Looking for the scientific reason honestly… I get a fountain drink every morning and later will refill with ice and a can of coke… the taste is so different but still appealing… just curious how that’s possible
In: Chemistry
The fountain / refill is made with a syrup + water mix. The reason they always taste the same no matter where is that the soda companies are very strict with using the proper ratio.
Fountain sodas are made fresh, fresh soda syrup and water carbonation is all mixed just as it comes out of the machine. Depending on the level of the flavor syrup the tastes can be less uniform than stuff mass produced at a factory.
Love the answers so far… I asked my husband, and he gave me an answer, but it was basic and didn’t really explain how it worked. I appreciate yall explaining it better lol
In addition to what others have said, Soda Companies have done studies on how fast people drink and how ice melting over that time impacts the taste, so the mix in Fountain drinks is often a bit different to account for the ice melting, while bottled and canned drinks are standardized.
So provided the mix is to spec they all statistically taste the exact same. However I don’t know that there’s a single fountain that is both fully clean and up to spec on mix levels. Glass bottle, plastic bottle, and can taste difference all comes from the feel of the container and it’s smell.
McDonald’s has stated they treat their fountain drink systems with extra care. They don’t get syrup in bags, they get it in stainless steel containers. They also filter the hell out of the water, and store everything extra cold. Colder soda can hold more carbonation, giving it that extra McDonald’s crispiness.
Coca-Cola bottling plants filter the utter hell out of the public water supply they tap into…they need to be assured that nothing interferes with the quality or taste of a product produced on any one day.
Fountain drinks don’t have that extensive filtration, so that’s why it can taste different.
I’ll add to the answers, my source is the Pepsi service guy that came to our fast food restaurant to service our fountains when I worked there.
If we ignore ice, and if both the water, syrup, and CO2 gas mix is exactly the same at the fountain as well as where the can or bottle was filled, the soda you drink from the fountain has only been carbonated for a few minutes and is loosing carbonation as you drink it. The can or bottle has been under pressure for at least 24 hours, but more likely longer.
TLDR; The carbonation level of a fountain soda starts at the mix level and drops. The carbonation level of can/bottle starts at the mix level and goes up, till you open it and then starts to drop.
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