“I tell you, that’s the best Coke around. It just tastes better,” Taylor says, comparing Mexican to American Coke. “I don’t know what they do. There’s something about it.”
Later that afternoon, Pedro Salazar is buying seasoned beef for dinner from Nuevo Leon Meat Market in Temple. Walking to the checkout stand, he grabs a treat for his wife - a tall, green bottle with a red label that says, Coca-Cola, “hecho en Mexico.”
“My wife is from Mexico City,” Salazar says, “That’s why I’m getting one for her.”
Across the street and one block down, Carmen Rivera peers into a cooler full of soft drinks at Fruiteria Ruby, a small grocery store on Avenue G that specializes in goods from south of the border. Looking for Mexican Coke, she leaves empty handed. She wants a grande, but they’re sold out of the one-liter bottles.
Store manager Brenda Lopez said although it’s the most expensive soft drink they sell; it’s also the most popular. She sells about five cases on weekends alone.
Mexican Coke lovers give different reasons why they say it tastes better than the American version. Some say it’s because of an important ingredient - pure cane sugar. (In the 1980s, most American soft drinks switched to high-fructose corn syrup.) Others point to the heavy glass bottle. They say the American Coke that comes in aluminum cans or plastic bottles tastes a little like the container. And for some, it’s a sentimental attachment to home.
But the Mexican Coke that is shipped north of the border is no sweet treat for sellers of the American brand. A few years ago, the San Diego Union Tribune reported the Coca-Cola Co. and its bottlers were quietly looking into blocking Mexican Coke imports. Apparently, the niche market is cutting into American Coke sales.
Officials at Coca-Cola’s Atlanta home office did not return calls for comment.
Here in Temple, H-E-B has integrated Coke sales. Coca-Cola from both sides of the border is available on the same aisle. The trend began six years ago. And sales are up over last year.
“We were one of the first retailers in Texas to sell Mexican Coke in our stores,” said H-E-B spokeswoman Tamra Jones. “A lot of our stores are unique to their neighborhood. If there is a particular item in demand, we try to accommodate.”
Ms. Jones said they buy the Mexican and the American Coke from the same supplier. The small Temple cafes and markets order directly from importers.
Mexican Coke lovers in Temple pay up to four times more for their cola allegiance.
At H-E-B, Mexican Coke is sold only in 12-ounce bottles at $1.29 each. American Coke in 12-ounce cans costs about 30 cents each.
But Maria Mendoza’s family has found a way to enjoy Mexican Coke at a lower price. Everyone in her family drinks it, and whenever a relative travels to Mexico, they bring back a case or two because it’s cheaper across the Rio Grande. She says there is no doubt, Mexican Coke just tastes better.
“It’s got better flavor. It’s strange. I really can’t explain it but it’s got better flavor.
