Coca-Cola Zero Zero Calorie Cola Review

Coca-Cola Zero Zero Calorie Cola I’ve seen around for the past few years, and as I drink a chilled 20-ounce plastic bottle of this soft drink while writing this, I’m taken with how sweet it is, just as I was when I tried Pepsi Max the other day.  As with Pepsi Max,   Coke Zero   is significantly more sweet than the Coke company’s  Diet Coke products. Plus, unlike with most diet sodas, I’ve experienced no sweetness fatigue with Coca-Cola Zero. Typically, I find that diet sodas become less sweet as I drink them near to the bottom of the bottle or can. Curious this is, as the Diet Coke products I’ve sampled over the past several years are sweetened with aspartame, like this one. Yet the Coke Zero sweet taste appears longer-lasting to my taste buds.

I do not drink soda pop routinely these days. But when I do, such as at parties and when writing soft drink reviews, I’ll remember Coke Zero as a delightful refresher after cutting the grass or working out on the treadmill. It’s good, and I’m amazed at how much like regular Coca-Cola this Coke Zero tastes.  Indeed, it tastes more like Coke Classic than any of the Diet Coke products out there.  With Coke Zero and Pepsi Max nowadays, the debate over which diet soda tastes more like the real thing is moot, as both of them quite faithfully replicate the taste of the corresponding original sugary soft drinks.  So now, we can get back to the debate over which original flavor (Coke or Pepsi) is better once again.  I’m a Pepsi man myself, but alsoe like the Coke flavor as a close second.

 

Benefits, Advantages, Pros, and Features

  • An obvious benefit of this beverage is that it can truly boast of no calories on the label.  In fact, no carbohydrates of any kind are present. Though as with Pepsi Max, the word diet is nowhere to be found on the bottle, you will not get fat drinking this no-sugar thirst quencher.  Nor will cavities beseech you.
  • It’s very low sodium too, at just 70 milligrams per 20-ounce serving. So Coke Zero probably will not raise your blood pressure either; at least, not due to the contained sodium.
  • At first, I thought that Coca-Cola Zero was simply the old Diet Coke revamped. The high level of fizz, caramel color, and amount of sweetness closely approximates diet Coke’s. But the cola flavor in Coca-Cola Zero is definitely stronger than Coke’s diet pop version, and the sweetness is sweeter.  The combination of aspartame and acesulfame potassium sweeteners really hurls this zero calorie pop up into the realms of real-tasting diet sodas.
  • Generally the Coke Zero flavor way better approximates that of original Coke than does Diet Coke.  In fact, Diet Coke utilizes a completely different formula in its recipe, whereas Coke Zero is a modified form of the original Coca-Cola formula.  So Coke Zero tastes much more like real Coke.
  • Not sure why they avoided labeling Coca-Cola Zero as diet. Seems that they’d wish to assure that those who must limit the regular, sugary sodas would easily recognize this as a drink suitable for diabetics and diets.  But perhaps the word   diet   has a negative connotation in that when people see that word on a soda pop can, they often associate it with bad taste.  Since Coke Zero certainly tastes quite good, then labeling it as diet would prove a disservice to not only the company itself, but to those looking for a healthier and authentic-tasting soft drink.
  • Or, they may not call Coca-Cola Zero a diet pop because it does not taste like a diet pop. It tastes much more like regular, original Coke than does Diet Coke. You will not sacrifice that real Coke flavor by drinking Coca-Cola Zero.
  • If I must stave off the sleepies, I find Coca-Cola Zero to do a great job of keeping me awake.  Not only does it contain caffeine to stimulate the body, but it has not sugar to slow it down into a carb-induced lull.
  • Coca-Cola Zero gives you that little extra boost when you need it but without any added sugar. Sweet!
  • I just finished my second bottle while writing this, and despite the moderate caffeine levels, I feel no jitters or racing heart but am very much awake.
  • I experienced no sour aftertaste with Coca-Cola Zero, and the flavor has yet to become monotonous.
  • Coca-Cola Zero has been an effective competitor to Pepsi Max, as I don’t know which I like better. One is not clearly better than the other in my view.  Coke Zero has been around a few years longer than Pepsi Max.  Yet it’s successfully fended off this newcomer.

 

Disadvantages, Cons, Problems, and Concerns

  • This cola contains 57 milligrams of caffeine, which, though typical for a cola beverage, can still cause me sleep issues even many hours after last consumption.
  • Looking for a caffeine-free version of Coke Zero, as I generally neither need nor desire the extra kicks of caffeine. Coca-Cola Zero would be a good cola to keep around to cure caffeine withdrawal headaches when they happen.
  • The best-if-used-by date on the bottom of the can is three to six months out. So you can stock this pop for a little while without any taste degradation. However, many products that derive their sweetness from aspartame like this one, can begin losing that sweetness if left on the back porch too long. So while I often keep beverages way past the best-by date, I’d not recommend this practice with any diet soda.

 

Product Rating

In totality then, my taste buds adore this zero calorie product from Coke. While I’d recommend this for strapping, young and healthy warriors, I’d caution older folks with prehypertension or full-blown high blood pressure to limit their consumption of Coke Zero. I’d therefore rate this product at 93 of 100.

 

Where To Buy Coca-Cola Zero

Look for the black bottles, cans, and cartons of Coca-Cola Zero at your favorite larger and smaller grocery stores. I bought mine at Sheetz here in Altoona.

 

References

 

Revision History

  • : Moved this post to the   Tom’s Diet Quest   blog, added whitespace, adjusted ad placement, revised content, and rearranged category and tag assignments.
  • 2012-04-23: Originally published.