Funny you mention that! Pepsi literally made this a huge ad campaign in the 80’s. They found that in blind tests between Coke and Pepsi, the vast majority of people picked Pepsi as their favourite, even the people who said they preferred drinking Coke.
Oddly enough, Coke ran a campaign at the same time saying “I picked Coke” and it was a smash hit. Pepsi ended up being meme’d on despite their blind tests showing they were better. It’s great proof that what sells a product isn’t how good the product itself is, but how good its marketing is.
In his book Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (2005), author Malcolm Gladwell presents evidence that suggests Pepsi’s success over Coca-Cola in the “Pepsi Challenge” is a result of the flawed nature of the “sip test” method.[6] His research shows that tasters will generally prefer the sweeter of two beverages based on a single sip, even if they prefer a less sweet beverage over the course of an entire can.[7] Additionally, the challenge more often than not labeled the Pepsi cup with an “M” and the Coca-Cola cup with a “Q,” suggesting letter preference may drive some of the results.[8]
Tested myself in an a-b test a while ago and tried to figure out what intricate differences are in the tastes specifically, after being a pepsi fan. Turns out here in europe pepsi tastes a lot sweeter, while coke has a lot more sparkle. The lesser sweetness turned me into a coke fan.
Many people don’t have a good pallet, but it’s pretty easy to tell the difference via the texture. Pepsi is a bit more syrupy, and sweeter, whereas coke is a more bitter-sweet taste. Both are absolutely carb bombs, but as soon as you spend just a little time comparing the tastes of the two, you can pick out their distinct flavor notes easily. I’m only comparing the shitty HFCS beverages in America which both coke and pepsi use. Cane Sugar Pepsi, vs Cane Sugar Coke I’m not so sure about. I do prefer Can Sugar Coke (i.e. mexican coke) over HFCS. I haven’t had a cane sugar pepsi in years.
*palate. A pallet is what you transport stuff on. (EDIT: Actually a pallet can also be the word for a crude type of sleeping arrangement)
But I think I saw a thing about a blind test where what people said they preferred weren’t what they actually said they enjoyed the most during the blind test. I don’t remember whether it was coca people enjoying pepsi or pepsi people enjoying RC or whatever, but it was something.
I have done that before and I was able to tell the difference. Coca cola has this “soapy” taste to it which I sometimes prefer but usually I prefer pepsi
Uh, I don’t drink either much because I can’t have caffeine and I’m more of a ginger ale person myself, but the difference in taste is so obvious that this comment is comically wrong.
Seriously? They’re very different flavors. Coke has a darker almost gritty taste and Pepsi is way more light and sugary. Don’t really love either, but they don’t taste the same.
I honestly think people who prefer one over the other would not be able to tell them apart in a blind test.
Funny you mention that! Pepsi literally made this a huge ad campaign in the 80’s. They found that in blind tests between Coke and Pepsi, the vast majority of people picked Pepsi as their favourite, even the people who said they preferred drinking Coke.
Oddly enough, Coke ran a campaign at the same time saying “I picked Coke” and it was a smash hit. Pepsi ended up being meme’d on despite their blind tests showing they were better. It’s great proof that what sells a product isn’t how good the product itself is, but how good its marketing is.
One idea I heard is that Pepsi is sweeter, so people prefer it when it’s only a shot glass amount. But a full can people prefer less sweet coke.
+1 and the wiki actually mentions that theory,
Tested myself in an a-b test a while ago and tried to figure out what intricate differences are in the tastes specifically, after being a pepsi fan. Turns out here in europe pepsi tastes a lot sweeter, while coke has a lot more sparkle. The lesser sweetness turned me into a coke fan.
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Many people don’t have a good pallet, but it’s pretty easy to tell the difference via the texture. Pepsi is a bit more syrupy, and sweeter, whereas coke is a more bitter-sweet taste. Both are absolutely carb bombs, but as soon as you spend just a little time comparing the tastes of the two, you can pick out their distinct flavor notes easily. I’m only comparing the shitty HFCS beverages in America which both coke and pepsi use. Cane Sugar Pepsi, vs Cane Sugar Coke I’m not so sure about. I do prefer Can Sugar Coke (i.e. mexican coke) over HFCS. I haven’t had a cane sugar pepsi in years.
*palate. A pallet is what you transport stuff on. (EDIT: Actually a pallet can also be the word for a crude type of sleeping arrangement)
But I think I saw a thing about a blind test where what people said they preferred weren’t what they actually said they enjoyed the most during the blind test. I don’t remember whether it was coca people enjoying pepsi or pepsi people enjoying RC or whatever, but it was something.
Pepsi is definitely sweeter, at least the 0cal products. Both taste fine.
I have done that before and I was able to tell the difference. Coca cola has this “soapy” taste to it which I sometimes prefer but usually I prefer pepsi
Uh, I don’t drink either much because I can’t have caffeine and I’m more of a ginger ale person myself, but the difference in taste is so obvious that this comment is comically wrong.
Seriously? They’re very different flavors. Coke has a darker almost gritty taste and Pepsi is way more light and sugary. Don’t really love either, but they don’t taste the same.