Coca-Cola Blak Debuts

This sounds pretty disgusting, but I could be wrong. Coke combines with taste of coffee.

Coca-Cola Blak, an innovative pick-me-up drink, debuts in the U.S. on Monday. (The company rolled out the product in France in January.) The carbonated fusion beverage (as the bottle notes) or coffee-infused soda is packaged in a sleek, stylish black/brown/gold resealable 8-ounce bottle and is designed to appeal to adult consumers looking for an indulgent and revitalizing alternative to other beverages.

Each bottle contains 45 calories, 0 grams total fat, 30 milligrams sodium and 12 grams carbohydrate. The company describes the product this way: "Imagine the refreshing taste of an ice-cold Coca-Cola that finishes with a rich essence of coffee." Some tasters likened it to a carbonated coffee - and gave it a thumbs-up served over ice. Look for it a supermarkets and other stores in individual bottles or four-packs. Suggested retail is $1.69 per bottle.

http://www.coca-colablak.com/us/index.jsp

http://www2.coca-cola.com/presscenter/n ... _blak.html[/quote]

Pepsi already tried this and failed miserably (Pepsi Kona, in the mid 1990s). They do have successful cola+coffee blends in other countries (eastern europe and asia mostly)

I think starbucks also tried doing a caffeinated cold coffee beverage, which failed.

Maybe people in the US are actually ready for it now, but I doubt it.

Any predictions for the death pool? I say it's discontinued in October.

Revolutionary concept ...

How 'bout Coke just coming out with a version sweetened with cane sugar? Hello?

-ramon

Shouldn't sugar-sweetened coke be hitting the grocery stores soon for passover?

Do keep us updated if you happen to see it floating around

Here's a thread at BevNET just for 2006 passover coke sightings, and how to tell it apart from normal coke.

Brilliant back to basics idea!

Coke and Pepsi have the influence to effectively challenge the sugar lobby, which would remove the protective tariffs which keep sugar artificially high. These tariffs is what is driving the candy business abroad.

I still have sitting on my desk SteveZ's Dr. Pepper sweetened by cane sugar. I have yet to drink it because once I have, when will I have another?

From a post on the bevnet thread:

The Dominick's and Jewel grocery stores on Lake Cook Road in Buffalo Grove/Wheeling have the Kosher Coke in 2 liter plastic AND 6 pack cans. Dominick's has the better price on 2 liter bottles ($1 each) and Jewel has the better price on the 6 packs ($2.25 each). Also, both had Kosher Pepsi in 2 liter plastic for $1 each as well.

n.b. kosher-for-passover coke is sweetened with sucrose made from sugar beets, not cane sugar. Mexican coke is, afaik, cane sugar.

I don't mean to rehash the Mexican Coke issue

Or the evils of High Fructose Corn Syrup

(both issues deserve exploration by those uninformed)

how 'bout the Real Thing?

-ramon

Coke and Pepsi have the influence to effectively challenge the sugar lobby, which would remove the protective tariffs which keep sugar artificially high.

Ah, but wouldn't that risk them running afoul of the nefarious corn lobby?

Some interesting commentary on Mexican Coke here and here.

I would love the sugar cane Coke of our youth!

I just think Coke and Pepsi are in the position to do it.

Regards,

Don't assume that because a Coca-Cola is produced in Mexico that it is made with cane sudar. I spent a couple of weeks last summer in Harlingen/McAllen/Laredo, TX last summer and the Mexican produced Coca-Cola made in the Mexican plants and sold there is made with coen syrup (and was some of the poorest Coke products I had ever tasted.

Cathy2 wrote:I would love the sugar cane Coke of our youth!

7-Eleven now carries there own private label cane sugar cola.

7-Eleven Inc., Dallas, rolls out a line of private label soft drinks in 20-ounce bottles, which carry the "Big Gulp" name. The company plans to offer four flavors initially, a Diet Cola with Splenda, regular Cola with pure cane sugar, Mint Lime Twist and Ginger Apple Snap.

http://tgubbins.blogspot.com/2006/03/big-gulp-soda.html

http://www.allbusiness.com/periodicals/ ... 464-1.html

Matt wrote:

Coke and Pepsi have the influence to effectively challenge the sugar lobby, which would remove the protective tariffs which keep sugar artificially high.

Ah, but wouldn't that risk them running afoul of the nefarious corn lobby?

Some interesting commentary on Mexican Coke here and here.

Because of Katrina, cane sugar is the highest it's been in ages. It went from $0.28/lb to over $0.42/lb. HFCS is still steady at about $0.089/lb. At least those are the prices that my company is able to buy them.

Wow that is an AWWWWFUL product name. Really- who is to blame for that?! I'm in the middle of renaming a product right now and if anyone had brought me a name that bad I'd have laughed them out of the room.

This actually reminds me I want to pick up some KfP Coke (made with cane sugar) while it's still available.

About eight or nine years back, while on business in Kansas City, I encountered woman sampling a product called ZydeCola. It was the exact same concept as Coca Cola Blak. It was actually pretty tasty, reminiscent of an Italian carbonated coffee soft drink I used to pick up at Joseph's Italian Market on west Irving Park.

I don't think ZydeCola lasted even a year. The next time I was in town; looking for more, I went to the same SunFresh store near the Westport neighborhood, and the store no longer carried it. Couldn't find it anywhere else either.

I still have the free T-shirt they gave away with the purchase of a six pack at the demo.

Buddy

***I don't think ZydeCola lasted even a year. The next time I was in town; looking for more, I went to the same SunFresh store near the Westport neighborhood, and the store no longer carried it. Couldn't find it anywhere else either. ***

http://www.bevnet.com/reviews/zydekola/

http://kansascity.bizjournals.com/kansa ... tory2.html

Just to reveal my cultural ignorance, how does beet vs. cane impact Kosher? Or did I misunderstand what was said??

Geo

corn syrup sweetened beverages can be kosher, they just can't generally be kosher for passover.

check out infoplease's passover - feast without yeast page for more details.

beet and cane sugar are both fine. KfP coke, as far as i know, is all beet sugar, not cane sugar.

Hey jlawrence, thanks for the links; that's the stuff! The woman doing the sampling was in fact one of the "shapely ZydeGirls" mentioned in the KC Biz Journal. Although she wasn't wearing a "rubber bikini" as the article described, she still attracted quite a bit of attention in a pair of short shorts and a tight T-shirt.

Close inspection of the bevnet site confirms that ZydeKola has been discontinued. Oh well, too bad; like I said it was pretty good stuff.

Buddy

Got it. Tnx gleam.

Whooo-boy!


Geo

As a non-religious Jew with only a passing familiarity of the dietary laws, I was surprised to learn that corn and all corn products are considered non-paisedicheh, or chummitz(acceptable at other times of the year, but not at Passover). Of course my family is so unobservant, we celepbrate Passover with a nice Smithfield ham and a big loaf of challeh, so what do I know.

Getting back to the "corn syrup in Coke" issue, Mrs. Roadhouse and I took a trip to Ireland back in '04. Upon deplaning at Shannon, I quickly made my way to the airport c-store for a Coke. I opened the bottle, took a deep swig, and was immediately transported back to my childhood.

They say that the olfactory senses trigger the strongest memories, but I can tell you when that real sugar hit my tastebuds, it was like I had jumped into the fountain of youth!

Although I have weaned myself off of soft drinks in general, and drink mainly water or the occasional vodka tonic, I made a point of having a Coke a day for the rest of that trip.

Buddy

polster wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:I would love the sugar cane Coke of our youth!

7-Eleven now carries there own private label cane sugar cola.

7-Eleven Inc., Dallas, rolls out a line of private label soft drinks in 20-ounce bottles, which carry the "Big Gulp" name. The company plans to offer four flavors initially, a Diet Cola with Splenda, regular Cola with pure cane sugar, Mint Lime Twist and Ginger Apple Snap.

http://tgubbins.blogspot.com/2006/03/big-gulp-soda.html

http://www.allbusiness.com/periodicals/ ... 464-1.html

Anyone seen this on the shelves? I've only tried two 7-11s so far, but no luck.

-ramon

I've done a lot of comparisons over the years when it comes Kosher-for-Passover Coke, regular corn-sweetened Coke and Mexican Coke. I think it would be tough to tell the difference between beet-sugar and cane-sugar sweetened Coke. However, the difference between sugar- and corn-sweetened products is very apparent. It's more evident in the mouth feel than in flavor, though sugared Coke has a cleaner, sharper taste.

One more comment on KfP Coke: Not only does is the sweetening different, it also most be carbonated with CO2 from a nongrain source. "You may say that it's only a gas," said the rabbi from the Chicago Rabbinical Council, "but I ask you, would you drink Coca-Cola without that gas?'

Well, finally today, at the fifth 7-11 I've visited this week (who knew there were so many, must not be in my radar) I found the Big Gulp Cola. The other flavors were all in the cooler, but I had to ask for the "regular" flavor.

The bottle has a large opening I would find annoying, but I inteneded to drink it in a glass with the proper amount of ice. I also note that the cola has no artificial flavors.

I could tell as soon as I opened it that it was going flat. The flavor profile is distinctly different from Coke or Pepsi -- perhaps a hint more anise? If this had been more carbonated I definitely would have enjoyed.

I will purchase again, hoping that the lack of carbonation was an aberration but this is no stand in for Coke with cane sugar.

-ramon

HI Ramon,

Appreciate your efforts to learn what their Cola tastes like. Outside of Pepsi or Coke, I have never found an off brand Cola I have liked. Either I have been conditioned or they just don't quite hit the mark.

Regards,

Ramon wrote:I will purchase again, hoping that the lack of carbonation was an aberration but this is no stand in for Coke with cane sugar.

-ramon

Although I havent seen it at the 7-11s in the loop I have tried the Traders Joe's cane sugar Cola in a glass bottle and it suffers the same problem you mentioned above of lacking carbonation.

If any one is still interested in Coca-Cola Blak it is on sale for the next week at Dominix: (4) 8 oz bottles, $1.99. I will not take this one for the team.

-ramon

At Target they have Coca Cola Blak shelved with energy drinks (including new TAB).

Interesting news about Big Gulp being made with cane sugar. I wouldn't expect it from them. I'm surprised they're willing to spend the extra money since I doubt 99% of their customers would even care. Good for them though.

Whole Foods' 365 brand sodas including their cola are made from cane sugar or cane juice. They used to use corn syrup but stopped using it because of their policy of not using GMO products. Apparently they couldn't verify that their syrup supply was GMO-free for some reason. Cane sugar has never been genetically modified.

By the way, the Jewel at Broadway and Addison has KfP Coke in 2 liter bottles and in cans. I didn't note the bottle price but cans are 2.25 a six-pack.

Coca-Cola Blak contains aspartame!

Just a warning for those who have trouble with this substance. This came as a surprise, because I hadn't seen anything marketing the product as a diet beverage.

I did have a sip of the stuff. It tastes like carbonated coffee with a strong vanilla component. Not bad. I would probably drink it again if it weren't for the aspartame.

By the way, has anyone heard any radio or TV advertising for this stuff? I'm curious about the bar over the A. Are you supposed to pronounce it "Coca-cola blake"?

For those looking for kosher for Passover Coke, Dominick's in Buffalo Grove had it in 2-liter bottles and cans as of Tuesday. It's not with the regular pop -- they have the Passover stuff kind of sprinkled around the store. We found cans sort of near the deli and bottles by the front office.

HI,

I went to Jewel Saturday afternoon in Highland Park. They had Kosher Coke in 2 liter bottles for $1.25 each in regular and diet. The list of ingredients indicated sucrose was used as the sweetner.

Regards,