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Great Debate: Coke vs. Pepsi

By Catherine Toth Fox • September 29, 2011 • Food

This has got to be the oldest debate at the vending machine.

Coke versus Pepsi. Or, in my universe, Diet Coke versus Diet Pepsi.

And let me tell you, there’s a difference.

The cola wars between the two soft drink giants started back in the ’80s with taste tests at shopping malls and grocery stores.

These days it’s hardly a competition. Coca-Cola reigns supreme, with Pepsi falling behind both Coke and Diet Coke in total annual sales.

But the debate lives on.

My preference?

Easy.

Coke. Actually, Diet Coke. And I’m addicted.

Now, it’s nothing like the addict in CNN’s Eatocracy, who, before kicking the habit, drank two liters a day at the very minimum, sometimes four. (I’m actually too worried about the later-effects of aspartame.)

But Coke products are just superior, to me, than Pepsi. Not as sweet, much more fizzier. It’s just better.

Sure, I’ll drink Pepsi — if I’m desperate for caffeine, which is just about every morning at work, where only Pepsi products are sold. But if I had a choice, it would be Coke all the way.

You got a preference?

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Catherine Toth Fox

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39 Comments

  • Reply Jamungus September 29, 2011 at 1:23 am

    Coke and Pepsi ain’t got jack on Jarritos Mexican cola. The best!

  • Reply Cody Zamboni September 29, 2011 at 1:43 am

    Coke, is the one for me

    Regular Classic Coke

    Diet Coke ?? hate it, always have, always will ( horrid salty bitter taste )

  • Reply David Jackson September 29, 2011 at 2:16 am

    Stopped drinking Coke within the last couple of years, easiest way to keep the weight off. Now it is iced tea for me. Diet drinks are poisonous, stop drinking them for your health and well being.

  • Reply jaydee September 29, 2011 at 2:59 am

    I rarely drink any colas or soft drinks. Beer on the other hand….

  • Reply WildeOscar September 29, 2011 at 3:27 am

    Diet Pepsi. I like it way more than Diet Coke, and always have.

  • Reply matt September 29, 2011 at 5:37 am

    Coke. gotta be coke. i can’t stand pepsi, so, if there’s no coke available, i’ll go without or drink coffee or mt. dew.

  • Reply Nate September 29, 2011 at 6:00 am

    I like Coke Zero better than any of them…

  • Reply NaPueo September 29, 2011 at 6:23 am

    I prefer Coke but will drink Pepsi. When I was younger it had to be Coke. Now I buy the one that’s cheaper.

  • Reply randi September 29, 2011 at 6:42 am

    I love Coke products! I’m with Nate — Coke Zero.. mmm! Although, I think Lara over at LessCakeMoreFrosting has everyone beat. She sews clutches from Diet Coke boxes to hold her Diet Coke. She has a Diet Coke deco mini fridge filled with Diet Coke from Coca Cola. I’m jealous.

  • Reply M September 29, 2011 at 6:55 am

    Hello Cat,

    It was Coke for me but I have stop drinking sodas for a while now. The stuff they use to make it is not good for you and the diet sodas are even worst.

  • Reply uncleb September 29, 2011 at 6:57 am

    My favorite was Classic Coke. That is until my Doc said all that sugar was bad for me. Now I drink primarily unsweetened Iced Tea and any soda seems too sweet for me.

    Positive result? My cavity count on my teeth went to zero once I stopped drinking soda.

  • Reply J September 29, 2011 at 7:08 am

    Mexican Coke.

    • Reply Kaname September 29, 2011 at 10:42 am

      Yes! Mexican Cokes for the win!!!

      • Reply Catherine Toth September 29, 2011 at 3:22 pm

        OK, what’s Mexican Coke…? I may have to Google this.

        • Reply zzzzzz September 29, 2011 at 3:55 pm

          I think Mexican Coke is still made with sugar, not high fructose corn syrup.

          • J October 1, 2011 at 12:14 am

            Yup, real sugar.

  • Reply rayboyjr September 29, 2011 at 7:13 am

    Hey Cat … well, it seems that I’m the oddball here … because I actually prefer Pepsi … if I didn’t know what kind of cola it was … it wouldn’t matter, I’d drink either … but with a choice … I’d go for the sweeter milder one …

    … one thing though … I definitely prefer drinking cola’s over ice … I don’t like the taste straight out of a can … I don’t know why, but I think its different … or maybe it’s just in my mind …

    … Have a Good One Everyone!!! …

    • Reply zzzzzz September 29, 2011 at 4:01 pm

      How about from a bottle? Do you still like it in a cup over ice more than from a bottle?

      I find both Coke and Pepsi taste much better when they’re literally ice cold–either a can or bottle pulled from a cooler with a lot of ice, or served over ice– than when they come out of a refrigerator or vending machine, and are not that cold.

  • Reply Eric September 29, 2011 at 8:08 am

    I definitely prefer Coca Cola ….. but I like to mix diet and regular, half and half. This way I am consuming less calories (than a full regular), but without the after taste of a full Diet Coke.

    Coke Zero alone is not too bad.

  • Reply San September 29, 2011 at 8:16 am

    Pepsi One!!! You would never know it was “diet”

  • Reply MaxMaxMax September 29, 2011 at 8:19 am

    Diet Coke, as well as all its varied flavors… lemon, lime, cherry, vanilla, etc.

    Pepsi will work for me, but I always go for coke brands. I started drinking Diet Coke in ’85 and have since then.

    • Reply MaxMaxMax September 29, 2011 at 8:23 am

      Hmmm… What’s the next debate in the great cola wars? Sprite, Sierra Mist or 7-up? A&W or Mug? Sunkist or Orange Slice?

  • Reply zzzzzz September 29, 2011 at 10:45 am

    C’mon Cat, more fizzier? Is this the example you set for your students?

    I normally don’t like diet sodas, but I recently tasted Diet Pepsi and found it’s apparently been reformulated to be more palatable than most, definitely more than Diet Coke.

    I try to limit my soda intake, and when I do indulge, I prefer Mountain Dew, but I like both regular Pepsi and regular Coke, and will buy whichever costs less.

    • Reply Catherine Toth September 29, 2011 at 3:23 pm

      Oh, it’s WAY MORE FIZZIER. I can’t say it’s the fizziest. And I like the occasional misuse of comparatives. 🙂

  • Reply Alex September 29, 2011 at 10:48 am

    Coke! Definitely Coke… although Pepsi goes good with Pizza.

    Now, I’m craving a Coke. 🙁

  • Reply soogs September 29, 2011 at 10:51 am

    cherry coke zero, hands down. diet coke, to me, tastes like li hing mui.

    i cant wait till this machine comes to hawaii, though: https://www.coca-colafreestyle.com/index.jsp.

    • Reply BananaFysh September 29, 2011 at 3:47 pm

      Yeah! Love Cherry Coke Zero!

      Diet Dr Pepper is good too.

  • Reply mr ton September 29, 2011 at 10:52 am

    Diet Pepsi!

  • Reply Bumper September 29, 2011 at 11:32 am

    Neither usually, but with a burger or pizza, I’d go for a diet version. Either will do. The rest of the time, water or tea reign supreme for me.

  • Reply visitor September 29, 2011 at 1:05 pm

    Coke Zero is my choice only because Real Coke has all that sugar. Diet Coke has an after taste. But I agree with ‘jaydee,’…beer.

  • Reply Catherine Toth September 29, 2011 at 3:24 pm

    Looks like the Coke kids are beating out the Pepsi Generation. LOL

  • Reply BananaFysh September 29, 2011 at 3:48 pm

    Coke over Pepsi, but Dr Pepper before Coke. 😉

  • Reply matt September 29, 2011 at 6:53 pm

    have to add, though, the trader joe’s vintage cola is pretty tasty.

  • Reply hawaiiobsessed September 30, 2011 at 6:54 am

    Pepsi definately and no diet anything! Horrible tasting and horrible for you! Also has to be throwback Pepsi with real sugar. Agree with whoever said it had to be over ice not straight from the can and if you really want to live, add a fresh squeezed lime! :>)

  • Reply Justin September 30, 2011 at 7:09 am

    coke, for sure. coke zero is a far second. pepsi when there is no coke machine, and i am in desperate need of caffeine. although, i often prefer water to pepsi.

    (as a side story: every so often, people ask me, “can you taste the difference between coke and pepsi?” i find that those people are ALMOST ALWAYS pepsi drinkers. apparently, pepsi drinkers have no taste buds. as a coke drinker, i love that kick only coke has.)

    and, there IS a difference between coke in the can v. bottle v. soda fountain. the 20 oz. plastic bottle is the best (ALWAYS), can is second, then fountain (with the exclusion of most mcdonald’s restaurant, which is better than can).

  • Reply Ken September 30, 2011 at 7:59 am

    I don’t drink soda pop anymore. If I want some sugar water, I’ll go for Hawaiian Sun.

  • Reply R-Dizzle September 30, 2011 at 9:11 am

    I drink diet pepsi to quench thirst (tastes great after a long morning or afternoon surf session) and drink diet coke with meals/food.

  • Reply gene schiller November 16, 2011 at 2:03 pm

    The Pepsi/Coke debate goes back much further than the ’80s. Pepsi tastes pretty much the same as it did back in the ’60s (I can’t go back much further than that), but Coke has evolved over the years. It’s much sweeter now…I can’t even drink it!

  • Reply Abc... October 5, 2013 at 4:54 am

    Pepsi it healthier and coke tastes if sick literally I actually piled once. PEPSI ALL THE WAY!

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About Me

About Me
Born and raised on O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi, Catherine Toth Fox has been chronicling her adventures in her blog, The Cat Dish, for more than a decade. She worked as a newspaper reporter in Hawai‘i for 10 years and continues to freelance—in between teaching journalism, hitting the surf and eating everything in sight—for national and local print and online publications. She’s currently the editor of HAWAIʻI Magazine.

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