Taste test: Coke Original vs Coke Life

The green bottles of the new Coca-Cola Life are gradually being phased onto our shelves. Can people tell the difference from the original?

The new Coca-Cola Life boasts fewer calories and less sugar than Original Coke.

And as a new Coke product doesn't come along that often, we thought we should blind taste test the original against the new to see what, if any, difference we could find.

The test

I poured one shot of each drink for each participant. They had to decide which their favourite was and tell me why.

A lot of people thought  they were almost identical in flavour. Despite already knowing which was which, I too thought that they tasted extremely similar. Score one for Coke, I guess, since earlier this year they told me that the aim of the launch was to offer “more reduced-, low- and no-calorie options” in their range to “inspire happier, healthier lives.”

So if we think they’re very similar, would we mind reaching for a can of Life when choosing a soft drink?

Well, no. With the exception of one person who said they were exactly the same, everyone did pick a favourite from the two options – and the decisions fell fairly convincingly in the original drink's favour, with 65% of the votes.

What does Coke Life taste like?

Personally, I would describe it as being somewhere between normal Coca-Cola and Diet Coke. And I don’t really like it. To be honest, I’d prefer to drink normal cola drinks infrequently than a less sugary alternative more regularly.

Some of our testers said that the original flavour is more “lively” and they also thought it a bit less fizzy. One person said that, since they had “a sweet tooth”, they much preferred it to Life.

Oddly enough, another said that they preferred Life because it had “slightly more of that classic Coke taste”, which probably serves to highlight that these products are very difficult to tell apart.

So, based on our test, Life will probably have its converts but it probably won't change the Coke habits of the majority.

Have you tried Coke Life? What did you think? Will you change your buying habits or are you happy? Let us know in the Comments below.

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