I usually love to drink coke, but lately I’ve been noticing the difference in taste compared to the US one.
It’s probably the water or the artificial sweeteners/sugar being used?
I know US coke is made with high fructose corn syrup.
Seems like an inferior product 
Anyone else feel the same?
I enjoy it more in Taiwan.
Although the taste does change by region. Scandinavia had the best by far. Not as sweet and more of a soda feel to the bubbles. Didn’t feel as gassy after drinking it. Maybe the norwegian water had something to do with it.
[quote=“Askr”]I enjoy it more in Taiwan.
Although the taste does change by region. Scandinavia had the best by far. Not as sweet and more of a soda feel to the bubbles. Didn’t feel as gassy after drinking it. Maybe the norwegian water had something to do with it.[/quote]
+100 on the Scandinavian Coke, simply the best i tasted. Probably drank around a half litre a day in my couple years there.
TWN coke is not bad either, but not as special as its scandinavian cousin!
Coke Zero is pure crap though, anywhere in the world!
It tastes better with higher quality hooch added to it than with the cheap stuff.
Do you mean the HFCS in US coke is an inferior product, or Taiwan coke is inferior to US?
I’ve never had the US stuff, but there’s a distinct difference in taste between the Taiwan coke and the imported Thailand coke at a Vietnamese place I often eat at.
Trace minerals in water make the final products taste different in all parts of the world. 
ANYTHING tastes better with quality hooch added.
Apart from water if I recall correctly there can be other differences. A while ago on Wikipedia was a list of differences in I think Coke Zero around the world. I tried finding it again, but failed. The sweeteners used at least were different I think. Also the normal coke can sweetened with high fructose corn syrup or with sugar. So if it doesn’t taste like home, then maybe that’s one difference.
I normally don’t like and don’t drink Coke or other sodas… but at least in Taiwan Coke Zero seems to be tasting somewhat better than back in Germany. Well, with Rum etc. it’s OK 
Doesn’t Coca Cola supply syrup to it’s ‘bottling’ plants … the only thing different is the water and hygiene of the filling line.
I’m not really much of a soda/soft drink consumer, but the best tasting Coca-Cola I’ve had is the occasional runs of “kosher” Coca-Cola available at certain times of the year in the U.S.A.
I think the difference is they use cane sugar rather than the chemical sweeteners. I think they also use a vegetable based glycerin also. There is a noticeable taste difference.
Of course they all taste better with rum or bourbon added… 
Taiwanese Coke is definitely different - it’s one of the first things I noticed when I got here. It’s less sweet and more bitter than the European coke I’m used to; I guess to make it taste more like iced tea, or more like Sarsaparilla?
Coke definitely changes it recipe based on region - when I went to the USA is was alot sweeter there than European version. I can confirm that 7-Up tasted the same here though.
[quote=“cfimages”][quote=“CoolDawg88”]
I know US coke is made with high fructose corn syrup.
Seems like an inferior product 
[/quote]
Do you mean the HFCS in US coke is an inferior product, or Taiwan coke is inferior to US?
I’ve never had the US stuff, but there’s a distinct difference in taste between the Taiwan coke and the imported Thailand coke at a Vietnamese place I often eat at.[/quote]
Yeah I meant the US coke seems to taste better than Taiwan’s coke.
I’m not quite sure what makes the difference, I feel like US coke is more carbonated, and has a slightly different taste.
Do you prefer the Thailand coke or the Taiwan one?
I’ve read the same thing too, the tap water in Taiwan does have a noticeable difference compared to the tap water in NY, maybe that affects it a lot too.
I don’t think they make Coke with tap water.
Because of this thread, I have bought, and partially drunk, a bottle of Coke.
Yes, I agree it’s less sweet and more bitter/salty than the US product. I also agree that it’s less carbonated–which is wonderful. US soda products tend to be almost lethally carbonated, IMO. I can’t stand that.
Not that any of this matters because I don’t have any rum or burbon. 
Bingo. 100% correct. Less obvious distinctions are the local storage conditions of the upstream syrup and the downstream finished product. Oxidation and the introduction of unwanted crap to either can significantly influence anybody’s consumption perception (as can emotional events at the time of consumption, a flavor attribute that is perhaps surprisingly vulnerable to advertising). /mba
The Coke syrup that is shipped worldwide is for flavour only - it does not include sugars and sweeteners. It’s up to the local bottling plants to decide how to sweeten and carbonate their version of the product.
We know from just checking the cans that USA Coke differs in recipe to Mexican and European version - American uses high-fructose corn syrup, where as in Europe and Mexico coke is sweetened with cane sugar. Asian one is definitely different again (i tasted it blind, expecting regular Coke), unfortunately my Chinese is too poor to read the can, but definitely less sugar and less fizz.
Mexico and other Latin countries use real sugar, as does Sri Lanka and some SE Asian countries.
Taiwan uses HFCS. Perhaps it is the bottling conditions here?