009 3:03 PM
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@GMFish: Geez! Quite a bold leap of logic there.

Sweetened beverages are one of the worst things you can consume if you're concerned about weight. Drinking calories doesn't fill you up at all.

I have a condition that is sort of pre-pre-diabetic (it has to do with my ovaries and hormones, it's very strange) and have been told by the nutritionist at my doctor's office that drinking sugar-sweetened beverages is the worst thing I could do. Worst than eating cake and other sweets.

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Stephmo
April 30, 2009 2:57 PM
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@GMFish: Or maybe if you're going to consume 67g of sugar they'd rather eat it instead of just drinking it.

Hmmm...would my guests rather have chocolate truffles or caramel-colored water with fizzies? Decisions, decisions, decisions...

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Tsubasa
April 30, 2009 4:59 PM
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@Stephmo: I was just explaining this to my coworker in a conversation about Jamba Juice. I'm sure it's delicious, but I've never been.

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CumaeanSibyl
April 30, 2009 3:27 PM
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@Stephmo: Exactly. Or calories in general -- what is that, 250 calories? That adds up to a lot of yummy little mini-quiche thingies. Or a good-sized cocktail. Or a lot of things I'd rather have than Pepsi.

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chipslave
April 30, 2009 3:02 PM
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@Stephmo: The Mtn Dew throwback has 73g sugar per 20oz serving. Wowza! Does Rockstar even have that much sugar?

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Thorgryn
April 30, 2009 10:33 PM
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@chipslave:

20 ounce bottle of the normal Mountain Dew has 77g of sugars per bottle. So the throwback version actually has less sugar per bottle.

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wgrune
April 30, 2009 3:42 PM
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@chipslave:


A 20oz bottle of Regular HFCS Mt. Dew has 78g of \"sugar\".

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chipslave
April 30, 2009 3:45 PM
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@wgrune:


Oh my. I guess I had never paid attention. I find it way to sweet for my tastes. Man thats a lot of sugar.

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mrm514
April 30, 2009 2:47 PM
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@GMFish:
Most likely I think she's busy trying to not let her teeth rot out of her head.

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snowburnt
April 30, 2009 2:47 PM
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@GMFish: who says they're not drinking tap water?

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chipslave
April 30, 2009 2:45 PM
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@GMFish:


Hmmm... some mighty bold assumptions there. Just because I don't want/need the 67g of sugar in a 20 oz bottle hardly means I serve water with organic lettuce.

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Saboth
April 30, 2009 4:27 PM
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@chipslave:

67g of sugar really isn't that much, once in awhile. It's when you drink 1-2 of those daily that you will run into problems.

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chipslave
April 30, 2009 4:44 PM
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@Saboth: So you are saying in moderation things usually go better. Interesting. :)

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FuryOfFirestorm
April 30, 2009 2:23 PM
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Just got the 'new' Pepsi at my Publix last week...that shit is delicious!

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TheTick
April 30, 2009 2:23 PM
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The Dew Throwback is fantastic. I was moved enough by it to revew/recommend it on my website...takes a lot to motivate me to post about something non-sports. ;)

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2 replies
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XBL: Legend xKWx (Kyle)
April 30, 2009 2:50 PM
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@TheTick: Really? I was very excited to try it and when I did it was so disappointing. Its like drinking regular Mt. Dew followed by a spoonful of sugar being shoved down your throat the after taste is so strong

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Thanatos
April 30, 2009 3:21 PM
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@Kyle: I tried it and it didn't taste good to me at all and wasn't what the original formula was when they changed it a couple of years back. :(

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Jonathan Merchant
April 30, 2009 2:23 PM
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Fine, I'll say it - maybe they're making the real sugar sodas not as good tasting so people will realize that sugared sodas aren't as good a HFCS sodas and so they'll only buy the HFCS sodas.

Yeah it might be a stretch, but I'm all about stretching....

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1 replies
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David Brodbeck
April 30, 2009 8:25 PM
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@Jonathan Merchant: I think people just like what they're used to drinking; the \"same\" drink in a different formulation tastes \"off\" to them.

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Etoiles
April 30, 2009 2:23 PM
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The Pepsi Throwback is all right, but the kosher Coke was better. (And best of all is Coca-Cola made and bottled in places like the Caribbean.)

I'm not going to jump around shouting, \"HFCS is evil!\" because I'm not a scientist and I can't make intelligent claims stick one way or the other. But I can say that I'm sick and tired of it showing up in 90% of all products in the grocery store, and that if I'm going to make the decision to have a high-calorie, nutritionally empty treat like a soda, I'd rather it be made out of actual sugar and halfway-identifiable ingredients than industrial sludge.

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Tiber
April 30, 2009 3:14 PM
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@Etoiles: Same here. I'm not a health nut, so nutrition doesn't matter to me, especially if I'm drinking pop. There are three reasons I don't like it:
They put it in stuff it has no place being in.
It is widely considered inferior to sugar, so it shows they only care about making a cheap, low-quality product.
The business practices surrounding it, such as trying to have it called natural, and the fact that it is subsidized while sugar is taxed.

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econobiker
April 30, 2009 2:32 PM
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@Etoiles: Ditto on stuff bottled in the Caribbean. First three Red Stripe beers I had were brought from Jamacia before they legally imported. The bottles were actually returnable style and probably had 2x the alcohol content that the US allows. I loved them because they wolluped me about midway through drinking the third. Then when it was sold here I drank a six and felt so hohum...except for the high price.

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Papercutninja
April 30, 2009 2:23 PM
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I'm patiently awaiting Throwback Pepsi and Mtn Dew to hit Central jersey...

We bought up all of our local supermarket's stock of Passover Pepsi (only 5 bottles; it's not a very Jewish area). Unfortunately i had to relinquish a bottle to my future in-laws because their part of Jersey didn't have any.

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ekthesy
April 30, 2009 3:21 PM
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@Papercutninja:

I bought a bottle of the Pepsi \"throwback\" in a 7-11 in Scotch Plains...\"central Jersey\" is sort of an amorphous construct so that may be a bit of a drive for you. But entirely worth it. But 7-11 or Wawa might be a good place to start.

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diesel54
April 30, 2009 2:25 PM
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I've had Coke and Dr. Pepper with sugar and I just can't tell the difference. Everyone else I know says the sugar versions are much better. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

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5 replies
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diasdiem
April 30, 2009 4:55 PM
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@diesel54: Dr. Pepper with sugar (aka \"Dublin\" Dr. Pepper) tastes sweeter than HFCS Dr. Pepper. Personally I prefer the HFCS version, but maybe because I'm used to it.

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diesel54
April 30, 2009 6:48 PM
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@all:
This is like the honesty thread where people come to anonymously admit that they can't really tell the difference.

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Hil-fish
April 30, 2009 4:46 PM
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@diesel54: My husband and I did a blind taste test of HFCS and glucose Coke with a couple of friends and couldn't taste much of a difference. And most of us couldn't correctly name the product we were tasting.

Then again, I like diet sodas and fully intend to die of cancer brought on by aspartame.

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craptastico
April 30, 2009 3:17 PM
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@diesel54: it's not you. i tried it and it pretty much tastes the same. i think about half of the people that say they prefer the real sugar varieties couldn't tell them apart in a blind taste test. it's just something else people pretend about to feel smarter when they say \"I can't stand that HFCS coke, the sugar kind is so much more natural and tastes better\".

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sn1per420
April 30, 2009 7:02 PM
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@craptastico: Just cause you can't taste a difference, doesn't mean no one can. The real sugar versions generally taste a bit sweeter, and the HFCS versions leave the feeling of a film in your mouth.

(and yes, I've done blind taste tests)

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Trai_Dep
April 30, 2009 7:42 PM
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@sn1per420: And that \"too sweet\" sugar taste is a good thing. It's your body telling you, \"Too much. Too much!\"
HFCS tricks your body into sucking down even more empty calories.

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Vanilla5
April 30, 2009 2:25 PM
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I can't really speak for any consumer other than myself, but I've been diligently avoiding things (especially drinks/juices) that contain HFCS for the past 2 or so years. Because of this, I think my palate is a bit \"cleaner\" (this may not be the word I'm searching for) and I can definitely taste when something is sweetened with HFCS (like Coke), natural sugar (like most Jones sodas), Splenda (like my tea/coffee), or some other weird sweetener like Truvia (like Vitamin Water 10...awful taste IMO).

I try to limit my intake of sweet stuff (in whatever form because it is my weakness) but I would at least try a soda or two sweetened with real sugar.

And did I mention I dropped about 10lbs within about 2 months after I gave up HFCS?

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3 replies
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Leslie McIntosh Ku
April 30, 2009 5:33 PM
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@Vanilla5: You are not the only one. I quit 90% of my HFCS intake 2 years ago. I still have it if I eat out mostly because I can't control what restaurants use. I have lost 30 pounds when before I switched I was doing the same and hadn't lost much. I am convinced that it effects me personally.

Whether it tastes different isn't my top concern it's how it's made and what kind of processes it is put through. As often as possible I use things made with pure cane sugar as it is even less refined then table sugar.

Oh and about taste... I CAN taste the difference in my Oroweat bread since they switched.

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ludwigk
April 30, 2009 3:15 PM
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@Vanilla5: \"Truvia\" sounds like a brand name for Stevia, and yes it tastes kind of weird.

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salvatorecondegni
April 30, 2009 3:50 PM
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@ludwigk: You're right. Stevia is the plant Truvia gets its sweetener from.

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RecordStoreToughGuy_starcommandseries.com
April 30, 2009 2:25 PM
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Drinking a Pepsi Throwback right now. ironically, it's less sweet than the HFCS sweetened product. Also less syrupy, which is the main difference to me. If a carbonated drink can be considered light in texture, this certainly is.

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4 replies
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HeartBurnKid uses Linux: the taint of OS's
April 30, 2009 3:25 PM
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@RecordStoreToughGuy: I managed to snag a Mountain Dew Throwback at a shop by my mom's house last weekend, and I'd definitely say the same. Much lighter mouthfeel, and doesn't leave that syrupy stickiness in your mouth.

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Papercutninja
April 30, 2009 3:04 PM
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@RecordStoreToughGuy: My fiancee describes it as \"crisp\" tasting. I agree. Sugar FTW.

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chiieddy
April 30, 2009 11:04 PM
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@Papercutninja: My first reaction was 'subtle'. Then I read the ingredients list and cheered because I could pronounce everything.

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Vanilla5
April 30, 2009 2:35 PM
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@RecordStoreToughGuy: Thanks for that. I was wondering whether or not it had the syrupy taste.

I'd always though that most HFCS drinks tasted \"thick\".

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godai
April 30, 2009 2:28 PM
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Anyone know what the difference between Pepsi Throwback and Pepsi Natural is?

I saw Pepsi Natural in the Healthy/Organic food section of the local Giant Eagle.

Or is it just that Pepsi Natural is no HFCS and in glass bottles.

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HeartBurnKid uses Linux: the taint of OS's
April 30, 2009 3:28 PM
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@godai: Pepsi Throwback = the original Pepsi formula, back when it was originally introduced (including sugar instead of HFCS).

Pepsi Natural = all natural ingredients. This includes sugar instead of HFCS, but also includes actual kola nut syrup instead of artificial flavoring, caramel instead of caramel color, etc.

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LizaEscared
April 30, 2009 2:29 PM
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Yes, Pepsi with sugar does taste better than HFCS, no question.

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Trick
April 30, 2009 2:31 PM
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I bought some Pepsi Natural from Costco thinking it was the new Pepsi with real sugar... nope. It's not bad but it's not Pepsi with sugar either!

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sp00nix
April 30, 2009 2:31 PM
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I stopped liking soda and couldn't figure it out until recently that i learned the use HFCS. Like other artificial sweeteners, they make my tummy hurt and leave a weird thick taste in my mouth. I remember a local company that made iced tea did that and had the same effect on me, so i stopped buying the tea. Shortly after they went back to sugar. And again i didn't know why it tasted bad to me.

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consumerfan
April 30, 2009 8:59 PM
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@zacwax: Sure it is. It certainly doesn't exist in nature. Neither does table sugar.

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Mobius
April 30, 2009 2:32 PM
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I tried Mountain Dew throwback and the most striking difference is the much smoother mouthfeel and aftertaste. I liked it a lot. I don't drink calorie containing carbonated beverages much at all anymore but if I did, I'd choose the sugar version over a HFCS one anyday.

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1 replies
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wgrune
April 30, 2009 4:24 PM
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@Mobius:


Agreed. The sugar version just feels so much smoother. I quit drinking the HFCS version a while ago because of the \"bite\" it had.

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Michael Boyd
April 30, 2009 2:33 PM
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i had both the Pepsi and Mtn Dew throwbacks. Good stuff. But Mexican Coke still rules the day.

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Hello_Secaucus
April 30, 2009 5:28 PM
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@Michael Boyd: I wouldn't really trust anything from Mexico as being safe.

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neilb
April 30, 2009 2:34 PM
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Refined sugars are not natural!
Think of how much of the world does not have ANY locally-grown source of sugar besides seasonal fruits.

Our natural foods lobbies have perverted our sense of \"natural\" foods. We have accepted refined sugars as being \"natural\" when they have no origin in nature. Sugar cane juice cannot be chugged. Sugar from beets comes as a whole fruit.

Sorry, refined sugars seriously have no business being in a diet that is based upon substances found in nature.

Of you can believe the mega health food lobbies and get fat by eating refined starches and sugars. Remember, if no one's great grandparents could recognize it as food, it isn't natural!

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4 replies
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HeartBurnKid uses Linux: the taint of OS's
April 30, 2009 3:31 PM
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@neilb: Give me cane juice, a saucepan, and a food processor, and I can make you brown sugar. From there, it's just a matter of stripping the molasses out (which, I suppose, you can say is artificial if you're a pedant).

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carlos_the_dwarf
April 30, 2009 3:26 PM
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@neilb:

Um, a sugar is just a type of molecule. Your body has absolutely no way of telling if it's \"natural\" or not.

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JulesNoctambule
April 30, 2009 2:48 PM
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@neilb: I can assure you that all my great-grandparents recognized refined sugar, which comes from both sugarcane and beets, as food item.

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neilb
April 30, 2009 3:13 PM
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@JulesNoctambule: That statement is not meant to be taken literally (we might have to add a few \"greats\" to the above statement for that to be the case)!

We need to recognize the desirability of a link between a food and its source. This is a logical distinction for a \"natural\" food. Carbonated soft drinks would have been foreign to people of 200 years ago. Refined sugar, even into the 1800s, was a rare treat and was not dumped into foods like it is now. Buy some beets and then derive the sugar...it will make you appreciate how sucrose does not occur in a natural setting.

Our bodies have a good ability to digest whole fruits, but even fruit juices have been shown to be iffy (dental caries higher due to increased acid concentrations; too-fast digestion of fructose causing insulin balance issues). How much more confusing is it for our bodies to get 60 grams of sucrose or HFCS in a 15 minute drink?..yet it is this distinction that we are told by Pepsi is salient and important.

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Trai_Dep
April 30, 2009 3:42 PM
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@neilb: a) as someone that's had sugar cane drink (delicious!), you're wrong. Unless you count running a length of cane thru a crusher poised over a cup of ice \"unnatural\".
In which case, is your idea of a hamburger to slap two slabs of bread on the top & bottom of a cow corpse, and start chomping away?
b) Shouldn't your avatar have the logo of ADM? Lobbying/disclosure rules being what they are...

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neilb
April 30, 2009 4:56 PM
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@Trai_Dep: Ha! Yeah, no love here for ADM.

@ HeartBurnKid uses Linux: the taint of OS's: Yes, I would consider extracting sugar cane as such to be somewhat artificial. It is a gray area. Juicing is not a natural process. Sugar cane juice contains WAY more nutrients than refined sugar.
Both cooked and uncooked meat have been eaten by humans for so many thousands of years (and in nearly all cultures) that I think it is fair to consider meat to be natural (of course, factory meat is another story altogether). Bread is either artificial (check your cheapy store brand white bread) or a gray area/fairly natural (if it is fairly raw in composition).

These are peripheral to the point of refined sugar being unavailable across most of the world for most of history and now called a \"natural food\" (e.g., you might have gotten a little honey in 1500s England, but not enough to constitute a significant sources of calories for your diet).
We are swapping one newly unnatural food for a slightly older (i.e., over the evolved history of humankind) unnatural one.

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David Brodbeck
April 30, 2009 8:29 PM
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@neilb: I see what you're saying, but it strikes me that you're still drawing a very arbitrary line -- just drawing it in a different place than most people currently do.

Raw food activists would argue that any cooking at all is unnatural, for example. They're drawing their own arbitrary line.

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Trai_Dep
April 30, 2009 7:47 PM
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@neilb: OK, I get it now.
I thought that you were arguing that since refined sugar is bad, that you were suggesting that HFCS was better. But you're simply saying, Refined sugar is bad.

No argument there.

But in a universe where people consume w-a-a-y too much sweet stuff, isn't it better that they have more \"honest\" sweetners? Ones that trigger your body's satiation response? That doesn't rely on so many subsidies and petrol-extensive farming to exist?

And, in this universe, decrying sugar is boosting HFCS, no? Or at least, without adding something addressing the two?

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Juan Camargo
April 30, 2009 2:35 PM
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Tried the Pepsi Throwback last week. Im normally not a Pepsi drinker, but what the heck. It was VERY enjoyable. Reminded me of the sodas I drank as a child in Colombia. It definitely didn't have that syrupy taste I dislike in Pepsi. Same for the Mt Dew Throwback. That tasted just like the Sundrops you find in glass bottles (usually sweetened with sugar instead of HCFS). Here is to hoping someone makes 7Up or Sprite with sugar now :o)

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cete-of-badgers
April 30, 2009 2:37 PM
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I have avoided HFCS products since I read about how many of them tested positive for goddamn mercury: [www.washingtonpost.com]
I have felt less Mad Hattery ever since.

In all seriousness, I've been trying not to ingest that stuff for a long time. I tend to avoid too much sugar as well, as diabeetus runs in the family. HFCS cannot be avoided, though, and the couple of times it has slipped by, I've noticed an \"off\" taste, checked the food label, and had my suspicions confirmed. That they use it in things like loaves of whole-grain bread is frigging disgusting.

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wezelboy
April 30, 2009 2:40 PM
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I pretty much gave up soda when they switched to HFCS, except for occasional visits to the taco truck for coke \"en la botella\"

In some ways I am thankful for HFCS, because it made kicking a soda habit really easy.

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theblackdog
April 30, 2009 2:40 PM
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I am so searching my supermarkets tonight for Pepsi throwback. It has to be in Maryland by now, right?

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theblackdog
April 30, 2009 4:54 PM
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@theblackdog: I'm in Greenbelt, and there's a Target nearby. I know where I will be tonight.

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Etoiles
April 30, 2009 2:44 PM
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@theblackdog: I don't know where in MD you are, but in the immediate VA suburbs to DC, we found it in Target but not in Safeway, Giant, or Wegman's. So if you're between DC and Baltimore, try Target first. ;)

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edwardso
April 30, 2009 3:20 PM
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@Etoiles: Thanks for the tip. Which target did you find it at?

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Etoiles
April 30, 2009 3:26 PM
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@edwardso: They had 20 oz bottles and 12-packs of cans at both Targets in Falls Church.

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Spencer Cunningham
April 30, 2009 2:45 PM
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I can't find the throwbacks anywhere. It's rather upsetting

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Randy Treibel
April 30, 2009 2:45 PM
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I care! I avoid HFCS like the plague if at all possible.

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bairdwallace
April 30, 2009 2:49 PM
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I've never been convinced that HFCS is necessarily the worst thing in the world for you, but typical dietary habits in America are pretty definitely contributing to issues like diabetes. People don't seem to understand that drinking a 2 liter of coke is going to pump you full of sugar.

Anyway, there is a difference in sweetness profiles between cane sugar and Corn Syrup, and I generally prefer the cane sugar. Whole Foods sells those 365 brand sodas made with cane sugar (6 pack for like $2.70) and their store brand lemonade is also cane sugar sweetened. I pour 1/3 of a glass of that lemonade into chilled unsweetened black tea, and that stuff is DELICIOUS.

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JulesNoctambule
April 30, 2009 2:51 PM
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I don't like drinking most sodas available in America because I grew up with sugar-sweetened sodas and HFCS has an odd taste and unpleasant mouthfeel to me. We haven't seen the Throwback sodas here yet and despite all our efforts, none of us were able to find any Kosher-for-Passover big-brand sodas, so I guess we'll be sticking with Jones.

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NightElfMohawk
April 30, 2009 2:51 PM
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I do. I don't like the taste of things sweetened with it (particularly the funky aftertaste), I don't like that it's a main ingredient in so many things, and I prefer sugar drinks, which taste much more smooth to me. With Dr Pepper, it seriously makes all the difference in the world (I thought I outgrew the drink in my early teen years, but it turns out that's when they switched over to HFCS - still can't stand the taste, at all, of the corn syrup version, but the sugar on tastes like childhood).

Then again, avoiding any highly processed, heavily concentrated sweetener is always going to be better for you in the long run. Regular corn syrup, not as bad... \"high fructose\" = super duper sweetened. Ugh.

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JulesNoctambule
April 30, 2009 2:54 PM
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@mrm514: I hear brushing helps.

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Kay Bee
April 30, 2009 8:21 PM
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@JulesNoctambule: Dont brush for 1 hour after drinking sodas with phosphoric acid! they soften the enamel allowing your toothbrush to destroy your teeth! [www.cbsnews.com]

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doctor_cos wants you to remain calm
April 30, 2009 3:01 PM
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I have been buying up all the Dew Throwback in Sweetbay because I am the only one who appreciates the subtle goodness :)

Pepsi needs to make these permanent (and the other sodas as well...Mountain Dew Voltage w/sugar FTW) and I will drop Coke like a bad habit (which soda is...)

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JulesNoctambule
April 30, 2009 3:01 PM
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Also, people who go on and on about how all foods in the days of our great-grandparents were all *pure* and ~natural~ must not be that familiar with working conditions of the Victorian era or the era's lack of laws preventing all manner of curious and nauseating 'improvements' added to everything from bread to ice cream.

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JulesNoctambule
April 30, 2009 11:17 PM
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@econobiker: Aimed for America's heart and hit its stomach, bless him.

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Rippleeffect
April 30, 2009 3:02 PM
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Bought a case of Pepsi Natural a couple weeks back from Costco. MUCH better than the canned hfcs garbage. I ended up buying 10 more cases the next day. the Natural has about the same sugar in grams.


Its a much milder flavor, less acidic bite to it and less carbination. I tried one of the cans the other day and couldn't finish it.


Best of all, its in a GLASS bottle.

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iancoleTX
April 30, 2009 3:07 PM
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Straight up, I drink water. I don't F with any soda on a regular basis, but maybe Jones for an occasional treat. Def not HFCS anything though.

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honestlytoomuch
April 30, 2009 3:10 PM
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Whether it's HFCS or \"Sugar\" it's processed. Yes, I do believe there is a slight taste difference (unfortunately I think HFCS tastes more sugary therefore \"better\") but I've stopped buying processed foods with it and I try to even avoid sugar at all costs because of the processing it goes through. I look for honey, molasses, agave nectar, and natural cane sugar in my foods. Which are far and few between becasue like I said, I'm trying to eliminate processed foods altogether. Whole foods all the way!

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coan_net
April 30, 2009 3:15 PM
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I've tried the Pepsi Throwback - and I could not really tell too much of a difference - seems to be a little less \"fizzy\" then other Pepsi.... but then again, I may have just gotten a bad \"batch\".

I'm a big Mountain Dew drinker (not so much of a Pepsi) - so I do look forward to the Dew Throwback

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Zagroseckt
April 30, 2009 3:18 PM
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yes i care... i prefer the real stuff

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Skaperen
April 30, 2009 3:21 PM
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MDTB showed up in Wally World here so I bought one the other day and tried it. I'm going back today and MDTB is on the list.

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BeerManMike
April 30, 2009 3:25 PM
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@serreca: What i don't get is people's problems with Coke zero, sprite zero, etc... They have no calories and such, so how can they be bad for you?

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Tsubasa
April 30, 2009 4:58 PM
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@BeerManMike: I'm confused about that too. A study done on rats indicated the sweetness somehow tricks your body into thinking it's consuming sugar, and alters your brain chemistry so it's harder to recognize when you're full.

However, rats aren't notorious for watching what they eat. A human isn't going to mindlessly eat Big Macs just because they drank a diet soda.

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KyleOrton
April 30, 2009 5:56 PM
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@Tsubasa: I think it's more like finishing the plate of fries when you really don't need them as opposed to serial big mac eating.

Food is a slippery slope and I've seen people with weight problems who don't really know that they're eating more and more every day. Probably because they're body just isn't saying \"stop\" as quickly.

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squinko
April 30, 2009 3:52 PM
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@BeerManMike: They're terrible for your teeth, at the very least.

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DePaulBlueDemon
April 30, 2009 3:58 PM
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@squinko:

Yes. It's the combination of phosphoric acid, sugar and carbonation. Sticks to your teeth.

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David Brodbeck
April 30, 2009 8:24 PM
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@DePaulBlueDemon: I've heard that foods containing starches are actually worse; the sugar is readily dissolved by saliva but starches stick to teeth much longer, and oral bacteria like them as well.

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edwardso
April 30, 2009 3:25 PM
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I try to avoid HFCS partially out of concern for my health but also because it usually means there are other suspect or unecessary ingredients in them, like artificial colors or preservatives. Also, a bottle of coke with real sugar lasts me forever since I only drink a few ounces at a time. When I drank the Corn syrup stuff I'd down a whole can at work

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nsv
April 30, 2009 3:38 PM
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Target here in south Florida had an endcap of Pepsi and Mountain Dew Throwback. It was half empty.

Wish I could have gotten just one can. I'd love to try it, but I'm not drinking that much sugar--in any form--every day.

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kaceetheconsumer
April 30, 2009 3:41 PM
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Wait a second...if the survey was done by the Toronto Star, presumably in Toronto (although it's a pseudo-national paper these days), then weren't those being surveyed drinking Canadian Coke which, when I left the country in 2000, was sweetened with sugar and not HFCS?

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scootinger
April 30, 2009 3:43 PM
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High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!
High fructose corn syrup!

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Luftvier
April 30, 2009 3:56 PM
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I am really confused by a lot of the responses here.

\"HFCS is bad and unhealthy\" seems to be the call.

... and somehow artifically colored and flavored cabonated refined sugar water passes \"health\" muster?

Listen, sugar, cane juice, HFCS, ALL are empty calories.

If the issue is taste, then fine. But if you're worried about health, it's all the same.

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AtomicPlayboy
April 30, 2009 4:11 PM
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@Luftvier: Well put. I'm baffled by the very existence of anti-HFCS activism, but I suppose it gives the anti-corporate types something new to get worked up about. As you say, all of these sweeteners are empty calories, and the products which use them are loaded with artificial ingredients, so the only conceivable issue here is taste. As for that, to each his own.

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BenderRodriguez
April 30, 2009 4:29 PM
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@AtomicPlayboy: There is a difference in the way the human body processes sugar and HFCS. Sugar absorption is regulated so that it is burned as energy, rather than stored as fat. There is no such mechanism for regulating HFCS, so most of that gets stored as potential energy, that is it is converted to fat. The result: obesity and Diabetes epidemic. There are no such epidemics in countries that sweeten with sugar (the rest of the world), yet obesity and Diabetes are epidemics in the one country where almost everything is sweetened with HCFS.
I'm not saying HCFS is the only cause of these problems, but it is obviously a major contributor.

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David Brodbeck
April 30, 2009 8:36 PM
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@IronCrow: I'm not sure fad diet book authors are the best source of nutritional info. Just sayin'.

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Suulia
April 30, 2009 4:14 PM
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It makes a difference to me. Ever since Coke changed their formula away from sugar when I was a kid, it hasn't tasted the same. As a consequence, I started drinking Pepsi instead. If I see some real-sugar Coke in my local market, I'm going to snag some in a heartbeat.

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BenderRodriguez
April 30, 2009 4:20 PM
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FWIW, \"Throwback\" is a horrible name for a beverage. Makes me think of throw-up and backwash.
Passover Coke rules!! I haven't tried the Pepsi TB yet, but anything has to be better than HFCS.

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bogartbrown
April 30, 2009 4:21 PM
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'm cnfsd wth ll th fss bt sgr vs. HFCS. s th rgmnt fr mr ntrl ft-ssry?

(\"ft dsn't mk y ft...Y mk y ft\")

f crs, 'll stll gv t tst bcs 'm sckr fr trndy fdstffs.

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bogartbrown
April 30, 2009 5:31 PM
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Disemvowled? Sheesh....

@cabjf: I don't have an argument with diet vs. regular (though I do love my diet Coke), it's more the false sense of equating \"natural\" to \"better for me\".

I quit drinking regular Coke years ago to acquire a diet Coke habit. Because, of course, I enjoy the false sense of \"0 calories\" = \"better for me\".

Bring back the 16oz bottles a la the 70's and I might be a convert!

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Veeber
April 30, 2009 2:48 PM
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@bogartbrown: You should read the slate article. It's got quite a bit of info.

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cabjf
April 30, 2009 2:36 PM
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@bogartbrown: Here's the kicker: those who drink diet sodas aren't any less overweight than those who drink regular soda.

I'm betting it has something to do with the body releasing stuff to absorb calories when you eat something that tastes sweet (even with fake sugar). So if you have a diet soda with your meal, your body is still going to try to absorb the same amount of nutrients as if you were drinking regular. It's just that more of it has to come from the food than the drink with artificially sweetened beverages.

So the fuss is, if I'm going to drink something that will make me fat, it might as well not have a nasty aftertaste. I tried some kosher Coke with the family over Easter. My mother-in-law was skeptical, until she tried it. She said it tasted just like Coke used to when she was growing up. Which implies regular Coke tastes different (and inferior, judging by her response) now.

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David Brodbeck
April 30, 2009 8:26 PM
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@cabjf: I think there's selection bias there. Someone who chooses to drink a diet soda is probably much more likely to be overweight to begin with; otherwise why would they be buying \"diet\" anything?

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salvatorecondegni
April 30, 2009 4:32 PM
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I typically avoid anything with such a high amount of sugar in it, regardless of source.

Different story on days I go to the gym. It's all fast digesting carbs 3-4 hours prior to the gym, during the gym, and an hour or two after the gym. At that point, I'm not so much concerned about the source of the carbohydrate, but rather, its digestibility.

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Zclyh3
April 30, 2009 4:47 PM
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I bought three 2 litter bottles of Passover Coke. I've been drinking Coke more often. Normally I don't. I've gotta head back to Mollie Stone's to go buy some more. I hope I see both Pepsi and Mountain Dew throwbacks.

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mikesfree
April 30, 2009 4:55 PM
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I just bought 10 12unit packs at target. I think its a good move. I have bought soda for some time until now.

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quagmire0
April 30, 2009 5:09 PM
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Everything is good in moderation, nothing is good in excess.

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KyleOrton
April 30, 2009 5:56 PM
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@quagmire0: I thought inxs was a fine band. I know that's you Phil Collins.

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allstarecho
April 30, 2009 5:27 PM
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This won't work in the South. We don't do Pepsi in the South. Everything in the South, except sweet tea, is called Coke, even if it isn't Coke. But one thing we don't do, is Pepsi. We will drink water instead.

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JulesNoctambule
April 30, 2009 11:20 PM
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@allstarecho: So many people say that, but in my section of the South we do not call every soft drink 'Coke'. Maybe it's because Pepsi was invented here.

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Hello_Secaucus
April 30, 2009 5:28 PM
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Do they sell any of these in proper glass bottles?

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Jim Fletcher
April 30, 2009 6:31 PM
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It's kinda funny that regular Mountain Dew has 'concentrated orange juice' but it's absent in the Throwback. I'll bet that has a pretty serious affect on the taste.

Personally, I thought the Throwback was fantastic. It wasn't as sickeningly-sweet as regular Mountain Dew, and it didn't feel like I was drinking a 50/50 cough syrup/water solution.

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Gokuhouse
April 30, 2009 6:46 PM
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My wife bought me a case of Mt. Dew Throwback yesterday because I had told her a while back I wanted some when it came out. Well, I love it and it reminds me of being a kid again, my wife on the other hand thinks it tastes too much like a \"diet\" pop. I will continue to purchase it from now on.

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lilspooky
April 30, 2009 6:50 PM
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I hate HFCS so much! i try my hardest to never buy anything with HFCS.

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Inglix_the_Mad
April 30, 2009 6:52 PM
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Got myself both Pepsi and Mountain Dew Throwback. I learned a couple of things:

1) If you can't taste the difference, your taste buds are dead.

2) One is actually quite satisfying. I tested this on myself and my brother directly and have guinea-pigged a few people at a barbecue without their foreknowledge. The irony is that 12oz (or so) seems to tide people over better. Not only that but when I explained it the people were wondering where to buy it.

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IronCrow
April 30, 2009 7:01 PM
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Its not about the taste.
According to Editor-in-Chief of MensHealth magazine and author David Zinczenko in his book \"The Abs Diet\" (pg129)
\"We're talking about a processed sweetener that didn't even exist in the food chain until the 1970's. And HFCS is really, really, really bad for you. That's because it's packed with calories, but your body doesn't recognize these calories. In fact, HFCS shuts off your body's natural appetite control switches, so you can eat and eat adn eat far beyond what your body would normally be able to handle.\"
Its not about the taste.

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ShadowFalls
April 30, 2009 7:05 PM
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Wow... looks like reply is broken again...

I had the Pepsi Throwback recently and it was nasty. It tasted way too salty and it was lacking one ingredient the original Pepsi had, citric acid. Folks, this isn't the Pepsi you had before. I am thinking Pepsi altered it in the attempt to make it it fail. This would get them to say, \"Hey, we tried it, you didn't like it.\" Everyone I know doesn't like it either.

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Brady Cox
April 30, 2009 7:29 PM
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I bought a bottle of each of these at the store the other day.

The Pepsi tasted like a Coke. I found that odd, but not altogether bad.

The Mountain Dew tasted different, but I didn't feel like my teeth were going to rot out instantly either.

A++ would buy again.

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zacwax
April 30, 2009 8:05 PM
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With sugar it tastes better, but I'm not too concerned with all the drama surrounding Corn Syrup

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brianary
April 30, 2009 8:24 PM
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I would suspect HFCS choices to be influenced by familiarity bias. Ask them after a week of drinking each.

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IronCrow
April 30, 2009 8:36 PM
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Yup, reply is broken again.

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savdavid
April 30, 2009 8:37 PM
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I wonder if the people who prefer the corny Coke taste are just used to it and so like it better?

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David Brodbeck
April 30, 2009 8:37 PM
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HFCS and honey actually have very similar chemical profiles, so all the people who are scared of HFCS should probably be avoiding honey, too.

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IronCrow
April 30, 2009 8:48 PM
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On the other hand this article:
[www.webmd.com]
excerpt:
Dec. 11, 2008 -- The much maligned processed sweetener high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is no more likely than other sugars to make you gain weight, an expert panel reports.

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David Brodbeck
April 30, 2009 8:58 PM
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I think there's something in our national character that makes us want to think there's one special \"evil\" food category, and if we can just avoid it completely, everything will be OK. For a while it was carbohydrates, before that it was cholesterol, now it's HFCS.

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BenderRodriguez
April 30, 2009 9:06 PM
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Don't let something as insignificant as facts alter your opinion, facebooker. Everything they say is bad for you is actually good for you. Don't believe me? Watch Woody Allen's \"Sleeper.\"

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grumpygirl
April 30, 2009 9:09 PM
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I was just in Alberta a couple of weeks ago and most of the soda there was sweetened with \"glucose-fructose\", which is a synonym for HFCS. I was so disappointed.


You know how some people love eating cilantro and others think it tastes like soap? Perhaps there are also genetic taste variances with sugar vs. HFCS. It might explain why some people cannot taste the difference and others notice the difference quite strongly.


As for myself, I very much notice the difference and am hoping Pepsi Throwback hits the shelves here in Oregon soon.

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sybann
April 30, 2009 9:13 PM
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BRAVO! I salute each and every red-blooded obese Amerikuhn who refused to cuck down any more corn syrup. Count me in on it - read the frackin labels peeps - that shiz is in everything!


Campbell's Tomato Soup. No lie. 3rd ingredient.

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sybann
April 30, 2009 9:13 PM
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SUCK down. Cuck sounds dirty.

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BenderRodriguez
April 30, 2009 9:15 PM
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IronCrow, did you even read the article? Said panel did no research of their own. They merely reviewed a previously published study regarding the body's ability to metabolize HCFS and decided the study's conclusions were \"wrong\" without providing any evidence to support their conclusion. Basically, a panel of so-called experts (the article doesn't specify in what field they are experts), \"who had received funding from the corn syrup industry and several who had not\" formed an opinion that a scientifically conducted study was wrong. They did no actual research and had no FACTUAL evidence to support their OPINION.

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BenderRodriguez
April 30, 2009 9:17 PM
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Gotta love that pseudo-science.

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highpitch_83
April 30, 2009 9:24 PM
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My wife is vegan and allergic to corn and gluten. HFCS is her arch-nemesis... but then again so is anything processed.

While not a vegan I stopped drinking soda 2+ years ago (unless mixed 70/30 w/ cheap whiskey ;-) and can say that while I'm glad they're at least trying sugar you still end up drinking a bunch of other random chemicals w/ out HFCS being involved. I'll stick to water/tea/hard liquor

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The Reviewer
April 30, 2009 9:24 PM
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DAMNIT PEOPLE WHERE! WHERE ARE YOU! Tell me your locations and what stores you have gotten this at please!

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highpitch_83
April 30, 2009 9:25 PM
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@quagmire0 False - huffing paint, even in moderation has left hundreds the worse for wear

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samhell
April 30, 2009 9:26 PM
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All that stuff is crap... sugar, corn syrup, who cares? Aren't we fat enough? How about good ol' water. Quenches your thirst, and its 0 calories!

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HogwartsAlum
April 30, 2009 9:42 PM
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Oh nooooes! Reply is messed up again!

Fix it! FIX IT!!! *kicks and screams*

Wow, I'm thirsty...where'd I put my Mexican Coke? :)

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Illiterati
April 30, 2009 10:32 PM
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I did a side-by-side comparison of HFCS Pepsi and Pepsi Throwback (on sale for $2.50/12pk!). Throwback is SO much better! The HFCS stuff now tastes like a nasty cheap jelly bean to me, and I've been loving that stuff for years.

Also, Pepsi Throwback has a cleaner mouthfeel and no cloying aftertaste. Fizzier too. Much more refreshing after mowing the lawn than HFCS bevvies.

I was even compelled to email kudos to Pepsi and to beg them to keep Throwback on the shelves for good. But really, that name is stupid. Keep the sugar, change the name.

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Burzmali
April 30, 2009 10:38 PM
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I don't know what other people are smoking, but Mountain Dew Throwback tastes terrible. I bought a 20 oz of it last week on the way home and only made it through about 4 oz before pouring it out. Maybe I got a bad bottle, but it tasted more like Diet Mountain Dew. No good.

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chiieddy
April 30, 2009 10:56 PM
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I'm drinking Pepsi Throwback right now. The local Cumberland Farms was carrying the 20 oz bottle.

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painfullyblunt
April 30, 2009 11:15 PM
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i lost about 20 lbs in 3 months mainly by avoiding HFCS wherever possible, which meant, reducing my soda intake drastically (I said avoid not eliminate, let's be real here). I find I like the taste of Snapple w/sugar better then the old Snapple w/HFCS.

So yeah, some people care. and if they don't they should.

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BytheSea
April 30, 2009 11:16 PM
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1. What chemicals are they putting in the sugar version to make it cost effective to produce?

2. The argument about HFCS isn't that it *tastes bad*. This study should have shown if your pancreas could tell the difference. And it can.

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infinitemonkeys
May 1, 2009 12:00 AM
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I have cared since the mid-80's when I discovered that the New-Coke introduction/Classic-Coke revival concealed the actual change of the Coke formula. They actually changed Classic Coke to HFCS a few months before introducing New-Coke, then when that bombed, they reverted to the HFCS version of Classic-Coke. People thought it was the original-original formula (not the one with cocaine from the early 1900's, but the one they'd grown up with) because it didn't taste like the nasty New-Coke. So Coke got to use cheaper ingredients and the other soda companies followed suit to remain competitive.

I'm not alleging conspiracy theory here, it would have been ridiculous for Coke to stage such a PR disaster as New-Coke, but they did sneak the formula change in under the radar and I always thought that was underhanded. When I began to correlate the increase of HFCS in diets with the bulging American waistline, I felt even more wronged.

Sugar is no more natural than HFCS, but it does process in the body more easily and supports our sugar industry. I'll pay marginally more for a soda with sugar.

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Imaginary
May 1, 2009 12:23 AM
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It's sad really. We're programmed to think that the more natural choice is more artificial. You keep drinking your obese juice America.
*snarky!*

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jeebussez
May 1, 2009 12:31 AM
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I grew up with soda with real sugar (I make a yearly month-long pilgrimage to my parents' homes in Thailand and have been even before I could talk) so the difference is very clear to me. To my friends who've been having HFCS all their life, not so much.

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CapitalC
May 1, 2009 12:34 AM
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In Canada, we don't use HFCS in beverages. There's got to be a reason for it...

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Bs Baldwin
May 1, 2009 12:47 AM
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I got some other kosher sodas from pepsi this month and there is a slight difference in taste and the bubbles. The natural sugar soda didn't have so much of a bite to it.

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denm7510
May 1, 2009 12:48 AM
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I bought a bunch of the new Mountain Dew and didn't pay much attention to it, just thought they changed the packaging, drank about 3 sips out of one and told my wife, \"somethings terribly wrong with this, it almost taste like diet or they changed the way they sweetened it\". Sure enough it was the \"Real Sugar\" type. Have to say, \"I absolutely HATE it!\" I really am not sure I've ever seen any convincing data that suggest HFCS is actually any better or worse than sugar in any way, except for one personally, and thats when it comes to sweetening Mountain Dew. I probably drink 6 or more a day, and if they stick with the real sugar, I'm \"out here\", I hate it so much. If ya want a healthy drink drink some water or a Crystal light, leave my beloved Mountain Dew alone. This whole thing certainly does have shades of \"New Coke\"...Ick!

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Anonymous
May 1, 2009 1:40 AM
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This is sad. The article missed the point, and five pages of commenters didn't bring it up either. The real problem with HFCS isn't taste, it's diabetes. Compared to regular cane sugar, it's more damaging to the body's ability to regulate blood sugar.

Here's one of many easily-googled stories about this issue:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070823094819.htm

And Consumerist readers should be careful about the misinformation injected into discussion of this issue by the megafarming industry in the USA, such as the advertisements by the Corn Refiners Association. See the Wikipedia article about HFCS for more.

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stands2reason
May 1, 2009 3:14 AM
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I'm still sticking with Diet Mountain Dew and Coke Zero. HFCS or sucrose, you're killing yourself either way.

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the_wiggle
May 1, 2009 3:47 AM
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yes. yes we do. out with hfcs & back in with sucrose!

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kyle4
May 1, 2009 4:20 AM
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There is a huge difference in taste, I've been buying Jones soda just to get the real cane sugar. Once I went back to HFCS drink you could immediately taste what it was lacking.

Since this is a limited promotion, I'm very eager to get a lot of in not only the hopes of loving it, but helping their sales so that they make it on a regular basis. Unfortunately I haven't seen any yet here in Ontario.

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kyle4
May 1, 2009 4:26 AM
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By the way readers here, this isn't 100% the original formula. They aren't using Cane Sugar, BevReview said it was a mix between two different types of sugar. Nonetheless, it's still better then HFCS.

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failurate
May 1, 2009 5:18 AM
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I bought a 12 pack of the Pepsi Throwback. It just doesn't taste right... overly sugary with cinnamon, nutmeg tastes? Seems to be missing the strong cola flavor of regular Pepsi.

Previous soda purchase was a case of Jones Cola, so it's not the HFCS vs sugar that is throwing off my taste. Jones Cola is better than Pepsi Throwback. Waiting for Royal Crown and Coke to release their sugar offerings.

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Terry Hardman
May 1, 2009 5:25 AM
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The throwback Pepsi and Mountain Dew taste very bland, almost like a diet soda.

I will continue to drink the other one... don't even care if it's bad for me.

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krunklekick
May 1, 2009 7:04 AM
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Everyone read \"The Omnivore's Dilemma\". Do it!

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henwy
May 1, 2009 8:37 AM
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This is just another case of stupid people throwing a fit over nothing. OMG! High Fructose Corn Syrup is going to break down your door and rape your family!!111! These people are spazz cases for the most part. Maybe they should give moderation a whirl.

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OMAC
May 1, 2009 1:17 PM
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I had a Pepsi Throwback yesterday, and while I didn't experience time-travel, it did taste really good, and yes I could tell a difference.

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lifestar
May 1, 2009 2:22 PM
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I did a taste test with the regular and kosher coke a few weeks ago and embarrassingly thought the regular coke was the kosher. Turns out they tweaked the formula and didn't add in as much sugar to the kosher version, making it taste pretty similar to the HFCS. Plus, the labeling on the bottle said \"sucrose\" instead of sugar. Coke's way of not admitting that they used real sugar b/c the general public don't know chemistry at all.

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Anonymous
May 1, 2009 6:17 PM
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I can tell the difference between HFCS and sugar sweetened beverages by taste. It's easy. The sugar sweetened beverages are much more clean and crisp in flavor. The corn-syrupy ones have flavor that seems to fall flat.

Of course, there's another reason I dislike HFCS. If I drink more than 8 ounces of a beverage that's been sweetened with it, I get the runs. This is the main reason why I avoid HFCS like the plague. So I really do have a reply to the industry's question of, \"What's wrong with high fructose corn syrup?\"

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ogunther
May 1, 2009 7:05 PM
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Bought some last night (Pepsi Throwback). Delicious.

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Anonymous
May 1, 2009 9:34 PM
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I'm so glad it's not just me. Tried some of the Passover Coke at a friend's house. Even knowing what it was and hoping it lived up to the hype, I thought it tasted like Diet Coke. *shrug* Guess I'll stick with the no-calorie option.

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smokinfoo
May 3, 2009 7:38 PM
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I gave up mountain dew for new years. I was rather annoyed when I heard about Throwback Dew. It would be nice if they cut HFCS out of all soft drinks.

:(

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Frank Dasta
May 4, 2009 2:55 AM
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Both versions of Throwback are, as M. Bison said, \"Delicious!\"

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synergy
May 4, 2009 4:24 AM
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When my husband first came to the States from Canada and had a Coke, he didn't like it. He didn't know why it tasted different, but after a trip back to the homeland he realized that the difference was the HFCS etc instead of sugar. Not that either is that great for you, but at least the sugar ones don't leave a sticky feeling on the tongue.

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xredgambit
May 4, 2009 7:50 AM
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I love this stuff. It reminds me of Crystal Clear Pepsi. Maybe that was the death of sugar.
But it really does take me back (and I'm only 25)


Bow if only Josta was around

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trujunglist
May 4, 2009 9:18 PM
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I've been looking but haven't found it in any store yet. Anyone who thinks there is no difference (henwy you fucking wanker ;) has no sense of taste.
My roommate always looked on amused as I bought several Mexican Cokes from the liquor store nearby and consumed them with relish, telling him the taste is very different from HFCS Coke. He's not a big soda drinker, so he wasn't about to go out and just try it, until I brought back a case from Costco. He asked to have one and immediately remarked on the taste, the texture, and the aftermath (the phlegm thing has been noted here). I told him that he should have a few more over the next few days. He went ahead and did that, and then I gave him a normal HFCS Coke to try. Remember, he is not normally a soda drinker. He took a swig of it and you could tell what he thought of it by the look on his face.
This isn't placebo, this is fact. I assume that people just have different sensitivities to taste differences than others. For example, when I was a teenager, my mom once bought me a rotten pack of 7-up. I loved 7-up at the time and immediately rejected it. She thought I was lying until I got a new pack and asked her to compare the smell and taste.

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