There’s nothing quite like enjoying a crisp Diet Coke on a hot summer’s day – or as the perfect complement to your lunch.
But being a savant of the fizzy beverage takes great care – and those in the know insist that the container makes all the difference.
While some would never sip their beloved elixir out of anything but a glass bottle, others insist that their fix must come in the brand’s quintessential silver can.
Many even allege they can tell if they’ve been ‘duped’ and served cola outside their desired vessel.
American corporation Coca-Cola has even weighed in on this themselves, arguing that wherever you choose to drink your beverage from, ‘it’s the same recipe, the same ingredients and the same manufacturing process every time’.
And lovers of soda would even argue that they’d be able to taste the difference between that of Coca-Cola and Pepsi, which has, no doubt, been at the heart of some family rows.
British supermarkets also make their own, cheaper branded alternatives to Coke and Pepsi, often at a fraction of the price – which cola scholars claim would never catch them out.
But can MailOnline reporters Freya Barnes, James Hill, Zac Campbell and Emily Cooper tell them all apart?
Here, FEMAIL puts Diet Coke enthusiasts to the test…
ROUND ONE: DOES DIET COKE FROM A CAN TASTE DIFFERENT TO A GLASS BOTTLE?
Each journalist was blindfolded for the taste test, and told to take sip from each glass – while commenting on their thoughts about which one it could be.
Audience reporter Zac admitted that he doesn’t tend to drink cola and got all four wrong
There were four options to choose from; Diet Coke from a can, Diet Coke from a glass bottle, Diet Coke from a plastic bottle – and an off-brand variant.
First up to guess them apart was audience writer Zac, who admitted that he doesn’t tend to drink cola.
Taking a sip on the beverage that had come out of a glass bottle, he said: ‘That seems quite flat, I’d say that’s probably a can.’
Moving onto the metal can, Zac thought that this Diet Coke had come out from a plastic bottle.
He then incorrectly guessed that the plastic bottle Diet Coke was the supermarket cola from Sainsbury’s, before predicting that the Sainsbury’s low sugar beverage was Diet Coke from a glass bottle.
Realising he got all four wrong, Zac said: ‘Oh snap, okay. That’s cool.’
Next up was trainee reporter Emily Cooper and although she enjoys Diet Coke, she admitted she had ‘no idea’ which was which
Video journalist James was next up to face the challenge and was off to a flying start, guessing Sainsbury’s cola correctly
Next up was trainee reporter Emily Cooper and although she enjoys Diet Coke, she admitted she had ‘no idea’ which was which.
But she got the first one correct and guessed it was from a can, noting that the liquid had a ‘metallic tang’ to it.
But she thought that the Diet Coke from a glass bottle was instead from a plastic bottle and vice versa.
But Diet Coke fan Emily knew immediately which one was the cheaper alternative and said it was ‘100 per cent the off-brand one’.
She said: ‘I got these two mixed up? [pointing to the glass and plastic bottle] I’ll take that as a win!’
Video journalist James was next up to face the challenge and was off to a flying start, guessing Sainsbury’s cola correctly.
But like Emily, he also thought that the glass bottle Diet Coke was from a plastic bottle.
He then also got the final two incorrect and thought that the Diet Coke from a can was the one from a glass bottle.
Trainee reporter Freya was the only one to guess all four of them correctly
He also wrongly thought that the Diet Coke from a plastic bottle was from a can.
Speaking about his result he said: ‘Bloody hell, I got the off-brand right. I thought that was the glass but then I said that was plastic so I got all these wrong.’
Trainee reporter Freya is a self-proclaimed Diet Coke lover and was the only one to guess all four of them correctly.
Speaking about the Diet Coke out of a can, she said: ‘It’s carbonated, it’s so carbonated.’
When she took off her blindfold Freya was gobsmacked that she got all of them right and added: ‘Oh my God, I got it all right! I’m a Diet Coke girl, so there was no chance I was getting it wrong. I’m really proud of myself.’
ROUND TWO: ARE PEPSI AND COKE REALLY THAT DIFFERENT?
For the next round, the blindfolded reporters then tried to tell Pepsi Max, Coca Cola, Coke Zero, Diet Coke and an off brand cola.
First up was Emily, who managed to detect original Coke’s distinct taste from Pepsi Max.
First up was Emily, who managed to detect original Coke’s distinct taste from Pepsi Max
Zac then tried all five drinks and started off by trying Coke Zero, which he described as ‘very foamy’
However, she did struggle with distinguishing between Diet Coke and Coke Zero, before saying: ‘My favourite is Diet Coke, I drink it all the time, far too much.’
She then, again, successfully guessed the off brand cola apart from its more expensive competitors.
Speaking about her success, Emily said: ‘That’s impressive, I’m a bit stunned!’
Up next was James, who could tell the Sainsbury’s cola apart straight away.
However, he did run into some problems when tasting the other beverages.
Whilst he got Pepsi Max correct, he then muddled up Diet Coke and Coke Zero and therefore got three out of five right.
Zac then tried all five drinks and started off by trying Coke Zero, which he described as ‘very foamy’.
He then said: ‘That’s tough… let’s go with off brand because it felt foamy and I feel like that wouldn’t have a clean taste.’
Up next was James, who could tell the Sainsbury’s cola apart straight away
Freya then took to the challenge and first tasted the Pepsi Max, however, she thought it was original Coke
Zac then thought Diet Coke was Pepsi Max and vice versa, describing the Pepsi as ‘much sweeter’ to its counterparts.
When he sipped original Coke, Zac said it was ‘really, really sweet,’ and guessed it correctly.
He then also thought that the supermarket cola tasted like Pepsi and guessed it incorrectly.
‘I’ve got absolutely everything wrong again, I need to start drinking more sodas,’ said Zac.
Freya then took to the challenge and first tasted the Pepsi Max, however, she thought it was original Coke.
She then moved onto Diet Coke and immediately got it correct, along with the off brand cola.
Freya also thought that Coke Zero was Pepsi Max, but she said that she might change her decision.
As soon as she tasted the tang of the original Coke, Freya got it correctly, but thought that the Pepsi Max was Coke Zero.
When she took off her blindfold, Freya said: ‘Did I get it right? I thought Pepsi Max was Coke Zero? I should’ve guessed that. I know where Diet Coke is, I know where home is.’
