Does UK Coke taste different to you?

I can't put my finger on it, but there's something different about Coke in the UK.  I'm talking about the kind in 2-liter bottles, not the fountain-kind in restaurants.

It tastes like, well, like dirt to me.  Has anyone else noticed this, or am I just a weirdo?  ;-)

It definitely tastes different and (IMO) not as good....almost flat and syrupy compared to the coke (and Sprite) in the US. But that's just me. I don't drink sodas anymore anyway..here or there.

Just my 2p here but it could be the sugar! The most common sugar here is from sugar beets. Sugar cane which is what you usually get in the States might taste better. I'm just hazzarding a guess though. The same thing probably applies to UK marshmallows except they have glucose syrup and American ones use corn syrup. This affects the consistency of them, too. What I want to know though is why on earth Campbells tomato soup tastes different (horrid!)??  

From what I could tell, the difference is UK coke is sweetened with sugar and US coke is sweetened with corn syrup. Correct me anyone if I'm wrong...it's been known to happen once or twice.

Ah, could be. Since the UK doesn't use corn syrup, is that why so many sodas are sweetened with sugar AND aspartame? I've never been able to figure that out.

yeah they taste totally different.  it's almost scary but i'm getting used to the taste of UK diet coke.

My roomate took a tour of the pepsi factory recently and said that soda manifacturers use different ingredients for the same product.  I'm sure the difference in sweetner does it. :-/

Yes, I think they taste different. But I wasn't aware the UK didn't use corn syrup. What is that?

Corn syrup is one of the most common sweeteners in the US. As far as I know, it's just syrup made from corn and since corn is such a huge crop in the US, it's rather plentiful. It's in drinks of all kinds as well as lots of processed foods. It's probably cheaper than sugar. You can also get it for baking hence the demand for Karo syrups on the American food sites/shops over here. It's almost impossible to find in the UK outside those sites/shops. I missed my Karo at Christmas!

Gosh...I try not to drink any soda because the only kind I like are colas for the caffeine. Anyway...diet vanilla coke is my favorite here and there...and I don't have a problems chugging it down in either place! I did try regular coke (without ice ) at a friend's and it wasn't all that good....but I thought it was because of no ice...guess it wasn't just in my "picky" head!

I don't think UK Coke is as nice...and I'm a big Coke drinker, so hoping maybe I'll cut down!  I didn't notice it so much with fountain Cokes, but cans or bottles have an almost chemical taste, I thought.

Although my MIL says UK Diet Coke is much nicer than here.

I only drink diet coke, but I lOVE the UK kind! I think their artificial sweeteners have less aftertaste.

thanks for that explanation, balmerhon!

Had to add an interesting tidbit here.  My dad got his AARP Bulletin a few days ago and the headline was somehitng along the lines of how corn syrup is contributing to obesity in the USA.

It seems that the high fructose corn syrup that we see in many processed foods is not even the Karo Syrup stuff.  It's a cheap alternative to sugars and even the Karo type stuff.  It's highly processed and the body breaks it down and processes it way different than any other sweetner. It's 20% cheaper than table sugar to produce and it is sweeter.

So other links currently being researched are:

* since it goes directly to the liver there is a theory that it slows fat burning and thus causes weight gain.
* it does not stimulate insulin production and thus you don't feel full causing you to eat more than you normally would.
* lowered chromium levels caused by the sweetner may be linked to type 2 diabetes.  

We now consume 60 pounds of high fructose corn syrup per person per year compared to 1.5 pounds per person in 1970. This data is for the USA.

Maybe not such a bad thing the UK does not use it as much. :-/

Vnice, this does not surprise me! I did wonder if there was a difference between corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup. I THINK the former is in cokes and such but I know the the latter is in lots of juice drinks and tastes vile to me. Parents think they are doing the right thing by limiting sodas for the kids and choosing juice drinks but, if the above research is right, that is not the case.

As far as no corn syryp in the UK, I've found most sodas, espcially British brands and store brands, have sugar AND artificial sweeteners which I detest - there's some dodgy research about them as well!

I think the best thing is to limit all that crap to be honest.  Everything in moderation and the less processed crap the better.