COKE…The Real Thing?
Originally Published the Week of Dec. 4, 2022 in Western Outdoor Publications
If you’re old enough to remember commercial about Coke being the “real thing,” you’re like me. You have some history!
Ask most folks what the most popular drink in Mexico is and some will say it’s tequila . Others will claim it’s beer.
It may surprise you to learn that Coke is the #1 beverage in Mexico. The statistics are astounding.
According to the stats, Mexicans drink more than 700 cups of Coca-Cola a year! Let that sink in for a moment. That is 43 gallons of Coke per year.
Chiapas is Mexico’s poorest and southernmost state. The average person in Chiapas knocks back over a ½ gallon of the Coke each day! It’s an area where Coke is cheaper and easier to get than water.
I’m not sure how much Coke YOU drink, but that’s a lot of Coke by anyone’s standards.
In fact, Mexico is the largest consumer of soft-drinks in the world. Coke being about 70% of that consumption.
That 700 cups in Mexico is still way ahead of the #2 country. It’s the United States with a still-crazy 400 cups of Coke every year per person.
Needless to say, Coke is a big part of the fabric of Mexican life, tradition and culture. Some would argue it’s an addiction.
It’s not only a refreshment but is even used in religious ceremonies and for medicinal purposes as well. With some validity, it’s used to soothe or cure everything from headaches, indigestion and nerve disorders.
I mean, how many times have we all just “grabbed a Coke” and we seem to feel better?
But, it wasn’t always that way in Mexico, although it had been around for decades.
It really gained it’s popularity during the 60’s and 70’s. Former Mexican Presidente Vincente Fox worked his way up the corporate ranks of Coke, but started as a delivery driver and salesman. He ended up as President of the company.
During his career, he shrewdly offered incentives to companies who sold Coke exclusively over Pepsi.
Then, during the 70’s, it really accelerated. Those were the years that Mexico sponsored the Olympics in Mexico City as well as the World Cup.
Not surprisingly this co-incided with national ad campaigns that exposed the drink to so many Mexicans and brought it to prominence.
Mexican President Luis Echeverria, during those years, even tried to get the Coke recipe in order to nationalize the drink as the official drink of Mexico. He was unsuccessful. However, it underscored how integrated the drink had become to the nation.
When Vincente Fox left the presidency of Coca Cola and became President of Mexico in the early 2000’s, he sure wasn’t going to let the brand fall.
It was his baby. Lots of photos of him with an ice cold Coke in hand!
So, what’s the deal with Mexican Coke?
Many folks swear by it over American Coke although many folks can’t tell the difference in flavor.
However, it’s growing popularity has many U.S. outlets and restaurants now offering Mexican Coke to their customers and patrons.
While quite cheap to purchase in Mexico, it’s understandably more expensive in the U.S. It has to be imported. But that has not slowed the demand.
But, many Americans clamor for it.
There is a difference.
While American Coke is made with high-fructose corn syrup, Mexican Coke is made from cane sugar. To many purists, they insist it has a cleaner and fresher flavor and zest.
Some testify it that Mexican Coke doesn’t have the chemical taste of fructose Coke. Supposedly it also has more snap and effervescence.
Others also insist that it makes a difference that Mexican coke comes in the traditional bottles. And to many, glass containers make a critical difference.
However, other than taste, one wonders if Coke made with sugar is better for you than high-fructose Coke. The medical field says it’s all the same.
Coke is Coke.
Arguably, the same taste. Same calories, sodium and other things probably not so good for us.
Alot of it could all be in your head and what advertising tells us.
Does an organic apple taste different than a regular apple? To me, Chicago Pizza tastes as good as a New York pizza. Expensive water bottled in the “mountains of Fiji” better than “smart water.”
C’mon, Man!
It’s like the Emperor’s New Clothes.
We all think Mexican Coke is better because everyone says it’s better. So when we lift that ice cold bottle to our lips…ahhhhh…dang, that’s good stuff!
But, there’s some hard sad facts about drinking Coke. Even one can.
Don’t get me wrong. I love my Coke. I don’t drink a ton of it, but it’s my non-alcohol drink of choice on many occasions. Living in Mexico, an icy can from the cooler on the beach rocks. Or while fishing.
And, I’m personally not picky about Mexican or American Coke. The red can is the red can.
Seems pretty harmless.
However, a single can of Coke has about 10 teaspoons or sugar in it (or it’s equivalent in fructose corn syrup) which does the same thing to your body. It still gets processed the same way.
The World Health Organization recommends no more than 6 teaspoons per day. So, even one can or bottle puts you way above dosage.
Not to mention the sodium and caffeine that’s also being consumed.
By the way, original Coke actually did have cocaine in it! But that’s for another story.
Sodium, sugar, caffeine…All of these are attributable to higher blood pressure, obesity and diabetes. Or at least the lifestyle that goes along with it…
Those factors contributed a lot to fatalities during the pandemic.
Mexican Coke or American Coke. It’s no wonder the two leading consumers of Coke in the world also have the highest obesity and diabetes issues.
Buzz kill. But, it is the “real thing.”
I don’t have any beer in my frig. But, I do have a 6-pack of Coke sitting in there.
That’s my story!
Jonathan
______________
Jonathan Roldan has been writing the Baja Column in Western Outdoor News since 2004. Along with his wife and fishing buddy, Jilly, they own and run the Tailhunter International Fishing Fleet in La Paz, Baja, Mexico www.tailhunter.com.
They also run their Tailhunter Restaurant Bar on the famous La Paz malecon waterfront. If you’d like to contact him directly, his e-mail is: jonathan@tailhunter.com
Or drop by the restaurant to say hi. It’s right on the La Paz waterfront!
_____________
Jonathan Roldan’s
Tailhunter International
Website:
www.tailhunter-international.com
Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico
U.S. Mailing Address: Tailhunter International, 8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178, La Mesa CA 91942
Phones:
from USA : 626-638-3383
from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863
.
Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: http://fishreport.jonathanroldan.com/
Tailhunter YouTube Video Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBLvdHL_p4-OAu3HfiVzW0g
“When your life finally flashes before your eyes, you will have only moments to regret all the things in life you never had the courage to try.”
That's My Story 
Leave a Reply