No Pepsi just tastes better. The whole people prefer coke when drinking a whole can comes from Blink where a Pepsi scientist throws out three or four different reasons why kiosk testing might not reflected by consumer purchasing. It ends with both the scientist and gladwell saying "brands are powerful".
Coke has a slight vanilla flavor that Pepsi doesn't have. I generally prefer Pepsi to Coke, but sometimes I have a taste for Coke because of that slight vanilla flavor.
On the other hand, I tend not to drink pop for long periods on end. My first pop in a long while always tastes incredibly syrupy, to the point where it's borderline unpalatable. If I have more than a couple of pops in a short period it starts tasting like what I 'remember' it tasting like.
Right, Pepsi is kids' soda. It's a candy pop. There's no point in sipping it chilled, because there's no complex flavor to appreciate. Coke on the other hand, goes well with alcohol, and also has a very nice mix of spices like nutmeg, vanilla, and bitters, with greater carbonation, for a very nice slow sippable drink when chilled at the right temp. Coke is a mans' drink. Pepsi is for slobs who drink soda, period. For someone who rarely drinks soda, a coke is acceptable whereas a pepsi is just gross.
I'm exactly the opposite. I'll sip Pepsi chilled, but when I drink Coke, I'll chug it to satisfy a thirst, never stop to sip it - if I do, I generally don't enjoy the taste, while with Pepsi I enjoy the nuances of the flavour.
I don't get why you say it has greater carbonation. The carbonation in Coke gives a harsher feel, which I tend to dislike other than when its hot and I'm very thirsty. Pepsi gets frothier, and is more mellow, but in overall levels of carbonation I don't think there's much difference.
The only other cola than Pepsi I'll sip is RC, which has a strong caramel undertone.
Wow, I don't think I've ever seen someone analyse Coke to such a degree, and it's pretty fascinating. I've drunk probably gallons of the stuff in my life and I couldn't tell you what it tastes of other than Coke.
A nice coke from a glass bottle is really enjoyable. But I rarely indulge. Soda is just a way to tax ones pancreas far too hard. I guess my lack of drinking it often makes me admire it more.
I only drink glass-bottle Coke sans corn syrup, and I only get to do that when visiting the Philippines (I don't go to Mexico very often—have only been there once). There, they use cane sugar to sweeten it instead of high fructose corn syrup. It tastes different, and to me, better. It seems more refreshing, especially when chilled and drinking it in a tropical setting.
I have the mexican cokes but strangely enough I actually prefer the glass bottled regular coke. The mexican coke taste very sticky. I am crazy arent I?
Whoops.. thank you for pointing that out. I have in fact read Blink, so that is probably where I picked up this dubious factoid. I need to read it again to refresh my memory so I don't find myself unknowingly quoting it.
It's one of those things I tracked down after seeing one to many people say it as if it was a settled fact (never mind of course that there isn't really reason to assume people wouldn't prefer an entire can of the sweeter cola)
To me, Diet Coke tastes "crisp", while Diet Pepsi tastes "slimey". I can tell the difference in a heartbeat and I dislike Diet Pepsi (while I drink a lot of Diet Coke).
