🔍
US vs UK Coca-Cola | Food Wars | Food Insider - YouTube
Channel: Food Insider
[1]
Harry: From calorie
count to portion sizes,
[3]
we wanted to find out all the differences
[4]
between Coca-Cola in the UK and the US.
[7]
This is "Food Wars."
[13]
In the UK, regular Coke
comes in eight portion sizes,
[15]
starting with this mini can,
which is 150 milliliters.
[18]
Then we have three
options which all include
[20]
250 milliliters of Coke.
[22]
Then we have our standard
can, which is 330 milliliters.
[25]
Our standard plastic
bottle is 500 milliliters.
[27]
From there, we move up to
this bottle, which is 1 liter.
[30]
1.25 liters,
[31]
1.5 liters,
[33]
and 2.25 liters.
[35]
It's worth noting that
these ones are only stocked
[36]
by a limited number of
shops, including Iceland.
[39]
The supermarket chain, not the country.
[40]
And in the US, our classic
Coke comes in these sizes.
[43]
The mini can, which is 7.5 ounces.
[46]
Then this mini bottle, which is 8 ounces.
[48]
Then we jump up to the
standard 12-ounce can.
[51]
That also comes in a
little 12-ounce bottle.
[53]
From there, we got this guy,
which is the 16.9 fluid ounces,
[56]
aka 500 milliliters.
[59]
Then we have a 20-ounce bottle.
[61]
And finally, our biggest, the 2 liter,
[65]
which is also 67.6 ounces.
[67]
Now, that means as far as
Coca-Cola classic is concerned,
[70]
the UK's largest size
is actually 12.5% larger
[74]
than that in the US.
[75]
There is a reason why we're
specifying regular Coke here.
[77]
The UK government brought in a sugar tax,
[79]
which raised the price of sugary drinks
[81]
in an effort to reduce
people's sugar consumption.
[83]
Instead of raising the prices
of some of their drinks,
[85]
what Coca-Cola did was just to make
[86]
the sugary versions of their
drinks a little bit smaller.
[88]
For example, how the normal
largest size of regular Coke
[90]
is 1.5 liters,
[92]
whereas the largest size
of Coke Zero is 2 liters.
[95]
Whereas here in the US, we
don't have a specific sugar tax.
[98]
So we can get our bottles of
classic Coke and diet Coke
[100]
in the same size and for the same price.
[102]
As a consequence of the UK sugar rules,
[104]
it actually means that
the 2.25 regular Coke
[106]
isn't our largest bottle size.
[108]
That crown
[109]
[thud]
[110]
goes to this,
[111]
the 3-liter diet Coke bottle.
[113]
Now, this absolute unit is 50% larger
[116]
than the biggest bottle in America.
[117]
If you're doing, like, a party, maybe?
[119]
If you're buying that for yourself,
[120]
like, you've got a problem.
[123]
I'm sorry.
[123]
That is ridiculously huge
and really hilarious.
[127]
Now, I want to point
out that on Walmart.com,
[130]
they have this 3-liter
bottle of diet Coke on it,
[135]
but it's not available anywhere.
[137]
So my assumption is at one
point in the United States,
[140]
there was 3-liter bottles available.
[142]
But if Walmart doesn't have it,
[144]
I'm assuming it isn't anywhere.
[145]
That being said, in terms
of multipack options,
[147]
the US still comes out on top.
[149]
Our single largest multipack
[151]
is the 35-pack of 12-ounce cans.
[155]
Let's get a picture of that on the screen.
[157]
I ordered it online, and
here's what they sent me.
[163]
24-pack, and nine loose cans.
[167]
Now, correct me if I'm wrong,
but what's 24 plus nine?
[169]
It ain't 35.
[170]
And when I emailed the
place that I bought it from,
[172]
they said, "Oh, sorry,
you're missing two cans,
[175]
so we'll just refund you the two cans."
[176]
And I'm like, "No, I
don't want the two cans,
[178]
I want the 35-pack
[179]
'cause that's what I'm
doing for this video,"
[181]
and they just sent me $2
back, so thank you for that.
[183]
Anyway, so then I go, nuts to this.
[186]
I'm going to Walmart.com.
[188]
Give me the 35-pack.
[190]
Buy. Enter.
[191]
And then they sent me
[197]
three 12-packs, which
is more than 35 cans,
[200]
so I guess technically
they're being generous,
[202]
but once again, it's not
that I need 35 cans of soda.
[205]
I need the 35-can pack for
this video specifically.
[208]
There's a 35-can pack
somewhere in America,
[211]
and everyone's just sending
me roughly 35 cans of soda.
[215]
Thank you for that.
[216]
Our largest single item is this.
[222]
This is a 24-pack of 330-milliliter cans,
[225]
which comes to a total of 7.92 liters.
[231]
Here is everything that's in regular Coke.
[232]
Harry: Carbonated water.
Joe: Carbonated water.
[233]
Harry: Sugar.
Joe: High-fructose corn syrup.
[234]
Harry: Color (caramel E150d).
Joe: Caramel color.
[236]
Harry: Phosphoric acid.
Joe: Phosphoric acid.
[237]
Harry: And natural flavorings,
Joe: And natural flavors.
[238]
Harry: including caffeine.
Joe: Caffeine.
[239]
Now, obviously we don't get
a full ingredients list,
[241]
because the recipe of Coca-Cola
is a closely guarded secret.
[244]
At the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta,
[245]
there's reportedly a vault which
contains the secret formula
[248]
written down on a piece of paper.
[249]
Who cares if the recipe gets loose?
[252]
Coca-Cola, no one's gonna edge you up.
[254]
Pepsi can't beat you.
[256]
Who cares?
[257]
I mean, how do you even make cola?
[258]
You probably just go into the factory
[259]
and eyeball it and figure it out.
[261]
It's not super famous because
you don't know how to make it,
[263]
it's super famous because
they edged everybody out.
[266]
You won.
[267]
Do you – I don't care.
[268]
Do you want the recipe?
[269]
I couldn't care less.
[270]
So, what do we know about the recipe?
[272]
Well, there is one obvious difference,
[273]
and that's the use of
high-fructose corn syrup in the US
[275]
versus the use of sugar in the UK.
[278]
Corn syrup is everywhere in American food.
[280]
It's cheaper for manufacturers to use
[282]
because the government gives
subsidies to corn farmers,
[284]
keeping the corn supply
high and the prices low.
[287]
Should you be worried about consuming
[288]
high-fructose corn syrup?
[289]
The short answer is not really.
[291]
Some studies have suggested
[292]
that the negative effects of sugar
[293]
tend to come from fructose
rather than from glucose,
[295]
but the high fructose in
high-fructose corn syrup
[297]
only relates to its fructose content
[299]
in relation to other corn syrups.
[300]
It actually still has less fructose
[302]
than table sugar or than honey.
[304]
The main difference it
causes might be the taste.
[306]
You've heard Americans
talk about Mexican Coke.
[308]
You can find it in most
Mexican restaurants
[310]
and in some grocery stores
[311]
next to the regular Coke
in the glass bottle.
[313]
Mexican Coke is made with cane sugar;
[315]
our regular Coke is made with
high-fructose corn syrup.
[317]
People tend to like the Mexican Coke more
[320]
because it has a sweeter sugary taste.
[321]
So right now to compare and contrast,
[326]
I'm going to do a blind taste test
[327]
of both American Coke and Mexican Coke.
[331]
Hang on.
[332]
And Harry was nice enough to send me
[336]
a United Kingdom Coke.
[338]
I've also got some British
Coke, some Mexican Coke,
[340]
and some American Coke.
[341]
I'm now going to blindfold myself
[342]
and let our camera operator, Sarah,
[344]
pour the Cokes out for me.
[346]
I'm blindfolded. I don't
know which one's which.
[347]
I'm going to try them one after the other
[349]
and try and figure out which one's which.
[350]
I'm going to start on the right.
[353]
Hm. See, it could just be mind games,
[355]
but that doesn't taste like
exactly what I'm used to.
[357]
No. 2.
[360]
Ooh. OK. That one tastes pretty good.
[362]
No. 3.
[363]
These two taste pretty similar.
[366]
This one tastes a bit
weird for some reason.
[368]
I'm going to guess that this
one is American, on the right.
[372]
I was expecting more of a
difference, I'll be honest.
[374]
I'll go with British in the
middle, Mexican on my left.
[378]
Put them in front of me, and
then I'll unblindfold myself.
[381]
Wow. OK.
[382]
That was Mexican Coke.
[384]
I was right about British.
[386]
I just got Mexican and
American Coke mixed up.
[389]
Wow. OK.
[390]
A lot of people have really
hyped up Mexican Coke to me,
[392]
and I honestly, like,
[394]
that was my least favorite of the three.
[404]
They taste exactly the same.
[405]
So I'm going to go UK, Mexico, USA.
[410]
Wow, really?
[410]
["America the Beautiful" plays]
[413]
I'm so great at pointless things!
[417]
Any other ingredients to look out for?
[418]
Well, one of them might be caramel color.
[420]
As we know, certain
classes of caramel color
[422]
have a byproduct which has
been linked to causing cancer.
[424]
Unfortunately, the caramel E150d
[426]
that Coke in the UK uses
is one of these classes.
[429]
We reached out to Coca-Cola here in the US
[431]
to see if that was the case,
[432]
because the type is not
specified on the label.
[435]
They told us that it is in fact
[436]
the same E150d caramel
color in the States.
[441]
But what about diet Coke?
[442]
It still contains caramel color,
[443]
but instead of using sugar
and corn syrup to sweeten it,
[446]
in the US it's sweetened with aspartame,
[448]
and in the UK it's
sweetened with aspartame
[449]
as well acesulfame K.
[451]
The good news is that both
the EU and the FDA say
[453]
that acesulfame K is safe for consumption.
[456]
In terms of the difference with Coke Zero,
[457]
in the US, our Coke Zero uses
ace K as well as aspartame.
[461]
Rumors have existed for years claiming
[462]
that aspartame causes cancer,
[464]
but it turns out that that
is likely to be false.
[466]
The claims originated from
some Italian researchers
[468]
way back in 2005.
[470]
I feel like I heard about
that in the '80s, but OK.
[472]
People were quick to call their methods
[473]
and results into question.
[475]
The FDA says, "the use of aspartame
[477]
as a general ... sweetener ... is safe."
[478]
While the European Food
Safety Authority says,
[480]
"Studies do not suggest an increased risk
[482]
associated with the aspartame consumption
[484]
for ... leukemia, brain tumours
or a variety of cancers."
[488]
There's a cool side effect for Coke
[489]
using these artificial sweeteners
you might not know about.
[492]
Because they're so much more
sweet than sugar per pound,
[494]
there's a tiny amount of them
dissolved in your diet Coke
[497]
compared to the amount of
sugar that's in a classic Coke.
[499]
That means a can of Coke is
denser than that of a diet Coke.
[502]
So when you put said Coke in water ...
[506]
to the bottom.
[507]
Diet Coke ...
[512]
floats.
[514]
One other rumor we felt
compelled to address
[515]
was the role of cocaine in Coca-Cola.
[517]
This dates right back to the 1800s
[519]
when the drink was invented.
[520]
Coca-Cola's official stance on this
[522]
is that there's never been
cocaine in any of its products.
[525]
What it does seem to contain,
however, is coca extract.
[529]
Coca is the plant from
which cocaine is extracted.
[532]
Fluid extract of coca was
one of the ingredients
[533]
in a list "This American Life" discovered
[535]
which was reportedly a recipe
[537]
for an early version of Coca-Cola.
[538]
And it seems like they're still using it.
[540]
In 1988, a Coca-Cola spokesperson said,
[543]
"Ingredients from the coca leaf are used,
[545]
but there is no cocaine in it
[547]
and it all is being tightly overseen
[549]
by regulatory authorities."
[550]
What's fun is that Coca-Cola
got a specific exemption
[552]
from the United Nations
in order to keep using
[555]
coca extract as an ingredient.
[556]
Specifically, Article 27
[558]
of the Single Convention
on Narcotic Drugs of 1961.
[561]
There's only one facility in the US
[562]
licensed to import and process coca leaves
[564]
through a special deal with the DEA.
[567]
It is owned by the Stepan Company,
[569]
and it's in Maywood, New Jersey.
[571]
According to the Peruvian officials,
[572]
they buy around 100 metric tons
[576]
of dried Peruvian coca leaves each year.
[579]
They reportedly process
them and de-cocanize them,
[581]
taking all of the cocaine out of them.
[583]
The cocaine is sold to hospitals
for use as an anesthetic,
[586]
and the cocaine-free extract
[587]
is then sent to Coca-Cola
for use in their products.
[589]
Coca-Cola's official line
on the subject is, quote,
[592]
"Coca-Cola does not contain cocaine
[594]
or any other harmful substance,
[596]
and cocaine has never been
[598]
an added ingredient in Coca-Cola."
[601]
End quote.
[601]
But it's fair to say that
cocaine and coca extract
[604]
are not the same thing.
[605]
So the latter might in fact be
[607]
one of their not-so-secret
secret ingredients.
[612]
Here are all the Coca-Cola
products in the UK
[614]
that you won't find in the US.
[615]
And here's all the Coca-Cola
items you'll find in the US
[618]
that you cannot find in the UK.
[619]
I want to start with two exclusive flavors
[620]
you can get in the US
you can't get in the UK.
[622]
They're these two right here,
[623]
cherry vanilla and orange vanilla.
[626]
Cherry vanilla seems pretty standard.
[627]
I think I've had this a bunch of times.
[629]
It's great. It's refreshing. I enjoy it.
[631]
We can't get cherry vanilla in the UK,
[633]
but we can get cherry
and we can get vanilla,
[635]
so I guess I can make my own.
[638]
Oh, God. Ah!
[640]
[exhales]
[643]
[exhales]
[644]
Panic over.
[645]
The smart thing to do would
be to mix these in a glass,
[647]
but I'm not a smart man.
[652]
Ah.
[652]
Pretty good.
[654]
The only exclusive Coke
flavor we can currently get –
[656]
[coughs] sorry.
[657]
The only exclusive Coke
flavor we can currently get
[658]
in the UK is this one, which
is diet Coke Sublime Lime.
[661]
As the name suggests,
[662]
it's just diet Coke flavored with lime.
[664]
Next up, caffeine-free Coca-Cola,
[665]
not to be confused with
caffeine-free diet Coke,
[668]
which is what you guys
have over there in the UK.
[670]
Apparently that's your
only caffeine-free option?
[673]
For shame.
[674]
This one is delicious.
[675]
It actually tastes just like Coke.
[677]
It's perfect for after 2 p.m.
[678]
when you want to keep
drinking soda, like me.
[680]
But if you like caffeine
[682]
and you want a little bit of a boost,
[684]
Coke Energy I believe is
available in both countries,
[687]
but one exclusive Coke Energy flavor
[689]
you can't get in the UK is this.
[691]
The Coke Energy zero sugar.
[694]
The Coke Energy drinks
are being phased out.
[697]
I can't imagine why.
[697]
I think they're actually really good.
[699]
In fact, I went ahead
and got the other ones.
[703]
Regular. I don't really like zero sugar,
[705]
but I do like just regular.
[712]
Oh, yeah.
[713]
I'm into that.
[715]
Yeah, thank you.
[717]
It's good. I mean, like ...
[721]
energy meter's going up, Yuelei!
[723]
Going up!
[728]
If you're like me and
you love soda and coffee,
[731]
Coke in the US has you covered with these.
[733]
You got caramel, vanilla,
vanilla no sugar,
[738]
dark blend, and dark blend zero sugar.
[741]
Oh, my God, I sincerely
love these so much.
[746]
Zero sugar can go there.
[748]
Ooh, which one do I want?
[753]
Hits the spot.
[754]
The I-want-to-jack-my-caffeine-levels-
[756]
through-the-roof spot.
[758]
Dude, Coke and coffee's good together.
[759]
Has anyone had two of
these at the same time?
[761]
I don't think they have.
[765]
They don't mix very well.
[768]
But individually they're great.
[771]
Uh-oh.
[777]
I might have overdone it.
[778]
We don't have Coke coffees in the UK.
[780]
However, Coca-Cola owns Costa Coffee,
[782]
which is a coffee chain in the UK,
[783]
and they produce canned coffees.
[785]
So I guess, again, I
can try and make my own.
[788]
So, the issue here is
they do do Americanos,
[791]
but I got latte instead.
[794]
So see how well milk
combines with Coke, I guess.
[800]
Yeah. Um. [laughs]
[803]
Regretting quite a lot
of things right now.
[806]
Namely all the life choices
that led me to this point.
[809]
Cheers.
[820]
Nope.
[823]
Not even a little bit.
[824]
No, no, no.
[825]
Don't do that.
[826]
No one else do that.
[827]
Please, God. Ugh.
[828]
Just like really watery, fizzy coffee
[831]
that is kind of sweet and ... ugh.
[834]
No. Bad.
[836]
The final exclusive
range in the UK is this,
[838]
Coca-Cola signature mixers.
[840]
Coca-Cola worked with bartenders
[841]
to design special Cokes
with different flavors
[843]
which are designed to
be used in cocktails.
[844]
These come with smoky notes, spicy notes,
[848]
herbal notes, and woody notes.
[850]
Tag yourself. I am spicy notes.
[852]
Cool.
[853]
[rumbling]
[855]
My stomach is making some weird
noises after drinking that.
[858]
No one else do that, please, God. Ugh!
[860]
Apparently these are
designed to be enjoyed
[862]
with premium dark spirits.
[863]
Now, I know nothing about
mixology, but thankfully,
[865]
a bartender friend from Australia
[867]
came through with a recipe.
[868]
So now I'm going to use
the smoky notes Coca-Cola
[870]
to put a "Food Wars" twist
[871]
on a Jack's godfather highball.
[873]
Cocktail Time.
[875]
Slight hiccup.
[876]
Don't have a bottle opener.
[879]
This is either going to work
[880]
or I'm going to break my keys
and be locked out of my house.
[888]
Improvisation.
[890]
Slash.
[890]
Alcoholism.
[891]
Ooh, it does smell quite smoky.
[893]
Harry was kind enough to send me this,
[896]
so now I have one as well.
[897]
It just says, "Pour ingredients
into an ice-filled glass."
[900]
Formally apologize to
any actual bartenders
[903]
who are watching this while
I butcher your profession.
[907]
30 milliliters of
Tennessee whiskey we have,
[910]
and then 20 milliliters of Disaronno.
[913]
A delightful smoky Coke.
[917]
Next we mix together.
[920]
And there you have it. Thanks to Coke,
[921]
we've put our own spin on a
Jack's godfather highball.
[924]
Cheers.
[927]
Ooh. That's delicious.
[928]
Um, yeah, I'm not going
to make that drink,
[932]
'cause I don't have all that stuff.
[933]
So I'm going to go ahead
and make a Joe highball.
[936]
First, get yourself the
biggest glass available.
[938]
Step two: no ice.
[940]
Find yourself some whiskey.
[951]
Cheers, my man.
[956]
Oh, man.
[958]
What is in this?
[959]
If I was to do it again,
I'd use less of this.
[963]
It's iced tea, guys.
[965]
I'm not gonna f---ing drink whiskey
[966]
this early in the morning.
[969]
You know what it tastes like?
[970]
Flat Coke.
[971]
Oh, man, I'm getting a headache though.
[973]
Last but not least, in the
US, you have the option
[976]
to order customized Coke bottles.
[978]
Check out the one I made.
[979]
Joe and Harry.
[988]
Here's everything that's
in a 500-milliliter bottle
[990]
of Coca-Cola in the UK.
[992]
And here's everything in that same bottle
[993]
of classic Coke in the US.
[996]
That means that the UK's version
[997]
actually has slightly more
calories in it than the US.
[999]
Joe: And we have more sugar.
[1001]
And for some reason, our Coke
has a little bit of sodium,
[1003]
while the UK seems to have none.
[1005]
Obviously, the main thing to
look out for here is the sugar.
[1007]
500 milliliters in both the US and the UK
[1010]
contains over 100% of
your daily allowance.
[1012]
53 grams of sugar. [laughs]
[1015]
It does put it in perspective, doesn't it?
[1016]
You never see it laid out like that,
[1017]
but that is how much sugar is in Coke.
[1019]
And I drink a lot of Coke.
[1020]
That's concerning.
[1021]
It's also worth noting that both countries
[1023]
put the same amount of
caffeine in their Coke.
[1025]
For reference, the average
cup of filtered coffee
[1027]
contains about 96 milligrams of caffeine.
[1029]
So that's exactly double the
amount in this bottle of Coke.
[1032]
Interestingly, diet Coke is
actually more caffeinated
[1034]
than regular Coke.
[1034]
There's 63 milligrams in this bottle,
[1036]
which is a 30% increase.
[1038]
And it makes sense, 'cause
our Coke with coffee
[1040]
contains 69 milligrams of
caffeine per 12 fluid ounces.
[1044]
If you do the math to find
out the figure per ounce,
[1046]
it's double the caffeine
of a regular Coke.
[1047]
But the real caffeine king
is my boy Coke Energy.
[1053]
Mm.
[1055]
Whether you get the classic or the cherry,
[1057]
the 12-ounce can contains
114 milligrams of caffeine,
[1061]
which is triple the caffeine content
[1063]
of a regular Coke per ounce.
[1065]
Yo, don't I know it.
[1068]
I'm going to chug as much of this as I can
[1069]
without throwing up and
then see what we can do.
[1073]
[burps loudly]
[1076]
God, that's so gross.
[1077]
The max I got to there was 90 decibels,
[1079]
which, according to this thing I found,
[1080]
is about as loud as a leaf
blower, which is pretty good.
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