"Pepsi or Coke" is a question we all have a quickfire answer for.
Everyone knows carbonated beverages aren't the healthiest drink choice, but we still love them. Coca-Cola and Pepsi are arguably the biggest brands in the world, with variations of its fizzy drinks popping up in countries across the globe - but which one is actually better?
Neither of us are big fans of the original Pepsi and Coca-Cola drinks, so wanted to see how the companies' sugar-free alternatives measured up.
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To keep things as fair as possible, we opted to pit Pepsi Max and Coke Zero against one another, as they seem the most similar in terms of marketing and ingredients. Both are sugar-free and contain water, sweeteners (including the notorious aspartame), phosphoric acid, caffeine, and more.
We picked up one of each, grabbed two identical glasses and roped our colleague Charlotte Roszko in to help us, so we could keep the taste test "blind". Charlotte poured the drinks and placed a post-it note with a symbol scrawled on in front of each glass. One drink was labelled with a heart, while the other was labelled with a star.
We were both quite confident we'd be able to figure out which was which, and settle the age-old question of, "Pepsi or Coke?" Here's how we got on:
Before the taste test
Jess
I'm a massive fan of Pepsi Max and consider it one of my few vices. I'm a vegetarian, I only drink plant-based milks, I only buy cruelty-free skincare and beauty products, and I've never smoked. Don't come for me and tell me Pepsi Max is ruining my brain with its additives - we've all got our vices and quite frankly, I just don't care.
I'm obsessed with the stuff. I hate coffee, so it's often a much-needed caffeine boost and in my humble opinion, it's the best of all the cola flavoured fizzy drinks on the market. I find regular Coca-Cola too sickly sweet, while Diet Coke tastes flat and too plain to me.
Pepsi Max strikes the balance between being perfectly sweet and fizzy, while still offering that satisfying, comforting and refreshing flavour. I did tell you I was obsessed.
Before this taste test, I was very confident the ridiculous amount of Pepsi Max I drink would put me at an advantage and I'd easily be able to identify it when faced with a glass of Coke Zero.
Emily
I’ll be honest, I’m a big lover of Coke Zero. I love it that much that I’ve even got a Coca-Cola branded jumper, which might even make me a bit of a superfan.
I’m fully aware that fizzy drinks aren’t overly good for you, and considering that I’ve already had five fillings, I should probably reconsider my drink of choice - but I’m not ready to do that just yet.
When I was younger, I used to absolutely love 'full fat' Coca-Cola, that was of course, whenever my mum let me have it. The older I got, the more I really enjoyed the less calorific option, and that's when my Coke Zero obsession really began.
These days I can’t go a day in the office without a cheeky can of Coke Zero, because it just takes the edge off a bit. Since I’m such a mega fan of Coke, I thought I’d be able to guess which glass was which straight away, but it proved more difficult than I thought.
During the taste test
Jess
Upon first sip, I was surprised the drink wasn't immediately obvious to me. I had assumed I'd instantly recognise a glass of Pepsi Max, but I was temporarily thrown.
It was only when I tried the second drink that I became more confident - the first one I tried was significantly sweeter and tastier, so it had to be Pepsi Max. The second drink, while not as dissimilar to the first as I'd expected, was tasty but nowhere near as pleasant as the heart-labelled glass.
Emily
After a generous gulp, I was actually convinced that the fizzy drink tasted of, well…nothing? It had a sweet sugary taste, but that was about it, and it didn’t even have that Coke Zero taste that I love, which really confused me.
After a few more sips I was convinced that the "heart" glass was Pepsi, until I tried the second “star” glass, and that’s when I fully knew which one was which. The “star” glass had a much more bitter taste, and it wasn’t as sweet or sickly as the “heart” glass, which I believed was Pepsi Max.
Final thoughts - Pepsi vs Coke
Jess
I was happy I ultimately guessed correctly. For me, this isn't even a debate. Pepsi is better than Coke. Coke Zero is definitely a worthy competitor to Pepsi Max, but the sweetness and richness of the flavours in my favourite soft drink are too tough to beat.
I will carry on drinking Pepsi Max and will likely remain one of the few people who's absolutely delighted when visiting a restaurant or café and spotting they only serve Pepsi beverages instead of Coke. This taste test did surprise me, but my heart still belongs to Pepsi.
Emily
I was actually surprised how much of a close call it was, because I genuinely thought I’d be able to spot the Coke Zero instantly. I also thought that I’d prefer the Coke Zero by a country mile, but it was fairly close in terms of taste.
I’ll always be a Coke Zero girl through and through, but the Pepsi actually did surprise me. Maybe one day I’ll convert to the dark side, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon.
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