Cambodian Coca-Cola meets Mr Science

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LTO
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Cambodian Coca-Cola meets Mr Science

Post by LTO »

I drink a lot of Coca Cola. Always have. So I know the taste pretty well. And I drink regular Coke, not Diet Coke as I have never liked the taste of the artificial sweetener. It tastes too sweet and leave an aftertaste.

This week my wife bought Coke for the house, buying a couple of cases and stocking the fridge. On the very first can I opened I noticed a slightly different taste, too sweet, as if they didn't get the formula quite right at the factory. I've tasted slight variations in Cambodian Coke before so I figured this was just typical lack of quality control at the factory. After a few more cans over the next couple of days, I noticed the odd taste was consistent from can to can, and tasted rather suspiciously like Diet Coke - too sweet with that strange artificial sweetener aftertaste. So I decided to get scientific on it.

As you may know, Diet Coke floats in water, regular Coke doesn't. It has to do with the amount and weight of the sugar used in regular Coke versus the smaller amount and correspondingly lighter weight of the artificial sweetener used in Diet Coke. Here are a couple of references:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/31687 ... -in-water/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR0b4QRhfU0
http://www.today.com/klgandhoda/try-hom ... oat-686947

So I took my can of Cambodian regular Coke and put it in the goldfish aquarium here at the office, and here is the result:
ImageImage

IT FLOATS, just like Diet Coke and unlike regular Coke.

My tentative conclusion: The stuff the Cambodian Coca-Cola factory is putting in regular Coke cans is not regular Coke. It is Diet Coke. (At least for this batch of cans.)

I wonder if that is a 'honest mistake' or if it perhaps cheaper to manufacture Diet Coke than regular Coke.

Would love to have some of the more science orientated types here critique my experiment and conclusion.

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Re: Cambodian Coca-Cola meets Mr Science

Post by flying chicken »

Good one. I drank both Thailand imported Coke and Cambodia manufactured Coke. The Cambodian ones always taste less gassy and sweeter. My initial thought was due to the price difference or Coke Cambodia make it that way to suit the local taste. I drink Coke religiously back home esp when eating fried and microwaved foods but rarely drink it anymore.

If this is really a blunder by Coke, I reckon somebody should take up this issue and sue them, for real!
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Re: Cambodian Coca-Cola meets Mr Science

Post by Jaap N. »

I wonder what Coca-Cola Cambodia would say about this, when confronted... But maybe, like FC said, it's altered to suit local taste.
Interesting stuff! I also very much dislike the aftertaste of Diet Coke.
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Re: Cambodian Coca-Cola meets Mr Science

Post by LTO »

I drink Cambodian regular Coke all the time. This batch had a distinctively different taste that the Cambodian regular Coke I was drinking last week. It taste like Diet Coke. I have had this same experience a few other times over the years in Cambodia - one batch of Coke tasting different from another - but this was the first time I sat down and tested it.
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Re: Cambodian Coca-Cola meets Mr Science

Post by beaker »

So I see the local coke in the water so where is the coke you are comparing it to you would need to see both floating side by side in same water.
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Re: Cambodian Coca-Cola meets Mr Science

Post by LTO »

beaker wrote:So I see the local coke in the water so where is the coke you are comparing it to you would need to see both floating side by side in same water.
See any one of the links I provided to see how a can of regular Coke behaves in water.
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Re: Cambodian Coca-Cola meets Mr Science

Post by Jaap N. »

LTO wrote:I drink Cambodian regular Coke all the time. This batch had a distinctively different taste that the Cambodian regular Coke I was drinking last week. It taste like Diet Coke. I have had this same experience a few other times over the years in Cambodia - one batch of Coke tasting different from another - but this was the first time I sat down and tested it.
Got it. Must be a faulty batch or something or 'just' a mistake, like I said, it would be nice to hear CCC's take on this, when confronted.
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Re: Cambodian Coca-Cola meets Mr Science

Post by flying chicken »

Jaap N. wrote: like I said, it would be nice to hear CCC's take on this, when confronted.
[/quote]

What? LOL....since when corporations are openly willing to admit fault esp in a small market like Cambodia. The management probably gonna tell you to suck it up or some bs. Come to think about it, I should use LTO original post and blackmail them :D
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Re: Cambodian Coca-Cola meets Mr Science

Post by vladimir »

LTO wrote:This batch had a distinctively different taste that the Cambodian regular Coke I was drinking last week.
Just the ratshit.

Enjoy your leptospirosis. :!:
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Re: Cambodian Coca-Cola meets Mr Science

Post by Bitte_Kein_Lexus »

Wow, that's pretty cool. Would the poured liquid float over/under oil? Maybe you should go to Bayon and buy a can of coke from a few different countries (Singapore, US, Europe etc). Unless you see a consistent difference over the next cases then I'm guessing it's an honest mistake. If you have time, it might be worth it to make a trip to the factory and ask around showing them your evidence.

I drink diet coke fairly often (maybe 1-3 cans per week) and I've always found Cambodian coke to be very gassy. Like smaller bubbles which feel like you're burping up foam.
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