Choose Your Side

When I was growing up, I was taught that caffeine was against the Word of Wisdom and that I needed to abstain from it.  However, while I was serving my mission I studied Section 89 much closer and learned that caffeine is not a part of the "don't" side of the Word of Wisdom.  We are told to avoid "hot drinks," which we've been told by our Priesthood leaders means coffee and tea.  Yes, coffee and tea both have caffeine in them, but so does chocolate and I know a lot of faithful members that indulge in that dark treat.  If someone wants to stay away from caffeine, even as a way to follow the commandments, that's up to them to decide.  Sort of like what someone constitutes as swearing: I occasionally say "crap" but I'm sure that others would find that that crosses the line.  (Incidentally, the reason I think coffee and tea are forbidden is to help build faith.  There are plenty of people who stay away from alcohol and tobacco for non-religious reasons, but coffee and tea are so ubiquitous that by abstaining, we stand out.  It makes our behavior that much more obvious and urges us to not be ashamed of our beliefs.)

Anyway, the reason I bring this up is that my introduction to cola was later in life than most.  While I was in high school, I sampled several things that I thought weren't allowed, all of them with caffeine (I never had tobacco, alcohol, or coffee, but I did have iced tea a few times - not sure how that one slipped through).  Since my high school was sponsored by Pepsi, that's often what I had.  Then I served my mission was in northern Ohio, which has a Pepsi bottling plant in Mansfield - a lot of locals felt like they were supporting the local economy by buying Pepsi.  By the time I returned home, I was a Pepsi fan.  Ian discovered the same thing that I had while on his mission - that caffeine is not against the Word of Wisdom - but since he served in Georgia, he came back a fan of Coke (Coca-Cola is headquartered in Atlanta).  To further cement his loyalty, during his military deployments, Coke was one of the few American products that he could easily get a hold of, giving him a small taste of home.  He once told me in all seriousness that, to him, Coke tastes like America.  We tease each other about the other's cola preferences, but the jesting is all in good fun.

I bring all of this up because I want to discuss some of the differences I've noticed between Coke drinkers and Pepsi drinkers.  First, I should mention the differences in flavor of the actual products.  Pepsi is slightly sweeter than Coke and I taste more orange oil in Pepsi verses more lemon oil in Coke.  Coke has bit more spice (I suspect that cinnamon is present) while Pepsi seems to have a stronger vanilla flavor.  Pepsi is also supposed to have less carbonation, which I don't care much for anyway.  Also, Coke still uses actual coca leaf extract in their formula and is the only US company that is allowed to import the plant.  Since I don't know what coca tastes like, I have no idea how it affects the flavor.

Now, on to the drinkers.  Coke drinkers are pretty picky.  While I was working at IHOP, we started out serving Coke, but near the end of my run at the restaurant, all of the fountain drinks were switched out for Pepsi products.  During the Coke-time (which sounds like a drug-fueled binge), when someone asked for a Pepsi, they would generally accept a Coke when offered one in it's place.  Once we had Pepsi, however, I saw a lot of people go with water rather than taint their tongues with something other than Coke.  I think has a lot to do with the fact that Coke is much more likely to be on tap, so people get used to it being available.  I prefer Pepsi, but I also recognize that most places serve Coke; if I want a cola, compromise is usually required.  Coke-drinkers aren't used to having to compromise, so in the rare instances that it comes up, they're more likely to refuse.

Another oddity is the so-called Pepsi paradox.  In blind taste-tests, Pepsi is the consistent winner, yet Coke is still the top-selling drink worldwide.  While Ian and I can tell the difference between them, we're exceptions to the rule.  Most people don't notice the subtle differences in flavor between the two products, they just choose a brand based on advertising.  I've even read reports about Coke-drinkers who choose Pepsi in the Pepsi Challenge, but refuse to change their habits because they feel such strong loyalty.  Maybe Pepsi-drinkers are the hipsters of cola aficionados ("Coke's too mainstream, man")?

Ultimately, the two drinks really aren't that different.  Yes, I still prefer Pepsi, but I also prefer Mars to Hershey's (I have for years, independent of any other connection to the company), yet I recognize that there are even fewer differences between the two chocolate recipes.  Whatever our preferred soda company, we usually pick a side and stick by it, even if the reasons for our choices are generally pretty flimsy.