Diet Pepsi, Diet Coke, Diet Rite Cola: What's Your Favorite?

Every where you go you see carbonated beverages being sold. Most grocery stores devote an entire aisle to the many different brands and flavors. Convenience stores and gas stations make most of their profits selling it. A recent study concluded that the average American consumes 1.6 cans of soda per day for a total of 597 cans per year. That's a LOT of pop!

I could write an entire book comparing every brand and flavor but it would be like comparing apples to oranges. I'm going to keep my comparisons to the top 3 brands of diet cola. They are: Diet Pepsi, Diet Coke and Diet Rite Cola.

As of January 2009, Diet Pepsi (Pepsi Company) comes in 8 flavors. They are:

Original Diet Pepsi

Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi

Pepsi One

Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi

Diet Vanilla Pepsi

Diet Lime Pepsi

Diet Pepsi Jazz - Black Cherry/Vanilla

Diet Pepsi Jazz - Caramel Cream

Diet Coke (Coca Cola Company) comes in 7 flavors. They are:

Original Diet Coke

Caffeine Free Diet Coke

Diet Cherry Coke

Diet Lime Coke

Diet Coke Plus

Diet Coke made with Splenda

TAB

Diet Rite Cola (Royal Crown Company) comes in 2 flavors. They are:

Diet Rite Cola

Diet Rite Cherry Cola

In an Internet search for which company sells the most diet cola in the USA per year, I learned that Pepsi is the hands down winner. Diet Coke is second and Diet Rite is third. Researching all of the diet colas, I found that they have 0-5 calories per serving and all are sugar free. All of the products, except one use either Aspartame (NutraSweet, Equal) or Sucralose (Splenda) to give the cola that sweet flavor. The exception is TAB made by Coca Cola, which still contains Saccharin (Sweet n Low). They all contain sodium, except for Diet Rite (which is sodium and caffeine free).

Because carbonated beverages have been getting such a bad rap lately, Coke introduced Diet Coke Plus, which is fortified with vitamins and minerals. Below is a list of vitamin and mineral content and the percentage of RDA:

Niacin 15%

Vitamin B-12 15%

Vitamin B-6 15%

Magnesium 10%

Zinc 10%

Diet Pepsi and Diet Rite have not yet addressed the issue of vitamin-fortified cola. As people become more health conscious, Pepsi and Diet Rite may need to consider adding nutrients to their products to remain competitive.

As for taste, which cola is the best is a matter of personal preference. For years I was Diet Pepsi drinker and then one day my taste buds changed and I found Diet Pepsi was way too syrupy-sweet. I am now a Diet Lime Coke drinker who cuts up fresh lime and adds it to my glass. When I can find TAB, I buy that because it seems to be the least sweet of diet colas. Occasionally I buy Diet Rite Cola when it's on sale. I like the taste and the fact that it is sodium and caffeine free. Of course, lime (or lemon) is added to both the TAB and Diet Rite Cola.

So, which diet cola is the best? It's all a matter of personal preference and taste. If you have any thoughts, please add them below.