I have to admit I am a bit of a Coca-Cola addict. Well, more specifically Coke Zero, which I certainly know isn’t good for me either, but I enjoy one can about every day. I have often wondered why a can of Coke tastes so dang good with so many foods! I can hardly even eat a good meal like burger and fries, pizza, or any Italian or Mexican food without it! To me, the two go together like cookies, brownies or chocolate cake with milk--it is just sad not to pair them together--they are so much better with each other than alone.

I tried looking into it and might have been onto something with the cookies and milk thing. In an article from qz.com, they explain why it is that cookies taste so good with milk. They say that while your tongue can pick up the full taste of the whole cookie eventually, milk actually quickens the process by giving your tongue a faster, even cookie-coating when you dip it in milk first. Not to mention the sweetness of the cookie is mellowed out by the fervor of the slightly tart milk.

Now, I couldn’t find any specific articles that were explaining the science behind why Coke, or any other cola tastes so great with all these delicious classic foods, but this cookie thing gives me some clues. It makes sense that if you are drinking this sweet, bubbly beverage, your taste buds are bouncing back and forth between sweet and savory and salty. They enhance each other and I bet the Coke brings out some of the flavors in the foods that you wouldn’t taste as much if you were drinking water with it. Kind of interesting, eh?

While looking into the topic I did learn some very interesting things about Coca-Cola and most specifically McDonald’s Coca-Cola. Geesh, did I learn quick that yes, McDonald’s Coke IS different than everyone else's and people are really obsessed with it!

Here are a few fun facts about McDonald’s Coke and why it is different:

• McDonald’s does indeed go above and beyond most regular fountain drink retailers to make their Coke taste exceptional. For one thing, they have their Coke syrup delivered in stainless steel containers instead of the typical plastic packaging everybody else uses throughout the industry to help preserve its freshness.
• The water and Coca-Cola syrup are both pre-chilled before entering the fountain dispensers so they are even colder than the room temperature soda you’d get other places. This makes your soft drink even more refreshing!
• The straw at McDonald’s is slightly wider than a typical straw so that your tastebuds get even more of the Coke taste all at once for the full experience.

Finally, I also wanted to share some things I learned about why there really is a difference between glass bottles, cans or plastic bottles. There really is a hierarchy there for the best taste and here is why.

• Glass is much more dense than aluminum or plastic, so the carbonation, or CO2, stays inside the glass bottle and doesn’t release, whereas the CO2 can leach out of the aluminum can and most especially from the plastic bottle and leave the soda tasting more flat than the glass bottle.
• Since the glass bottle is also more dense, it also takes longer to warm up, so it stays cold and more refreshing for longer, whereas the aluminum, which is thin and conducts heat a lot more, gets warmer faster.
• There is also a lip on your aluminum can with a sharp edge, so that is believed to cut down on your bubbles as you take a sip as well.
• And lastly, people really love their Coke in a glass bottle that is specifically bottled in Mexico--I believe even Costco sells these glass bottles in bulk! And yes, there is a reason it tastes different. We’ve already established that Coke tastes better in glass bottles and to top it off, Coke tastes a little differently wherever it is bottled because they use different sweeteners in the locations it is bottled. In Mexico they use pure sugarcane sugar to sweeten their Coke instead of sugar beet or corn sugar (high fructose corn syrup) so it does taste a little different.

Please let me know your thoughts on all things Coca-Cola today. What is your favorite way to drink it--fountain, glass bottle, can, etc.? Are you someone who has a great love of McDonald’s Coke? And finally, are you team Coca-Cola or team Pepsi when it comes to colas? Please let us know in the comments below.