why does CocaCola in a can taste different from CocaCola in a glass or plastic.

Question

Do you also see the difference or am I tripping?

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

Bottled soda, especially in plastic bottles has an incredibly short shelf life. People don’t notice or pay attention to it. Canned soda has an expiration of about a year or two. Bottled in plastic bottles is about 2 months.

Part of it is that the plastic bottle is made out of PET (polyethylene terephthalate.) PET is slightly porous to CO2 gas, and overtime it will leak out. Sunlight or the UV light from indoor lighting will also degrade soda in plastic and glass bottles. Glass is just better for blocking UV light.