--- title: Study: Hey, Hipsters, Mexican Coke Might Be a Myth description: A study released on Oct. 27 in the journal Obesity looked at the chemical structure of sweeteners in Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other sodas. There were... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7143705/study-hey-hipsters-mexican-coke-might-be-a-myth/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2010-10-28T17:15:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-16T11:28:41.817Z article:section: Health og:title: Study: Hey, Hipsters, Mexican Coke Might Be a Myth og:description: A study released on Oct. 27 in the journal Obesity looked at the chemical structure of sweeteners in Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other sodas. There were... og:url: https://time.com/archive/7143705/study-hey-hipsters-mexican-coke-might-be-a-myth/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd8109a6feb4749e/698a952fb21a9ce6ed5105ea/mexicancokecropped.jpg?branch=production&width=307&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 307 og:image:height: 173 og:image:alt: mexicancokeCropped og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Study: Hey, Hipsters, Mexican Coke Might Be a Myth twitter:description: A study released on Oct. 27 in the journal Obesity looked at the chemical structure of sweeteners in Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other sodas. There were... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd8109a6feb4749e/698a952fb21a9ce6ed5105ea/mexicancokecropped.jpg?branch=production&width=307&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) # Study: Hey, Hipsters, Mexican Coke Might Be a Myth by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Oct 28, 2010 5:15 PM UTC  bradleygee/Flickr by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Oct 28, 2010 5:15 PM UTC A study released on Oct. 27 in the journal _Obesity_ looked at the chemical structure of sweeteners in Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other sodas. There were a lot of surprising findings, but for now, here’s one result that cut close to my Brooklyn-foodie fad-loving bones: Mexican Coke, which people thought to be superior to American Coke because it uses real cane sugar in place of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), could be a myth.more The cult of Mexican Coke has been well documented. In a 2009 [trend piece](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/magazine/11fob-consumed-t.html) in the _New York Times Magazine_, one fan described it as “more natural tasting” and “a little less harsh.” At the time, a spokesman for Coca-Cola told the magazine that, at least ingredient-wise, a Coke is not a Coke is not a Coke: --- > “” --- But tell that to the thousands of Facebook fans who subscribe to the Mexican Coke Facebook [page](http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mexican-Coke/44087532253?v=info). I admit, I’m a sucker for it too — whenever it’s available, I order the little glass bottle. To my palate, the Mexican version of the cola tastes more like caramel and has the weight of a real food (albeit a dessert). (**More on Time.com**: [Figuring Out Food Labels](http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1986269%5F1986240%5F1986272,00.html)) But, according to the new [study](http://goranlab.com/pdf/Ventura Obesity 2010-sugary beverages.pdf) \[PDF\] in _Obesity_, a lab analysis of the beverage found that it did not contain sucrose — the sugar compound contained in cane sugar. Instead, as nutrition expert Marion Nestle [said on her blog, _Food Politics_](http://www.foodpolitics.com/2010/10/new-study-hfcs-sweetened-drinks-higher-in-fructose-than-expected/): --- > “” --- Before you start feeling too silly, that last parenthetical is kind of key; Nestle notes that the new study did not analyze enough samples of the beverages to come to a firm conclusion about their contents. So it’s still possible that Mexican Coke is deliciously different: --- > “” --- Sip on, fans. **More on Time.com:** [Study: 40% of Kids’ Calories Come From Solid Fat and Sugar](http://healthland.time.com/2010/10/01/study-40-of-kids-calories-come-from-solid-fat-and-sugar/) [High Fructose Corn Syrup Wants A New Name](http://healthland.time.com/2010/09/14/high-fructose-corn-syrup-might-get-a-makeover/) [NYC Mayor Bloomberg’s New Proposal: No Food Stamps for Soda](http://healthland.time.com/2010/10/07/nyc-mayor-bloombergs-new-proposal-no-food-stamps-for-soda/) [](http://healthland.time.com/?N=0&Nty=1&s=soda&x=0&y=0&p=0&cmd=tags&srchCat=Wellness#ixzz13foOYIII) [ ](http://healthland.time.com/?N=0&Nty=1&s=soda&x=0&y=0&p=0&cmd=tags&srchCat=Wellness#ixzz13fo7OGJL) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7143705/study-hey-hipsters-mexican-coke-might-be-a-myth/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7143705/study-hey-hipsters-mexican-coke-might-be-a-myth/"},"headline":"Study: Hey, Hipsters, Mexican Coke Might Be a Myth","datePublished":"2010-10-28T17:15:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-16T11:28:41.817Z","description":"A study released on Oct. 27 in the journal Obesity looked at the chemical structure of sweeteners in Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other sodas. 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