Noting the differences

Under the influence of jet lag, I cracked open a Coke Zero pretty early this morning, and I was reminded of something you might not know: soda is not the same everywhere. I've been able to try Coke Zero and Coke Light (aka Diet Coke in the west) in several countries, and this is how they rank to me:

In Singapore, I like Coke Light better than Coke Zero.

In Thailand, I like Coke Zero much more than Coke Light. Until recently I couldn't stand Coke Light in Thailand. It tasted like nothing. They changed the formula recently but it is still far behind its sister.

In China, I love Coke Light. China is actually where I developed an affinity for it. When I was pregnant with Megan, I craved Coca Cola of all things. I have no idea why, as I never drank it before and don't particularly like it. But when that happened, I decided Coke Light might be a better alternative. And it's so cheap there that developing a habit wasn't hard.

In the US, I don't really care for either. I will drink them if they have cherry flavor in them, and Coke Zero by itself if there's no other option, but for the most part I'm not a fan. Plus, in the US there are so many other options for diet soda why limit yourself to Diet Coke? (as opposed to here, where Coke Light and Coke Zero are your only options unless you want to search).

See, this is something they don't tell you at cross cultural training, "The knowledge you acquire in your overseas living will include such inane things as the subtle differences in flavoring of diet sodas."