Mexican Coke

In the United States,Mexican Coca-Cola, orMexican Coke(Spanish:Coca Cola de Vidrio,Glass Coca-Cola, or Coca-Cola in a glass bottle) or, informally, "Mexicoke",refers toCoca-Colaproduced in and imported from Mexico.The Mexican formula that is exported into the U.S. is sweetened withwhite sugarinstead of thehigh-fructose corn syrupused in the American formula since the early 1980s.Some tasters have said that Mexican Coca-Cola tastes better, while otherblind tastingtests reported no perceptible differences in flavor.
Mexican Coke should not be confused with the domestic version of Coca-Cola sold in Mexico, which since 2017 may contain the artificial sweetenersucralose, with a can containing one-third less sugar than the export product.
The Coca-Cola Companyopened its first bottling franchise in Mexico around 1921 withGrupo Tampico,and then Grupo ARMA.Monterrey-basedFEMSAis currently the largest Coca-Cola bottler in Mexico and most of Latin America.
In the U.S. food industry,high-fructose corn syrupis a cheaper alternative sweetener tosucrose (standard sugar)because of production quotas of domestic sugar, importtariffson foreign sugar, andsubsidies of U.S. corn, among other factors.The Coca-Cola Company and other U.S. soft drink makers continue to use sugar in other countries but transitioned to high-fructose corn syrup for U.S. markets in 1980 before completely switching over in 1984.
The Coca-Cola Company originally imported the Mexican-produced version into the U.S. primarily to sell it to Mexican immigrants who grew up with that formula.Mexican Coke was first sold at grocers who served Latino clientele, but as its popularity grew among non-Latinos, by 2009 larger chains likeCostco,Sam's ClubandKrogerbegan to stock it.Since then it has become readily available at grocery stores throughout the United States.
A 2012 scientific analysis of Mexican Cokefound no sucrose (standard sugar), but instead found totalfructoseandglucoselevels similar to other soft drinks sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, though in different ratios,but a response to that study said that sucrose hydrolises to its components in acid environments very fast.
In 2013, a Mexican Coca-Cola bottler announced it would stop usingcane sugarin favor ofglucose-fructose syrup, to comply with changes to theMexican food labeling law.It later clarified this change would not affect those bottles specifically exported to the United States as "Coca-Cola Nostalgia" products.
Results from taste tests have been mixed. In a tasting conducted by a local Westchester, New York magazine, some tasters noted that the Mexican Coke had "a more complex flavor with an ineffable spicy and herbal note", and that it contained something "that darkly hinted atroot beeror old-fashionedsarsaparillacandies".However, participants in a differentdouble-blindtest preferred American Coca-Cola,participants in taste tests conducted by Coca-Cola, and others reported no perceptible differences in flavor between American Coke and the Mexican formulation.
Mexican Coca-Cola is sold in a thick 355 ml (12.0 US fl oz) or 500 ml (17 US fl oz) glass bottle, which some have contrasted as being "more elegant, with a pleasingly nostalgic shape," compared to the more common plastic American Coca-Cola bottles. Formerly, Coca-Cola was widely available in refundable and non-refundable glass bottles of various sizes in the U.S., but nearly all bottlers began replacing most glass bottles with plastic during the late 1980s.Most exporters of Mexican Coke affix a paper sticker on each bottle containing thenutrition facts label, ingredients, and bottler and/or exporter's contact information, to meet US food labeling requirements.
Adding to the nostalgia factor, the Mexican Coca-Cola glass bottle does not have a twist-off cap as plastic bottles do.
A similar phenomenon exists in New Zealand, where Coca-Cola is available both bottled locally (sweetened with cane sugar) and imported from the United States (with high-fructose corn syrup).
A similar version of Coca-Cola is bottled in Israel during the Jewish holiday ofPesach(Passover in English). The corn syrup in the standard recipe is replaced by cane sugar in compliance withJewish dietary law, which states that no grains or grain products may be consumed during the holiday. It is packaged differently than standard Coke; a yellow bottle cap is used on the Kosher for Pesach bottles and the packaging is written in both Hebrew and English. It is exported internationally and can often be found in American kosher supermarkets during and around Pesach.