The soda(pop) wars / continue

My earliest experience with 'pop' was the heavy,12 ounce glass bottles.. forty cents,
fifty cents a bottle. The choices were usually along the lines of -
1.Pepsi,( or Coke, depending on which logo was on the machine .)
2.flavors - strawberry,orange,grape,
3.Root Beer - Frostys was my favorite,with A&W, and Hires not far behind.
During my adolescent years, my friends and I preferred Mountain Dew.
It was rumored to have more sugar. And it tasted like it did have more sweetness.
Dr Pepper was also big, but everyone knew it 'contained prune juice' . Remember ?
And Squirt. After you got 'used to' the flavor, it is unique.
You can not forget Kool-Aid,when you talk about flavored drinks...yet 2 cups of sugar?
I could never get my Kool-aid mixtures correct.
Instant tea was my favorite, by adding sugar, you could achieve the perfect balance of
sweet/bitter. For my tastes.
And finally, by my mid-teens, there was a Coca-Cola machine placed outside a local business.
You could have a 'pop' anytime; 50 cents a can .
There were those adventurous individuals, who could tell you of their experiences with
Coke. The theory goes - place a few standard 16 penny nails in a bottle of Coke.
Let sit over night. Or a few days, and the nails would dissolve in the bottle. I never tried it.
There was also the 'do-it-yourself' crowd, who made their own 'pop' with tap water,
flavor packets, and a carbonation inducer. Usually a hand pump that gave your pop a fizz.
As far as I can remember , 'New' Coke was the biggest innovation in the 'pop' industry.
I liked it, and exchanged my slang term usage. Now we went for a Coke. No more 'pop' .
The soda wars continued on to its next phase, where the Big Gulp and similar sized cups
became the regular standard. The cups replaced the typical aluminum can .
Much the same way cans replaced bottles decades ago.
Along with the innovation, came the changing of nearly 'century' old recipes.
The addition of 'corn syrup' allowed for better 'mixture' and thus became the standard
sugar in carbonated beverages.
Through the 1980s and 90s, lesser brands like Mt. Dew and Dr Pepper, among others, were
sold to their industry leaders, Coke and Pepsi.
The Pepsi challenge commercials on television were kind of misleading. Because , maybe the
first 'sip' of Pepsi was enticing, yet Cokes were 'good-to-the-last-drop' flavor.
All in all, what is the difference ? Add a touch of lemon or lime, and you could make your own
cola from the national brands.
There is a time for each,kind of like 'red or white' wine.
One of the greatest jobs, in terms of 'fun' appeal,was when I worked at a 'soda' factory.
Minimum wage, placing emtpy bottles on a conveyor belt. But, I learned where sodas came from,
and how they were made. Never thought about that before. Oh, the best benefit was the free
beverages in the break room. Thus, RC(Royal Crown) Cola was an easy choice for a guy who
worked for RC. Typically, it was the 'bargain' soda in convenience stores.
Ten cents cheaper than a coke or pepsi.
Through the years, sodas have always been cheap.
The occasional 'bad' soda - one that may have the flavor of soap or feel heavy like oil,
is a reality with american soft drinks. How many times, I have 'sworn off' Coke for getting an
unsavory flavored bottle of 'goo' is purely a matter of chance. Not enough Pepsis in my days,
to say whether they have similar results.
The experience of a 'bad' soda, is why I would describe the HFCS as oil.
Would you drink a bottle of vegetable oil, with your lunch ?
What are these 'american companies' selling to the rest of the world ?
Sodas - with cane sugar. But not in america. No, somebody decided that 'corn' subsidies
were more important than what most people would describe as a 'natural' sugar base.
Read the labels on anything sweet, and it almost always has High-Fructose Corn Syrup
listed in the ingredients.
In my opinion, not based on science-just a 'gut feeling' american sodas went from a
'water-based,sugar sweetened' beverage into an 'oil-based,corn sweetened' epidemic.
we loved it. But now, the 'big guys' Coke and Pepsi, are taking notice of peoples dislike
of the oil-based products. I hear that Pepsi will 'return to sugar' in 2009.
Although my current favorite is root beer, anything without HFCS is easily the next choice.