A Beverage Post

In a recent post I mentioned that Trinidadians tend to put more sugar in their beverages than other countries. But I've also noticed that while Trinidadians prepare their drinks differently, pre-packaged beverages like Gatorade and Coca Cola also differ in taste when compared to versions sold is the US and the UK. During a high school field trip a worker at one of our local factories explained that these companies often change their recipes to suit the taste buds of their foreign markets. I did a little research and found this article from the San Diego Tribune on Mexican Coca Cola vs. American coca Cola. Although it doesn't state that differences in the flavor of Coca Cola are influenced by local taste preferences it does state that they can come as a result of the use of local ingredients, specifically cane sugar in lieu of high fructose corn syrup, to cut production costs. The article discusses some of the complications that arise when you have different versions of the same product and the fear of having these versions come into competition with each other.

After reading the article these are some of the questions that I'd like to ask: Are Americans aware that Coca Cola is sweetened with cane sugar for other markets? If the answer is no, why isn't this more of a scandal? If the answer is yes, why don't they care? Why aren't they putting more pressure on Coca Cola to produce a higher quality beverage for its home market? I mean who knows, maybe it doesn't matter because Coca Cola rots your insides anyway? Maybe Americans don't like the taste of Coca Cola sweetened with cane sugar? The article made it seem like drinking the cane sugar version is akin to drinking the tears of God but personally I hate it. I constantly thank the beverage gods that Coke Zero (my favorite of the Coca Cola offerings) tastes the same wherever I go. For now anyway.