Why do soda taste so much better from an aluminum can than from a plastic bottle?

[Dennis8K]

I was getting a diet coke in a can and like always, soda just tastes much better from an aluminum can compared to a plastic bottle.

Glass bottle is fine too and clearly better than plastic. And it is no matter which kind of soda it is.

I assume it is the same formulation, so

1) Am I drinking aluminum ions and does that influence the taste?
2) Is it something to do with the shape of the opening and how the soda goes into the mouth?
3) Does plastic taste bad?
4) Is it all in my head?

 

[EloquentM]

They don't

Gonna skip to 4) yes

 

[Maxim726x]

That's odd I feel the exact opposite.

I think they taste much better from plastic bottles.

 

[Deleted member 32374]

Between this and the rubber band thread, too many Eranians are having fun during the work week. I'm Jelly. Start having less fun people.

 

[kadotsu]

Cans are coated with a polymer from the inside. They also are sealed better.

 

[EloquentM]

Between this and the rubber band thread, too many Eranians are having fun during the work week. I'm Jelly. Start having less fun people.

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This is Dennis, his posts are never not "fun."

 

[Lunchbox-]

1. Glass bottle
2. Mcdonald's fountain
3. Can
4. piss
5. plastic bottle

 

[Breqesk]

for me it goes:

1. on tap/fountain
2. glass bottle
3. plastic bottle (like, the personal, buy it from a vending machine kind, not the kind you put in the fridge)
4. can
5. large plastic bottle (the kind you put in the fridge)

this is with regular coke, specifically--other drinks can vary.

like, the single best way to drink pepsi max is out of a (small, vending machine sized) plastic bottle. it's like a whole different drink. i have no idea why.

 

[Smurf]

tastes even better from a glass bottle

 

[stersauce]

i think it depends on the soda

mountain dew and dr pepper tastes way better from a can. the rest are similar

 

[Jasconius]

1) yes
2) no
3) yes
4) no, i definitely 100% prefer aluminum ions with my soda

 

[Dennis8K]

Added poll.

 

[Deleted member 32374]

This is Dennis, his posts are never not "fun."

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ALUMINUM IONS. IONS

I
O
N
S


Glass is best of course.

Added poll.

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Make it all IONS please.

 

[TaySan]

Nothing beats on tap....anything

 

[Jawmuncher]

Light goes through bottles and attacks the sugary drink taste. Aluminum cans bounce light off so no such tampering happens.

Spoiler

True Story

 

[Masoyama]

Where is glass!?

 

[Travo]

Fountain is the best.

 

[Kingpin Rogers]

Why does it taste even better in glass bottles?

 

[Deleted member 2507]

No idea why. Cans and glass bottles make lemonades (any kind) taste better.

 

[Coyote Starrk]

It's the exact opposite in my opinion. I love soda from a bottle more than I do cans.




Also I don't care what anyone says Coke tastes better at McDonald's.

 

[ghostemoji]

McDonalds fountain Coke is the only Coke worth drinking.

 

[faceless]

definitely doesn't taste better in a can than a bottle but i love that i can put the cap back on the bottle.

 

[TaySan]

Aren't cans better for Soda like beer due to blocking light?

 

[Deleted member 21339]

I agree. I REFUSE to drink soda from a plastic bottle.

Can or in a short glass with ice is the only way!

 

[Lotus]

Right?! Always felt the same way

 

[Grym]

Glass > aluminum > plastic

 

[Ryaaan14]

The aluminium keeps them extra frosty

 

[Rowsdower]

Fountain > Glass > Can > Plastic Bottle for me.

I find anything in a plastic bottle tastes worse.

 

[Kilic95]

Fountain is the best.

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[Dennis8K]

I don't know, even the way the plastic bottle feels in my mouth is off-putting.

It is a cheap feel.

 

[FUME5]

Confirmation bias.

 

[Reven]

Also I don't care what anyone says Coke tastes better at McDonald's.

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Literally no one in the world would disagree. McDonalds' is just a coke store that also has food.

 

[Coyote Starrk]

Literally no one in the world would disagree. McDonalds' is just a coke store that also has food.

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I just feel like a crazy person when I say it.


"It tastes better! I swear! I'm not crazy! You're crazy!"

 

[HardRojo]

Glass bottle is much better imo.

 

[Burly]

It's that sweet sweet Bisphenol.

 

[Deepwater]

Nothing beats on tap....anything

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not all tap tastes the same. McDonalds does something special with their fountain mixtures which is why their soda's are popular for being so strong.

 

[Jersey_Tom]

Why does it taste even better in glass bottles?

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Because glass is the most inert material of any other option.

Cans have a polymer lining them that contains BPA. The amount of material that could seep into your drink is extremely minimal and generally doesn't change the taste to any significant degree. Your tongue however is extremely sensitive, and the one time the drink is exposed to metal upon opening it, your taste buds will react accordingly by tasting metal along with your drink which, while again minimal, can have the effect of you thinking it's a wildly different flavor.

Plastic bottles are just the worst. As mentioned with cans, the plastic taste generally doesn't mix well with soda, and depending on the person they can pick up on certain "contaminants" better than others. Plastic also does a horrible job of maintaining CO2 levels. Two bottles, one made of glass and one made of plastic, both appropriately sealed and stashed away can have wildly different CO2 levels when opened at the same time, with the glass being more consistent to the original amount.

This is all of course before we go into things like heat, light, and temperature playing a role. But generally speaking if you want a soda experience closer to what the manufacturer intended, stick with glass bottles. Or make your own syrup.

 

[Freestyler]

I don't know, even the way the plastic bottle feels in my mouth is off-putting.

It is a cheap feel.

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Agree 100%. Plastic also doesn't get cold enough for my liking – I like the cans to come out of the fridge so cold that it physically hurts to hold them for the first couple of minutes until they warm up.

 

[RPGam3r]

1. Glass
2. Can
3. Plastic bottle

Trash. Fountain drinks are ass and so random in quality that I fail to understand how anyone could put that at #1. Even if you get the best tasting fountain drink for lunch you could turn around at dinner time and get the most flavorless-colored-like-the-drink-you-wanted-ass-water.

 

[Officer Big Mac]

A wizard did it.

 

[Becks']

Plastic anything tastes like shit. But nothing can beat this beauty:

Sealtest 4L 2% Milk is the GOAT.

 

[5taquitos]

1. Glass bottle
2. Mcdonald's fountain
3. Can
4. piss
5. plastic bottle

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My dude(ette)

Also, McDonalds is the best until they fill it with Diet Coke instead and you don't sip until after you've left the drivethru.

 

[Reven]

1. Glass
2. Can
3. Plastic bottle

Trash. Fountain drinks are ass and so random in quality that I fail to understand how anyone could put that at #1. Even if you get the best tasting fountain drink for lunch you could turn around at dinner time and get the most flavorless-colored-like-the-drink-you-wanted-ass-water.

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Agree with fountains being hit or miss. McDonald's, movie theaters and Sams Club are the only places I can say I've never had a bad fountain drink from.

 

[Lashes.541]

It's crazy to me so many like McDonald's soda, the one in my town and the three in the town 15 miles away are always extremely watered down. But seriously glass bottle or cans never plastic lol. I think McDonald's just hates southern Oregon because we let in and out into the area.

 

[Polioliolio]

When I drank soda, glass bottle had the best taste..

 

[NewDonkStrong]

Can is best for all variations, then McDonalds...for regular coke, McDonald's diet truly sucks ass for some reason. I wish they had Zero.

 

[Cpt-GargameL]

Mexican Coke is the shit (in a glass bottle)

But I too prefer can Come over anything else.

 

[Drensch]

I wonder if plastic's insulative properties have something to do with it? The temp differences between the air, container and soda?

 

[Figgles]

I only drink Coke, and it goes:
1. Fountain from anywhere but McDonald's
2. Mexican glass bottle
3. McDonald's fountain
4. American glass bottle
5. Can
6. Plastic bottle

 

[Books]

Stays colder longer.