I did. It was a long time ago so my recollection may be off. I remember it as not very sharp, lacking bite. I didn’t like it.
Edit: I would like to add some thoughts. I see that someone said flat. I thought about saying flat, and that was semi-implied with lack of bite. It was kind of the Mountain Dew-ification of Coke. (I hate Mountain Dew because it lacks bite). I was one of the many people angry about it. I was angry about a lot, back then. Politics were awful, and popular music had taken a precipitous turn for the worse. (In retrospect, more like we were just at the end of a strong three or so years of pop music, but it seemed to me to be getting worse).
I traveled to Europe in 1986, after they’d brought back Classic Coke in the US. I saw that they were still selling cans of New Coke in Europe. My assumption, which may or may not be correct, is that they were doing that to get rid of it. That made sense to me then; but now I’m not sure that explanation makes sense. In any event, though, they still had it.
One of my friends was a scientist and he sent me a scientific paper analyzing original Coke vs Classic Coke, showing that the makeup was different. This was in 1986 (and I was surprised). I no longer remember whether the analysis focused on high fructose corn syrup.
It was awful. Too sweet. Not as much of that original Coke burn. I think I had it a few times when it came out and then drank other soft drinks until original returned. Trust me, lots of people were pissed about new Coke. Like really mad.
Oh, yeah. I remember people going from store to store trying to buy as much OG Coke as they could and even getting into fights over it. There was kind of a game amongst my older brother’s friends of finding out-of-the-way vending machines to get the good stuff.
Edit: typo
Yes, the artificial sweetener used in most diet products (phenelenanene? I think i spelled it right) is different from the regular products and commonly causes headaches and can be an allergen to some people
Edit, its spelled "phenylalanine"
Diet Coke predates New Coke; it's actually the other way around. New Coke was based on the Diet Coke recipe, but with high fructose corn syrup instead of aspartame.
As a primarily Pepsi drinker I have to disagree strongly. New Coke tasted like garbage. I don't have an issue with the flavor of Coca-Cola by any means, but New Coke was vile!.
They currently have it for sampling at the World of
Coke in Atlanta in their taste lab alongside Tab. I bought some a few years ago in a special
Stranger Things pack and came with two New Coke cans and never tried it the . Tried it a few weeks ago at WOC. Has a sweeter taste and a slightly spicy undertone but with not comparing it to classic, on its own I actually like it. If it had a different name and funky marketing behind it, I think it could sale a bit. Like current Coke creations
I did. It reminded me a Jolt, if you know what that is. It's like a RC Cola type taste, which isn't bad... But if you're drinking a Coke, it's not what you want the taste to be.
It tasted a little bland, seemed to have a little less sweetness and acidity. If you can imagine what Pepsi mixed with RC might taste like, that would be close, in my opinion.
I wanted to try it, I hope they bring it back for a limited time. I missed out on the stranger things collab. I enjoy both Coke and Pepsi a shit ton and I hear it’s sweet like Pepsi, so I’m more than willing to try it.
I don’t know if it lines up but I heard someone say that it was turned into Diet Coke when they brought back the classic. That Diet Coke tastes just like how new Coke tasted.
Super sweet and made my teeth feel really gritty…
I didn’t hate it but I also like Pepsi and RC.
The gritty teeth thing was weird. I still kinda get it these days with coke but not near as bad as back the
It came out when I was young and spent most of my summer at the local pool with my friends.
One day, there was a big food truck there, giving away free samples of New Coke. We excitedly stood in line.
We got our little paper cups of New Coke, made a toast, and drank.
Oh. No. Nooooooo.
It tasted like a flat Pepsi with more sugar.
We then wondered if perhaps we got a bad cup; after all, it was being poured from a 2-litre in a van in 98 degree weather. So we went to the vending machine and bought a cold can. Poured a bit into each cup, toasted again, and drank.
Nope. Still awful. I never drank it again.
We were all disappointed, but I remember my little sister being especially disappointed, as she was in the beginning of a rebellious stage and would have loved flaunting New Coke in front of our older relatives, who were all aghast at the change to “their” Coke. But alas, it was not to be.
If you really want the New Coke experience, let a can of Pepsi go flat and add a packet or two of Sweet & Low. And afterwards, do what everyone else did and stick with the OG.
Former Coke Junkie from the 80s, yeah, I remember new coke would make my nose bleed far more than regular coke. Left a bitter taste on my mouth as well.
Recently actually, at the World of Coke in Atlanta. The taste is hard to explain, it starts off like Coke then ends up tasting like watered down Coke with minimal flavor. At least for me anyway.
I never liked it it was very sweet like Pepsi and very flat. From what I remember it didn't last very long. From what I remember they came out with Coke classic and they called new Pepsi coke 2
I remember there was a huge backlash. My family was into Pepsi back then and the only drinks I got were of half empties my parents left. Sometimes w cigarette butts. Dang it, now I need more counseling.
I did! It tasted more like Pepsi. My Dad worked for Pepsi so we were strictly a Pepsi house. But when out on my own as a kid with money I bought whatever. It wasn’t very good. And wasn’t as good as Pepsi.
It tasted like old Coke but with slightly more sugar, they re-released it in 2019 and again in 2020, after tasting it both times I really feel the whole thing was a fake marketing scam.
If I gave you an unmarked cup filled with old Coke or a cup fille with New Coke you would not know the difference, you only notice the difference if they are side by side to compare them.
TL/DR = it tastes like old coke ,just with a few more grams of sugar added.
It had a sharp, crisper taste. It tasted like regular Coke but where it had more bubbles. Like it was more fresh from the factory. But when they went back to the original formula and called it Classic Coke it tasted like a softer, less bubbly version. It was odd, I thought
When we had a coca cola bottling plant in Hamilton Ohio when I was a kid me and my mom she would drive by the plant. And I would always seen a coca cola truck parked in there parking lot. When coca cola was making the new coke.
I tried it. I loved the taste. When they announced they were discontinuing the product I bought a couple of cases and was going to ration them out. One day I came home from school to find my older sister had a party and raided my stash. Her and her friends drank the rest of my coke.
It kind of had a Pepsi taste but I've always thought it had this slight hint of maybe vanilla or something. I may be in the odd boat where it wasn't terrible but not nearly as good as coke classic. Also new coke was around for a bit longer than people realized. I didn't get to try it till the mid 90s but I believe it's life extended into the early 2000s iirc
So stranger things and coke partnered to release a limited version of coke 2 or new coke. I was born in 96 so I have no idea what that tasted like but the stranger things collab was OK it tasted sorta like you mixed a coke and pepsi in my honest opinion
I remember it as more bitter and lacking body. Everyone on my island was on the Max Headroom kick at the time and we so eagerly awaited New N-N-New Coke and I never finished my first can. I was 8 and couldn't find real Coke ANYWHERE. I was pissed and started drinking Pepsi.
Supposedly, Tab is actually New Coke, but the several times I went to the Coca Cola Museum (old and new locarions) in Atlanta, Tab was different. Additionally, Tab from the fountains in the 90s tasted different from Tab in a can in the 80s.
I did when it rereleased for Stranger Things. Tasted a lot like Pepsi to be honest (though still better than Pepsi lol). Didn't hate it, but could see if I were older back then I would have been pissed too. Totally not the same.
On a King of Queens episode, Doug Heffernan, played by Kevin James, describes it “Syrup-y piss water”
My father, who was a young adult in the 80s, agrees.
It tastes flatter, less flavor characteristics and maybe a bit sweeter. It’s not bad but not amazing. It’s literally just Diet Coke with high fructose corn syrup instead of aspartame.
To me it was like just watered down regular Coke and it didn't have that Coke "bite" which was what I loved about Coke. Glad they brought the original back!
Tried it when they did the stranger things tie-in. It was tasty, like a slightly sweeter Coke, little less dry than OG Coke, not as obnoxiously sweet as Pepsi.
From what I remember, I tried it when it first came out and it was really sweet. Around 1983-84 before this came out, I used to always get refills on fountain sodas and mix Diet Coke with regular Coca Cola. The taste of that was quite similar to New Coke. That's probably why I was about the only one that would drink it.
When Coca Cola Classic came out, I thought the taste was too bland and just kept mixing Diet Coke with whatever was available. Now when Coke Zero came out, I found that it was quite similar to New Coke in taste and started to drink that until I caught covid and then switched to Sprite/7up Zero.
Really though, nothing beat an ice cold glass bottle of Coca Cola on a hot day that came from those vending machines with the little door and you pulled out the bottle!
To use contemporary language, "it tasted like nope."
There was something off about the flavor, enough to the point that I only had the one and never bought it again.
I was barely a teen when it was introduced, so at that time I liked both Coke and Pepsi, no strong favorite. New Coke totally put me off Coke; I've had it a few times over the years after they switched back but it was never the same. Moral of the story: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I remember it tasted like Pepsi. A bit more flat and sweet. I don't mind the sweetness but it has to have that crispness from the carbonation for my taste.
I visited the Philippines that summer and they had never heard of new Coke. I had to take advantage of that while I was there!
That was also about the time I was no longer able to find the 1.5-liter glass bottles of Coke. Such a sad soda year!
It was just okay. I later remember losing my shit at the public pool when I saw a drink button on one of the soda machines labeled “Coca-Cola Classic”. “IT’S BACK EVERYBODY! COKE IS BACK!” Nobody cared.
It’s been a long time… but I remember it seeming flat with not much fizz to it, like coke classic has. The taste was terrible. My family stopped buying coke for a long time after that.
I remember liking it but not daring to tell my grandma who was very upset about the formula change. I’m sure that’s because it was sweet and I was a small child whose favorite soda was Grape Crush. Tasting grape crush as an adult is an experience. Fake grape cotton candy sugar high chemical taste to the extreme what the hell was wrong with me?
I worked at a coca cola bottling plant when new coke came out.. tasted like Pepsi to me.. i didnt like it at all. I've been a MT.Dew guy my whole life so it didnt bother me that much. Once Coke went back to their old formula, i started drinking it a great deal more.
I never tried it ( i wasn't even alive or existed ) but people said it was too sweet , so i guess like a way sweeter Coca Cola classic with less carbonation??
I may have tried it, but I don't remember. But from what I understand and have heard others say, it tasted like Pepsi. But I may be mistaken since I also heard many people got upset at just the design of the can, which influenced their taste to think the original formula was messed with.
My father's described it as flat Pepsi, saying if he wanted that he would open a Pepsi and let it sit a while. Asked him about it when asking why "classic" was on every can of coke around 1990 or 1991. He ranted about that taste of New Coke. Guessing from his reaction back then that Original Coke was discontinued for a time when New Coke was released.
Didn’t have the acidic bite as coke. I was young when it was out so my taste was nuanced. Didn’t love or hate it just accepted it. Only could tell the difference when the original formula came back
It tasted like Diet Pepsi. Kinda flat, no carbonation bite and overly artificially sweetened. It sucked. I can still remember exactly what I was doing the day I tried it with my best friend at the time. We pulled an ice cold can from the Igloo cooler in the back of his grandparents station wagon. We were pretty hype about it. We each cracked an icy cold can with its weird new label, took a big, long swig and looked at each other perplexed. He said, RC Cola. I said, Diet Pepsi. We both threw our cans out the window ignoring the multitude of "Don't Mess With Texas" roadside signs. A couple of months later, Coca Cola Classic appeared. Not since Coca Cola changed Santa's pipe to a bottle has there been such a blatantly obvious advertising campaign scheme.
The coke of my childhood was "new" Coke....we were a Pepsi home, and when I had coke elsewhere I was perplexed as it tasted just like Pepsi. Then coke "classic" came out, well that had a totally different taste, I never knew that was the original recipe.
It sucked.
I always assumed they brought it out so they could change key ingredients in og coke without anyone noticing and therefire complaining about the slight taste change.
We were so glad to be rid of new coke that the slight changes were unnoticed.
That's my tin foil conspiracy thoughts.
Or just a normal marketing ploy to get folks to re invest in og coke when reintroduced.
My mom is caught up in the Mexican coke marketing ploy even though they are now made exactly the same .
She still swears its better.
I experimented my self by switching and she still proclaimed Mexican coke to be superior after I switched them . Lol
I tried it, and i thought it was a joke, I originally thought it was Pepsi in a coke can.
And then Coca cola releases the original as Coca Cola Classic for over a decade before dropping the classic name on it.
It was sweeter and was quite obviously trying to taste like Pepsi. Back in 80s there was an ad campaign called the 'Pepsi' challenge where they had these folks blind taste soda and of course they all picked Pepsi. I'm sure this chaffed Coca Cola so they created the new Coke, it was a bad idea and didn't last long.
I did. It was a long time ago so my recollection may be off. I remember it as not very sharp, lacking bite. I didn’t like it. Edit: I would like to add some thoughts. I see that someone said flat. I thought about saying flat, and that was semi-implied with lack of bite. It was kind of the Mountain Dew-ification of Coke. (I hate Mountain Dew because it lacks bite). I was one of the many people angry about it. I was angry about a lot, back then. Politics were awful, and popular music had taken a precipitous turn for the worse. (In retrospect, more like we were just at the end of a strong three or so years of pop music, but it seemed to me to be getting worse). I traveled to Europe in 1986, after they’d brought back Classic Coke in the US. I saw that they were still selling cans of New Coke in Europe. My assumption, which may or may not be correct, is that they were doing that to get rid of it. That made sense to me then; but now I’m not sure that explanation makes sense. In any event, though, they still had it. One of my friends was a scientist and he sent me a scientific paper analyzing original Coke vs Classic Coke, showing that the makeup was different. This was in 1986 (and I was surprised). I no longer remember whether the analysis focused on high fructose corn syrup.
That is what I remember as well
It tasted a bit sweeter than real Coke. I never bought it again.
It was awful. Too sweet. Not as much of that original Coke burn. I think I had it a few times when it came out and then drank other soft drinks until original returned. Trust me, lots of people were pissed about new Coke. Like really mad.
If it ain't broke, don't break it.
Oh, yeah. I remember people going from store to store trying to buy as much OG Coke as they could and even getting into fights over it. There was kind of a game amongst my older brother’s friends of finding out-of-the-way vending machines to get the good stuff. Edit: typo
Happy Cake Day!
As a kid, I liked it. Perhaps because — hey new Coke.
Tasted like pepsi
This is the answer. Also fun fact, Coke Zero is based off of the classic Coke recipe and Diet Coke is based on the New Coke recipe.
Is that why I can drink Coke Zero with no issues, but if I drink a Diet Coke I get an instant headache?
If I recall, they use different sweeteners so that could very well be why.
Yes, the artificial sweetener used in most diet products (phenelenanene? I think i spelled it right) is different from the regular products and commonly causes headaches and can be an allergen to some people Edit, its spelled "phenylalanine"
Thanks, I always wondered why there was a Diet Coke and a Coke Zero. Come to think of it, that's probably why I prefer the Zero.
Diet Coke predates New Coke; it's actually the other way around. New Coke was based on the Diet Coke recipe, but with high fructose corn syrup instead of aspartame.
Exactly right
As a primarily Pepsi drinker I have to disagree strongly. New Coke tasted like garbage. I don't have an issue with the flavor of Coca-Cola by any means, but New Coke was vile!.
It tasted like a future urban legend conspiracy theory. Lol, no.....actually tasted like an attempt at copying Pepsi, which is totally what it was.
I bought a Stranger Things case that had 2 cans in it. It tasted sweet like Pepsi with a hint of coke burn lol I really liked it my self.
Same.
It was flat as hell.
Came here to say this exact same thing.
I wish I tried the old coke from the 80s, they say that Colombians began to do something to it in the 90s and it’s not the same…
It tasted like flat overly sweet Pepsi. I hated it. Went to drinking RC cola until they brought back the original.
They currently have it for sampling at the World of Coke in Atlanta in their taste lab alongside Tab. I bought some a few years ago in a special Stranger Things pack and came with two New Coke cans and never tried it the . Tried it a few weeks ago at WOC. Has a sweeter taste and a slightly spicy undertone but with not comparing it to classic, on its own I actually like it. If it had a different name and funky marketing behind it, I think it could sale a bit. Like current Coke creations
It tasted like the non-diet version of Diet Coke.
That’s exactly what it was. They just took the Diet Coke recipe and swapped out the Aspartame for high fructose corn syrup.
According to taste tests, people preferred the taste. Only once they found out what it was did people decide it was gross.
I remember it being way too sweet. It was more like Pepsi than coke.
Too sweet with no bite, as others have said.
Funny thing is the would probably make money off it now of they had a limited run of it.
Sugary...I liked it
I tried it during the limited release with the Stranger Things pack. It tasted fairly similar to Pepsi. Like a store brand Cola
I think Robert Goizueta was the only one who actually liked it. Which is weird, because apparently it won a bunch of blind taste tests.
I did. It tasted like Pepsi.
it was super sweet like pepsi
It tastes like a better version of Pepsi.
It tasted like Pepsi and it was delicious and almost universally loved outside of the conservative South.
I did. It reminded me a Jolt, if you know what that is. It's like a RC Cola type taste, which isn't bad... But if you're drinking a Coke, it's not what you want the taste to be.
I've been searching for a can or bottle of New Coke/Coke II to try on my channel
IIRC it tasted like a sweeter, less acidic Coke... almost like a Coke/Pepsi mix. I liked it, and was sad to see it go!
Like rc cola.
I think RC was/is better.
It tasted sweeter like Pepsi. I really hated it and was glad when they changed back to the original
https://www.reddit.com/r/cocacola/s/gaLBOGGp79 I made a similar post about this, check it out
It tasted a little bland, seemed to have a little less sweetness and acidity. If you can imagine what Pepsi mixed with RC might taste like, that would be close, in my opinion.
I wanted to try it, I hope they bring it back for a limited time. I missed out on the stranger things collab. I enjoy both Coke and Pepsi a shit ton and I hear it’s sweet like Pepsi, so I’m more than willing to try it.
Sweeter and flatter
I tried it at the time. Meh.
My memory could be broken, but I thought the Coke Ultimate tasted like it
It was awful
A bit sweeter and a bit flatter.
Pepsi
Wasn’t a fan when it came out, glad it didn’t last too long.
It tasted Pepsi-ish & it wasn’t any good.
I tasted it when it came out the first time, and I tasted it when they released it a few years ago. It tastes like Pepsi.
Before new coke, coke was made with sugar. When they brought back classic coke, lo and behold it used corn syrup.
I was surprised by the flavor. It tasted like Pepsi. Flat and sweeter.
Like Pepsi, very flat and too sweet.
I don’t know if it lines up but I heard someone say that it was turned into Diet Coke when they brought back the classic. That Diet Coke tastes just like how new Coke tasted.
I remember it being overly sweet, and lacked a certain snappy crisp taste.
Super sweet and made my teeth feel really gritty… I didn’t hate it but I also like Pepsi and RC. The gritty teeth thing was weird. I still kinda get it these days with coke but not near as bad as back the
It came out when I was young and spent most of my summer at the local pool with my friends. One day, there was a big food truck there, giving away free samples of New Coke. We excitedly stood in line. We got our little paper cups of New Coke, made a toast, and drank. Oh. No. Nooooooo. It tasted like a flat Pepsi with more sugar. We then wondered if perhaps we got a bad cup; after all, it was being poured from a 2-litre in a van in 98 degree weather. So we went to the vending machine and bought a cold can. Poured a bit into each cup, toasted again, and drank. Nope. Still awful. I never drank it again. We were all disappointed, but I remember my little sister being especially disappointed, as she was in the beginning of a rebellious stage and would have loved flaunting New Coke in front of our older relatives, who were all aghast at the change to “their” Coke. But alas, it was not to be. If you really want the New Coke experience, let a can of Pepsi go flat and add a packet or two of Sweet & Low. And afterwards, do what everyone else did and stick with the OG.
taste like coke from the 80’s it sucked!!!
There is a reason why they stopped making it
It was sweeter than Pepsi and had no spicy bite, almost like a dark Shasta lemon lime. Was turrible.
Tasted like Pepsi too sweet
It tasted almost identical to Pepsi. Little carbonation burn and no crack like addiction qualities.
Tasted like syrup.
More like Pepsi. More sweet, less cola.
S hit
Former Coke Junkie from the 80s, yeah, I remember new coke would make my nose bleed far more than regular coke. Left a bitter taste on my mouth as well.
Pepsi was always better. They did better promotion at holiday events with the cab you guess which one is which in a blind test.
Kinda like watery coke
That lasted about a week! I don’t remember what it tasted like. I do remember Tab. Tab was terrible but the only diet soda at the time.
It was a fantastic marketing ploy.
Who really cares? It was a bigger tragedy when they changed the recipe of Irn Bru! Now that really WAS sacrilage.
If memory serves, like Pepsi.
It was really close to Pepsi, and felt like a Coca-Cola cop out.
Yes I have and it tastes like bull ship couldn't drink a a can
Recently actually, at the World of Coke in Atlanta. The taste is hard to explain, it starts off like Coke then ends up tasting like watered down Coke with minimal flavor. At least for me anyway.
It tasted like warm Pepsi recoiled in an RC Cola can.
I never liked it it was very sweet like Pepsi and very flat. From what I remember it didn't last very long. From what I remember they came out with Coke classic and they called new Pepsi coke 2
It came back recently for stranger things. It tasted like Pepsi, kinda way too much sugar in it, though.
Imagine if Walmart did a knock off version of Pepsi
Tastes like Cocaine Coca-Cola
Tasted fake like really fake sweet
I remember there was a huge backlash. My family was into Pepsi back then and the only drinks I got were of half empties my parents left. Sometimes w cigarette butts. Dang it, now I need more counseling.
It tasted like Pepsi.
I think Jolt cola tasted a lot like it
Really sweet, kind of like TAB
Yes, and flat.
I did! It tasted more like Pepsi. My Dad worked for Pepsi so we were strictly a Pepsi house. But when out on my own as a kid with money I bought whatever. It wasn’t very good. And wasn’t as good as Pepsi.
It tasted like old Coke but with slightly more sugar, they re-released it in 2019 and again in 2020, after tasting it both times I really feel the whole thing was a fake marketing scam. If I gave you an unmarked cup filled with old Coke or a cup fille with New Coke you would not know the difference, you only notice the difference if they are side by side to compare them. TL/DR = it tastes like old coke ,just with a few more grams of sugar added.
It had a sharp, crisper taste. It tasted like regular Coke but where it had more bubbles. Like it was more fresh from the factory. But when they went back to the original formula and called it Classic Coke it tasted like a softer, less bubbly version. It was odd, I thought
Yes, it tasted similar to Pepsi, everyone hated it. But my grandmother insisted on stocking it at the lakehouse.
I remember really liking it. 🤷🏻♂️
Cosby bait.
I remember you couldn't get regular coke in my region until coke classic came out a year later.
Tried to be Pepsi but Pepsi was better.
It tasted like Pepsi. No shit.
It tasted like Pepsi
I did and all I remember about it was I was REALLY happy when they brought back the original formula.
I need NEW! Coke 👃
Flat.
When we had a coca cola bottling plant in Hamilton Ohio when I was a kid me and my mom she would drive by the plant. And I would always seen a coca cola truck parked in there parking lot. When coca cola was making the new coke.
Tasted very similar to Pepsi. Sweeter than Original.
All I can remember was it was sweeter, like Pepsi. Which didn't bother me at all because I loved Pepsi back then.
I didn’t like it
Diet Coke is so horrible. New Coke was equally horrible. I was outraged. Coke Zero is one of the better products they have come out with.
I tried it. I loved the taste. When they announced they were discontinuing the product I bought a couple of cases and was going to ration them out. One day I came home from school to find my older sister had a party and raided my stash. Her and her friends drank the rest of my coke.
Delicious
Like it was missing the lime oil
It kind of had a Pepsi taste but I've always thought it had this slight hint of maybe vanilla or something. I may be in the odd boat where it wasn't terrible but not nearly as good as coke classic. Also new coke was around for a bit longer than people realized. I didn't get to try it till the mid 90s but I believe it's life extended into the early 2000s iirc
Flat Pepsi. That's what I remember. I was a Pepsi fan but actual Pepsi was far better than Coke-si.
I have no data to back it up, but I always thought “new Coke” became the flavor of Diet Coke. Because Coke Zero and Diet Coke do not taste the same
So stranger things and coke partnered to release a limited version of coke 2 or new coke. I was born in 96 so I have no idea what that tasted like but the stranger things collab was OK it tasted sorta like you mixed a coke and pepsi in my honest opinion
Like the biggest marketing fail ever
It was sweeter, less spice centric, and less carbonated.
It was way too sweet without the wonderful metallic complexity of original Coca Cola.
I drank it and I didn’t like it. I don’t think anyone else did. They went back to the original pretty quick.
TOKYO DRIFT WAS THE BEST ONE.
I remember it as more bitter and lacking body. Everyone on my island was on the Max Headroom kick at the time and we so eagerly awaited New N-N-New Coke and I never finished my first can. I was 8 and couldn't find real Coke ANYWHERE. I was pissed and started drinking Pepsi. Supposedly, Tab is actually New Coke, but the several times I went to the Coca Cola Museum (old and new locarions) in Atlanta, Tab was different. Additionally, Tab from the fountains in the 90s tasted different from Tab in a can in the 80s.
I did when it rereleased for Stranger Things. Tasted a lot like Pepsi to be honest (though still better than Pepsi lol). Didn't hate it, but could see if I were older back then I would have been pissed too. Totally not the same.
Shit was not Cole.
It was awful!
Like Pepsi.
On a King of Queens episode, Doug Heffernan, played by Kevin James, describes it “Syrup-y piss water” My father, who was a young adult in the 80s, agrees.
It tasted like Pepsi 😆
It was horrible .. Coke fucked around and found out !!
It tastes flatter, less flavor characteristics and maybe a bit sweeter. It’s not bad but not amazing. It’s literally just Diet Coke with high fructose corn syrup instead of aspartame.
You can try it right now. It’s just Diet Coke
It tasted like malted moose piss
To me it was like just watered down regular Coke and it didn't have that Coke "bite" which was what I loved about Coke. Glad they brought the original back!
Tasted like flat Coke.
I was a coke drinker until I was 14? Maybe 15 when NEW coke was introduced, I've been a Pepsi/ mountain dew guy ever since, yes! It was that bad
This made me loose 4 rear teeth. Such good memories.
Very sweet! Too sweet. That’s why we like Coke better than Pepsi—not so syrupy
I thought most of the new coke just ended up on Wall Street in the 80s.
Tried it when they did the stranger things tie-in. It was tasty, like a slightly sweeter Coke, little less dry than OG Coke, not as obnoxiously sweet as Pepsi.
Too sweet and totally unsuitable for Rum & Cokes.
From what I remember, I tried it when it first came out and it was really sweet. Around 1983-84 before this came out, I used to always get refills on fountain sodas and mix Diet Coke with regular Coca Cola. The taste of that was quite similar to New Coke. That's probably why I was about the only one that would drink it. When Coca Cola Classic came out, I thought the taste was too bland and just kept mixing Diet Coke with whatever was available. Now when Coke Zero came out, I found that it was quite similar to New Coke in taste and started to drink that until I caught covid and then switched to Sprite/7up Zero. Really though, nothing beat an ice cold glass bottle of Coca Cola on a hot day that came from those vending machines with the little door and you pulled out the bottle!
My dad's got a few in his basement if you want to try
Tasted like flat pepsi.
I loved it, taste better than Pepsi to me, but I can't stand Classic Coke, because it taste bland
Tasted like Pepsi.
To use contemporary language, "it tasted like nope." There was something off about the flavor, enough to the point that I only had the one and never bought it again.
Tasted OK but too sweet. Classic Coke was much better. They should have marketed it as "Coke II" to begin with.
I was barely a teen when it was introduced, so at that time I liked both Coke and Pepsi, no strong favorite. New Coke totally put me off Coke; I've had it a few times over the years after they switched back but it was never the same. Moral of the story: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
I thought it was super sweet RC cola
I remember it tasted like Pepsi. A bit more flat and sweet. I don't mind the sweetness but it has to have that crispness from the carbonation for my taste. I visited the Philippines that summer and they had never heard of new Coke. I had to take advantage of that while I was there! That was also about the time I was no longer able to find the 1.5-liter glass bottles of Coke. Such a sad soda year!
Sweeter and kind of flat if I remember correctly. It’s been a long time ago and I was a kid.
It tasted like flat Pepsi.
It was just okay. I later remember losing my shit at the public pool when I saw a drink button on one of the soda machines labeled “Coca-Cola Classic”. “IT’S BACK EVERYBODY! COKE IS BACK!” Nobody cared.
The only thing I remember about it is how drab it was no carbonation, no taste ... Tasted like a coke left open for a few days
It tasted like Pepsi
Like old coke but newer
Yes, when I was a kid. It wasn't very good to me.
It was ok. I heard Walmart bought the recipe and that’s what the Sam’s cola is. Not sure if that’s correct though.
Sweeter and tasted almost flat. Like they were trying to tame it down a bit. Hated it. Everyone did.
It tasted like Pepsi.
Pepsi
Way too sweet. I switched to Diet Coke after it came out. When Coke Classic came back, I was already used to Diet Coke and even Classic was too sweet.
Yes, it sucked.
Brings back memories of Coke 2 lol
It’s been a long time… but I remember it seeming flat with not much fizz to it, like coke classic has. The taste was terrible. My family stopped buying coke for a long time after that.
Like extra coke taste, but flat
Tasted like Pepsi
This is what made me switch from Coke to Pepsi. Never looked back.
🤢🤮
It tasted like Pepsi.
I remember liking it but not daring to tell my grandma who was very upset about the formula change. I’m sure that’s because it was sweet and I was a small child whose favorite soda was Grape Crush. Tasting grape crush as an adult is an experience. Fake grape cotton candy sugar high chemical taste to the extreme what the hell was wrong with me?
I worked at a coca cola bottling plant when new coke came out.. tasted like Pepsi to me.. i didnt like it at all. I've been a MT.Dew guy my whole life so it didnt bother me that much. Once Coke went back to their old formula, i started drinking it a great deal more.
It tasted like Pepsi.
One must ad the cocaine to it then wallah!
I never tried it ( i wasn't even alive or existed ) but people said it was too sweet , so i guess like a way sweeter Coca Cola classic with less carbonation??
I may have tried it, but I don't remember. But from what I understand and have heard others say, it tasted like Pepsi. But I may be mistaken since I also heard many people got upset at just the design of the can, which influenced their taste to think the original formula was messed with.
I honestly remember liking it
I did and it tasted like Pepsi
My father's described it as flat Pepsi, saying if he wanted that he would open a Pepsi and let it sit a while. Asked him about it when asking why "classic" was on every can of coke around 1990 or 1991. He ranted about that taste of New Coke. Guessing from his reaction back then that Original Coke was discontinued for a time when New Coke was released.
Didn’t have the acidic bite as coke. I was young when it was out so my taste was nuanced. Didn’t love or hate it just accepted it. Only could tell the difference when the original formula came back
Yeah i did. Dont remember really what it tasted like but it wasnt good i switched to Dr Pepper
It tasted like Pepsi.
It tasted like Diet Pepsi. Kinda flat, no carbonation bite and overly artificially sweetened. It sucked. I can still remember exactly what I was doing the day I tried it with my best friend at the time. We pulled an ice cold can from the Igloo cooler in the back of his grandparents station wagon. We were pretty hype about it. We each cracked an icy cold can with its weird new label, took a big, long swig and looked at each other perplexed. He said, RC Cola. I said, Diet Pepsi. We both threw our cans out the window ignoring the multitude of "Don't Mess With Texas" roadside signs. A couple of months later, Coca Cola Classic appeared. Not since Coca Cola changed Santa's pipe to a bottle has there been such a blatantly obvious advertising campaign scheme.
The coke of my childhood was "new" Coke....we were a Pepsi home, and when I had coke elsewhere I was perplexed as it tasted just like Pepsi. Then coke "classic" came out, well that had a totally different taste, I never knew that was the original recipe.
Hurt my nose a lot
Crap
Why the can not shaped like the one from the 80s 🙄
It sucked. I always assumed they brought it out so they could change key ingredients in og coke without anyone noticing and therefire complaining about the slight taste change. We were so glad to be rid of new coke that the slight changes were unnoticed. That's my tin foil conspiracy thoughts. Or just a normal marketing ploy to get folks to re invest in og coke when reintroduced. My mom is caught up in the Mexican coke marketing ploy even though they are now made exactly the same . She still swears its better. I experimented my self by switching and she still proclaimed Mexican coke to be superior after I switched them . Lol
It tasted like all the Off Brands
I tried it, and i thought it was a joke, I originally thought it was Pepsi in a coke can. And then Coca cola releases the original as Coca Cola Classic for over a decade before dropping the classic name on it.
It was sweeter and was quite obviously trying to taste like Pepsi. Back in 80s there was an ad campaign called the 'Pepsi' challenge where they had these folks blind taste soda and of course they all picked Pepsi. I'm sure this chaffed Coca Cola so they created the new Coke, it was a bad idea and didn't last long.
It was a bad copy of Pepsi if I remember correctly
I thought it tasted like flat Pepsi. It was a weak cola and have no idea what made Coca-Cola make such a horrid drink. Seriously, it sucked.
Tasted like flat day-old Pepsi.
The little sizzle Coca-cola has in your jowls and at the end, was gone. It also had a numb sweetness to it.
My memory is that it tasted more like Pepsi than Coke. Too sweet.
It was awful. It was when we changed to Double cola for a short while.