Many foreign visitors who stay in Costa Rica long enough to enjoy the locally produced and bottled Coca-Cola are bound to think that the popular carbonated drink tastes better here than it does in their countries of origin. These are mostly visitors who come from Canada, the United States, Europe, and generally outside of Latin America and the Caribbean. Is there really a difference between Coca-Cola in Costa Rica and elsewhere?

As it happens, Coca-Cola in Costa Rica is bound to taste different than it does in the U.S. or Canada, but it should taste the same as it does in Mexico and a handful of other countries in the region. The reason for this difference in taste is in the sweetener ingredients used; the regional producer and bottler, Coca-Cola FEMSA, uses cane sugar while its North American counterparts have traditionally used (for many decades) corn syrup instead.

The corporate history of Coca-Cola FEMSA dates back to the 1970s. This major bottler used to operate solely in Mexico and Brazil, but now it encompasses a major chunk of the Latin American soft drink market. As a raw material, it makes business sense for Coca-Cola FEMSA to use locally harvested cane sugar as a sweetener, which quite a few Coke fans outside of the FEMSA market seem to relish.

The search for cane sugar Coca-Cola in the U.S. is a cult-like phenomenon that has been described on the pages of the New York Times more than once. To wit, the following was written by Rob Walker in 2009:

Mexican Coke cultists of course have a rational explanation: Coca-Cola bottled in Mexico is sweetened with sugar, while the U.S. version is (almost) always made with high-fructose corn syrup. That is so. And it’s surprising, given the degree to which uniformity defines the Coke idea. Who knew the “secret formula” could accommodate ingredient variation? Andy Warhol once suggested that Coke’s sameness united us all: “A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the president knows it, the bum knows it and you know it.”

Nonetheless, there happens to be more than just cane sugar that is improving your Coca-Cola experience in Costa Rica. There is also the fact that you are more likely to drink Coke from a glass bottle here, whereas in the U.S. aluminum cans rule. As has been previously discussed by The Costa Rica Star, consumers have certain preferences with regard to their drinks coming from glass, plastic or aluminum containers.

Finally, there is also the mental construct of food and drinks always tasting better when you are on vacation. To this effect, Frank Ferragine of the Toronto Sun explains:

Ever noticed food taste better while you’re on vacation?

Research shows atmosphere, music and mood are proven factors that do influence the taste of food — the Journal of Neuroscience published a paper titled Human Taste Thresholds, pointing out that, depending on your mood, your food will taste differently. When you’re on vacation, so is your mood — you’re more relaxed, you’re open to new experiences and you have more time to take in and enjoy a meal.