[0110101001]

Having done triangle tests with Mexican Coke and HFCS Coke, I find it unbelievable someone "can't stand" one and enjoys the other.

Mexican Coke doesn't use cane sugar anymore. But when it did, I'd read that the sucrose in peak-era Mexican Coke broke down into a HFCS-similar mix of fructose and glucose in the drink's acidity anyway.

I'm convinced the Mexican Coke thing is just some hipster thing, and Coca-Cola is glad to exploit it.

[OkayPhysicist]

Having also done blind taste tests, I can pretty reliably pick out the mexican coke, but I agree that it's unlikely that someone would love one but not the other in a cup.

I think the real differentiator is drinking out of a glass bottle vs. a can.

[0110101001]

I could still taste the difference after decanting to a cup. I felt like it was still mostly can/bottle, but didn't have an American bottle to use as a control.

There definitely is a subtle difference. I was about to pick out the different drink reliably. It's just hard to imagine the difference is make-or-break between enjoying and intolerable for anyone. And it less likely comes from the sweetener and more from the Mexican water versus the water at your local Coca-Cola bottler.

West coast Coke vs East coast Coke would be an interesting test I've never thought about doing.