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Sodas Made With Cane Sugar


treznor

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I remember the Coke syrup vividly. My mother usually gave it to me over crushed ice, since it was too strong otherwise. The last time I was able to locate actual Coke syrup (at least it tasted like the real thing...lol) was at a pharmacy in Greenbelt in the early 80s. I was very surprised to find it.

I actually had a prescription for Coke syrup when I was first diagnosed diabetic in the early 70's as I was prone to sudden severe drops in blood sugar (w/ accompanying convulsions.) Only place we could get it was the Rx. Served by the teaspoon, no ice. :angry: Must be why I still love a real Coke to this day.

BTW, Mr. S saw Coke from Mexico somewhere in the area, and I can't recall where we were, but he checked the label and it said HFCS, not cane sugar. I will see if he remembers where and update.

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Bumping this to add that I picked up 24 bottles of Mexican Coke at Costco in Beltsville/College Park the other day. $18.39 for the pack. Contrary to some prior sightings, this stuff is NOT made with HFCS.

Also tried Kosher Coke in the past few days, and the Mexican stuff is far superior, if you ask me.

(It's also the only Coke I'll drink at this point - I'm an outspoken detractor of the Classic)

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I'd read where the Costcos in Texas had Mexican Coca-Cola, and that made a certain degree of sense, given their proximity to Mexico, so I was happily surprised to see some stacked in the Pentagon City Costco today.

I know people who buy this stuff online, too, so it's nice to see it around.

There is something of a cult sugared-soda market in this country. I have Dublin Dr. Pepper made with cane sugar, and I can get RC Cola and a few others also made with cane sugar. Are they more expensive than their HFCS counterparts? Sure, but you're buying a different experience.

I guess my interest in it simply goes back to being able to experience something simple and pleasurable that I haven't been able to have since my childhood. I wonder what today's kids would think of these, compared with what they're used to? In all probability, they'd find them too sweet, I think.

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I wonder what today's kids would think of these, compared with what they're used to? In all probability, they'd find them too sweet, I think.

My kids barely notice the difference. We had the Mexican Coke at Pupatella last weekend, and they drank it down just fine. Taylor Gourmet has Boylan's sodas on tap, and that goes down without complaint. And I pick up a few cases of Pepsi Throwback when they make it available (and Kosher Coke during the holidays), and those are fine too.

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Interesting place to pick up a Mexican Coke..... Home Depot! I've seen it in the exit refreshment refrigerators at multiple Home Depots in the last month. Make sure you go to the contractor checkout if you don't see any at the normal checkouts, it seems to always be available there.

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There's an alternative to Mexican Coke, if the stiff price premium is getting to you.

I don't know how this has escaped my attention for so long, but the local Coca-Cola bottlers in Cleveland OH and Lehigh Valley PA are reported to use (beet or cane) sugar as their normal sweetener all year round. Both franchises are owned by regional parent company ABARTA, which claims that these are the only two Coke bottlers in the US who use sugar. As with Dublin Dr Pepper, the sugar-sweetened products are sold at normal prices in their franchise areas.

Look for "sucrose" on the label, as well as the plant production code. Bethlehem's is "BH"

http://www.lehighvalleycoke.com/default.asp

Related commentary.

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I try not to drink a lot of soda but, when I do, cane sugar (or less) and never anything with corn syrup. Three I like in addition to those already written about upthread:

1. Blue Sky -- canned and labeled as made with "real sugar" versus the more typical "cane" in the premium brands. Annoying website with too much flash and not enough content.

2. Maine Root -- this is what the DC Lobster truck serves and, whatever ones feelings about the truck (e.g., not as good as Freddy's :) ), Maine Root is a good marque made right IMHO

3. Izze -- have found these to be a bit more hotly debated among soda afficionados but I'm in the camp of liking them quite a bit. Most of their flavors don't use any added sweetener; just the fruit and the carbonated water. Still though, as with any soda, the natural sugar level is high at around 29g per bottle.

Oh, and LOVED ferment everything's LA sodapopstop video above. Not sure how it'd be possible for anyone that even likes soda to not seek that place out on the next trip to LA. Know I will.

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Slightly off topic, but Logan Hardware on P St., of all places, has a cooler near the registers up front with a nice selection of unusual sodas, many of them made with cane sugar. They include several from AJ Stephan's, including birch beer and ginger, a delicious chocolate flavored soda called Coco Fizz, Empire Bottling Works banana soda, Bubble Up, and many more. I asked an employee about it and he said that one of their buyers was really in to soda and had a selection like this at all the Ace hardware places that they own in the area.

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