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why didn't they just make it the same as in the US, with sucralose? licensing issues?
@lpranal: Coke Zero is far superior to Diet Coke. There's only a slight difference with Coke and Coke Zero.
Donno why the chemicals make it taste so much better, but they do. Sweet, tasty, burning chemicals.
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@lpranal: With all due respect to the Wik, confirmed at coke's website...
In the US:
Diet Coke is aspartame.
Coke Zero is ace-k and aspartame.
Diet Coke w/Splenda is sucralose and ace-k
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@lpranal: A few years ago, Coke Zero was made with sucralose/Splenda. But about 2006 or 07, Coke removed the Splenda, replacing it with acesulfame K and aspartame. I liked it better with the Splenda.
@lpranal: It's not sucralose in the US, it's aspartame. At least, it was last time I looked.
(I have adverse reactions to aspartame, don't particularly enjoy water, and have to count calories fairly strictly, so I'm always on the lookout for sucralose-based beverages I can sip in the afternoon.)
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@Etoiles:
Diet Coke is sweetened with aspartame.
Coke Zero is sweetened with Acesulfame-K. [ [en.wikipedia.org] ]
I get violent headaches if I drink Acesulfame-K. Took me a while to figure it out, because I rarely drink commercial soda, but I finally realized Coke Zero was NOT the same as Diet Coke.
If you're watching calories or chemicals, SodaStream makes a machine that allows you to carbonate tap water. Then you can make sodas at home out of anything.
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@Etoiles: Our Wal-Mart supercenter and Sams Club both have a HUGE selection of Diet-Rite sodas which are ALL sweetened with Splenda and taste very good. If you haven't, you should check it out!
*sips on his Diet Rite white grape*
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@Etoiles: My understanding is that it's actually a combo of aspartame (Equal) and acesulfame potassium (not sold under a specific brand name) and/or possibly saccharin (Sweet'n'Low) or sucralose (Splenda).
The general idea being that using a bit of each to sweeten it lowers the detectable aftertaste of any, while still being low/no-cal overall.
This combo is what makes Coke Zero (and the corresponding product, Pepsi Max) different than straight up Diet Coke, or even Diet Coke with Splenda.
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@Etoiles: You're correct. It's still aspartame. The question is...aside from the taste, why did Coca Cola feel the need to create a second aspartame sweetened diet brand?
@Smashville:
Why do they need a reason aside from the taste? Isn't taste the reason why most people pick a beverage?
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@Smashville: Coke zero is the diet version of coca cola classic. Diet coke is the diet version of \"new coke.\" No joke.
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@Doreen DelPurgatorio: That explains why I like Coke Zero so much better...except at one of the movie theaters in my area, but I think their machine is screwed up.
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@Smashville: Coke Zero is based on the same formula as Coca-Cola Classic, while Diet Coke is based on the same formula as New Coke. Diet Coke tastes like arse because New Coke tasted like arse.
@AstroPig7:
No... Diet Coke was not based on New Coke. New Coke was based on Diet Coke. Diet Coke came out first. Diet Coke was stealing market share from Coke because people preferred the taste of Diet Coke. Coke was in danger of no longer being the number 1 soft drink because of competition from Diet Coke. So they change the formula of Coke to taste more like Diet Coke - and more like Pepsi. And in taste tests people preferred the taste of New Coke, but when they released it people were pissed.
I don't know where that information comes from. I don't know of a single person that prefers the horrific taste of Diet Coke to Coke Classic.
The only reason I drink Coke Zero is because it tastes like a Diet Coke/Coke Clasic mix, cutting the edge off the horrific Diet Coke aftertaste. Well, that, and it cuts 500+ calories off my daily intake without costing me caffeine.
@Smashville: Coke Zero is billed as a zero calorie soft drink for men. It's the same reason Pepsi recently released Pepsi Max. I guess they don't get enough males purchasing the normal Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi brands.
@KHook321: Pepsi Max does have extra caffeine...or at least it was billed as that when it came out...as far as I can tell, Diet Coke and Coke Zero have no differing qualities other than marketing (and one is delicious and the other is only good with alcohol).
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@Smashville: Pepsi Max has extra caffeine (46 mg vs. 25 mg) and ginseng, but Pepsi One (their Coke Zero equivalent) is not billed as a supercharged soda. As it happens, it does fall between Pepsi and Pepsi Max in caffeine content.
@Etoiles: right you are, sort of. thanks to wikipedia for a ridiculous amount of detailed information on the subject:
china uses sucralose. I try to avoid aspartame also, just because it tastes so synthetic. I guess I assumed it was sucralose because coke zero actually tastes kind of good (compared to diet coke)
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That's rather strange. Either Coke is full of BS, or the Venezuelan scientists are really bad at what they do.
@SnoopyFish: Coke is full of BS, there's no doubt.
They did the same thing in Mexico, and the public reaction was bad enough for them to change the formula, and now coke zero bottles have a \"now without cyclamates\" tag, or something of the sort.
Heck, they got burned bad, because the rumor spread and eventually tagged Diet Coke too, even though that one had nothing to do with it.
@youbastid: Erm, read a bit. The administration hates the US with a passion. It's painfully obvious.
Even that move was a political ploy to throw propaganda against the US government. \"Even we can provide what the US can't\".
@SnoopyFish:
How about both are full of BS?
@SnoopyFish: Given their anti-american stances and whatnot, I'd have to go with Coke on this one. Probably trying to find a way to steal coke's factories over there. \"We must co-opt these American Pig's factories for the peoples!\"