Hoping to create a long-lasting national brand identity that consumers would connect with for years to come, the company asked for a bottle design that would be "so distinct that you would recognize if by feel in the dark or lying broken on the ground." The winning design copied the elongated shape and ribbed texture of a cocoa bean. According to The Coca-Cola Company, the contoured bottle design was created in 1915 after typical bottle shapes were mimicked by other soft drink producers. The classic bottle shape as we know it was not the original design. Whether sweetened with high fructose corn syrup or sugar, a Coke is a Coke and both are 'the real thing,'" a representative from Coca-Cola told Consumerist. "There is no perceptible taste difference. Only, Coca-Cola wouldn't agree with those takes. Others believe soda sweetened with real cane sugar is more natural, pure, less harsh, and possibly healthier (via New York Times Magazine). This is possibly due to a slightly less intense sweetness some studies claim high fructose corn syrup is up to 1.5 times sweeter than plain old sugar, according to Live Science. Many consumers claim that the Mexican version made with real cane sugar is tastier. There also may be a slight difference in the formula, as the Coke secret ingredients are slightly different in other countries, but this difference is rarely disclosed by the company (via Serious Eats). In Mexico, this is swapped out for cane sugar. Traditional Coke is made with high fructose corn syrup. The sweetener is where the recipes diverge. The core recipe of carbonated water, a sweetener, caramel color, caffeine, and the secret natural flavor ingredients is the same in both cases. These bottles have been imported from Mexican Coca-Cola bottling plants to satiate your thirst for the extremely hyped version of the soda that has grown in popularity since 2005, when it was first officially sold in the United States (via DNA Info, New York Times).īeneath the hype, what's really going on with Mexican Coke? With so many myths and layers of information about how it differs from traditional Coke and how it affects the Mexican communities where it's bottled, there's a lot bubbling inside the glass bottle. In the soda aisle of most grocery stores these days, next to the cans and plastic two-liter bottles of traditional Coca-Cola, you'll find a selection of long-necked glass bottles of Coke emblazoned with the words Refresco, Hecho en México, and No Retornable. In the past couple of decades, American consumers have been cracking open an alternative version of the soft drink: the Mexican Coke. The sweet flavor of Coca-Cola has been tantalizing American tongues for decades, carbonating our weekends and packaging our culture into bottles and cans as no other company has.