The World of Coca-Cola
If you follow us on twitter, you might already know that we were hanging out in Atlanta this weekend. The main attraction that brought us there wasn’t the food (although that aspect ended up being quite wonderful.) It was the Georgia Aquarium. It’s actually the world’s largest aquarium & the pictures of it online look amazing. Excited by that, we decided it was time to start planning a trip to ATL…
Which brings us to the awesome trip we took to the World of Coca-Cola. Right across from the aquarium, it stands as a mecca to all things Coke. There’s a ton of vintage Coke ads & memorabilia, an example of a bottling line, a little 4D theater, & photo-op with the Coke Polar Bear… Overall it’s very cool, but the thing that makes it a place you need to visit while in Atlanta is the Tasting Room.
See, as you would probably guess, Coke isn’t just Coke & Diet Coke & Vanilla Coke etc. The company manufactures almost 400 different beverages around the world from Fanta to Vitamin Water & Odwalla. In the Tasting Room you get sip as much as you please of 60 different flavors from North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, & Africa. Divided by continent, the fountains offered everything from familiar flavors—Fanta tastes the same in every language—to the bitter & bizarre (more on that in a bit).
On the highlights reel are two sodas from Latin America: Inca Kola (Peru) & Mazaran Lift (Chile). Tasting like bubble gum & apple respectively, they were new & interesting without being overly sweet.
Japan’s Vegitabeta had almost no taste & their unidentifiable flavor of Hi-C Ume was bland, but unoffensive.
Sugar overload definitely kicked in after tasting Africa’s Bibo kiwi and pineapple sodas. Definitely the sweetest I’ve ever tasted. I could feel my teeth cringe.
North America’s selection was as expected, however there was one surprise. Did you know that Barq’s makes a red creme soda? Like Big Red, but better! I had never seen it before, but will keep my eye out for it. Maybe it’s a regional thing we don’t have in Texas? Or maybe I haven’t spent enough time on the soda aisle.
While Latin America’s sodas were some of my favorite, unfortunately the losing flavor came from Italy. I had a feeling it was going to be a challenging taste because one of the guides told us to “make sure to try the Beverly, it’s verrrrrry interesting—our most talked about flavor.” Distinctively bitter, it’s got to be an acquired taste because I could barely finish the small amount in my glass. What I found out through research *cough*wiki*cough* that they didn’t tell us at the museum is that the bitter taste comes from the ingredient quinine, which is also found in tonic water. The amount of quinine in Beverly actually causes it to glow under ultraviolet light! If you travel with that kind of technology on you, be sure to check that out when you visit & report back, okay?
Michelle, your post reminds me that one day soon, I’ve got to start working on that Coca Cola game room. You know, the one with Coke and Pepsi memorabilia, old gas station signs, an air hockey table, jukebox, and pool table. And neon. Lots and lots of neon.