The wonderful thing that is bottled Bolivian coke

Maybe you've heard about or noticed the popularity of "Mexican Coke" in the United States. Mexican Coke is basically Coke brewed and bottled south of the border and shipped across to the USA. It differs from the American variety—and is arguably superior—in two important ways:

1. It comes in a glass bottle. Of all the materials that beverages are bottled in, I'm pretty sure glass is the most inert, so it doesn't impart any flavor into the beverage. Personally, I think glass is best to drink from, followed by an aluminum can, then cardboard (ever noticed that paper-y taste that comes from milk in a box? Yuck!) Mexican Coke comes in glass so doesn't have that aluminum can taste.
2. Mexican Coke is made with real sugar, not high-fructose corn syrup. I'm not going to go into it here, but HFCS is really bad for you and has a chemical taste that some say ruins American Coke. The Mexican recipe calls for cane sugar, just like the original recipe. 

So for all those out there who swear by Mexican Coke, I have something even better for you...

Bolivian Coke.

Why is Bolivian Coke better? Well, again, it's made with real cane sugar. So even though it's bad for you, it's still not as bad as Coke made with high-fructose corn syrup. And again, it comes in glass bottles so you get a pure taste. But here's where Bolivian Coke differs from Mexican Coke sold in the USA—it comes in returnable bottles! 

Why are returnable bottles so great? A few reasons...

1. When you're bottling what is basically flavored sugar water, the bottle is probably the biggest expense. By allowing people to buy Coke in glass bottles and then return the bottles, The Coca Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, reduces the cost considerably! It's cheaper than water here!
2. No plastic bottles filling up landfills and harming the environment
3. Coca Cola makes Coke available in a variety of sizes:

2.5 liters (huge!) for $1.50

2 liters for $1.25

1.5 liters for $1.00

1 liter for $0.80

1/2 liter for $0.40 (this is the one we usually get, it's perfect for two people)

190ml—basically a few gulps—for only 15 cents! It's like going back to the 1950s!

So while Mexican Coke is great for those in the USA—and I would't recommend eating tacos without it—we'll continue to enjoy the national beverage of Bolivia: Glass-bottled pure-cane-sugar returable-bottle available-in-myriad-sizes Coca Cola!

By the way, if you're interested in finding Mexican Coke near you, check out this site!

http://wheretofindmexicancoke.com/

Michael