Any trace of artificial sweetener immediately ruins a drink and you're all to blame. amirite?

SAME! Except with cranberry juice. I just expected it to be normal but with less sugar. Instead it was hyper extra sweet!

by West_Feature4047 3 months ago

Can't taste the difference, bs. Addicts in denial.

by Jaskolskijudy 3 months ago

2-3g of sugar is all a drink needs to taste good. So baffled at how little options there are with just low sugar.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I've resorted to making my own iced tea since the store bought stuff has 35-40g of sugar per can. It's actually so bad for your health. Flavoured brewed teas with agave syrup/honey rules because you can control exactly how sweet you want it to be.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Same issue with cilantro. If you don't like it, you REALLY don't like it!

by NarrowSwimming6767 3 months ago

Stuff tastes like soap...and apparently that's a thing.

by Brandi02 3 months ago

It's a genetic thing. Tastes wonderful to me (to the point I've made an entire burrito go green with it!) However, my niece has the "soap" gene. Apparently it smells horrid to her as well. So I don't eat it when she's around. But she also won't go into the garden cause I grow it.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

100 percent. I'm extremely sensitive to the taste of artificial sweetener. Can't do diet soda, or diet candy, or anything of the sort.

by schaeferjamison 3 months ago

The alternative wants me to consume 58 grams of sugar in a sitting so idk, I'll drink the strange.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

No, the alternative is to drink unsweetened drinks. You know - tea, water, coffee, unsweetened sparkling water with some lemon slices

by Zestyclose-Being 3 months ago

I drink more water than anyone I know and still enjoy a Pepsi Zero here and there.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

No, there are those who prefer water in most scenarios. I generally don't like most beverage options (coffee and tea are gross to me, and I don't like fizzy things, the only notable exception being soda with pizza). Juice is awesome!! ...but expensive. And I forget to add flavor packets half the time they're in the house. So tbh I do mainly drink water! (Also there are people in poorer countries who kinda only have water. Or poorer people in general I guess.)

by Extension_Collar_702 3 months ago

I just drink water, but at supper I drink soda. Similar reason, tea and coffee are gross, and juice is expensive, leaving soda. Gotta have something other than water to cut the oils from the food out of my mouth.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Ohh nooo, baby needs a sugary drink and now!

by Hot_Assumption6543 3 months ago

Kombucha and thinsk like LaCroix are delicious unsweetened options.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I feel like you should have put that you think LaCroix is "delicious" in the op so your opinion could be discounted more efficiently.

by Jocelyn20 3 months ago

Kombucha is incredible (it's bitter, fermented sparkly tea!) and LaCroix tastes great, it's literally like drinking a soft drink with no sugar in it.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

bitter, fermented sparkly tea! You only listed negatives. LaCroix tastes great, it's literally like drinking a soft drink with no sugar in it. No, it tastes like water that's been in the same room as a conversation about flavor. The same effect as refilling a glass with water after having drank something else. It's literally a downgrade from just regular water.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

LaCroix is a homeopathic soft drink.

by Puzzleheaded-Sun5797 3 months ago

I've not heard that one before. I'm stealing it.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Omg like dude you have blown my mind Different people DONT like different things and what is gross to you is UNIVERSAL Thank you this has changed my life forever

by grahamstreich 3 months ago

Will adding food coloring to your water maybe help you drink it more? It works for my kids.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

You can just not drink soda. There's a lot of drink options with no sugar or a reasonable amount of sugar that also don't have the disgusting flavor

by janick80 3 months ago

I can taste the difference, but it's very minor to me and it's not overtly negative, just slightly less ideal. Truly, some people can taste it more than others, because I can sometimes drink a diet drink on accident and not even tell if it's cold or a drink I am not as familiar with. People are just different.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Yeah, i taste the difference, but i dont necessarily mind. Hell, at least with mtn dew, i prefer zero sugar over the regular (just with the original tho, stuff like baja i always get standard)

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Yeah, just call it coke lite or whatever. Id be down for that, like a nice medium between sumn like a bubly/la croix and a regular soda

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I taste the difference and I prefer it. Regular soda is too sweet and also can make me sluggish. Sugar free drinks are a nice medium sweetness and doesn't give me random sugar spikes/crashes.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I had a sip of my nephews "Prime" drink. Tasted it and immediately said, "oh this contains artificial sweeteners" and lo and behold, it contained Sucralose. It's not awful tasting, but I find it makes me feel a bit unwell. I'd rather drink a sugar bomb occasionally than drink diet.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Diet anything is ass. Zero sugar is much closer to the original and tastes better. With that said I can still taste a little bit of an aftertaste. But it's so much closer to real sugar drinks with no calories. Yes please thank you

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Exactly! Why can't we just make soda with say.. 5-10 grams of sugar instead of 40+ ?? Make it make sense.

by Exciting-Post8632 3 months ago

Caffeine is bitter. A lot of times the sugar is used to mask the caffeine.

by stromansammie 3 months ago

I drink the zero sodas now. At first I could definitely taste the difference but after a while you get used to it. Or at least I did. Diet sodas are horrid though.

by Efficient_Emotion 3 months ago

I always refer to that aftertaste as "tastes like cancer".

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I think some people taste certain sweeteners differently than others, kinda like how some people like cilantro but it tastes like soap for others. I love Coke Zero but can't stand Diet Coke and I think it's just the different sweetener mix. Can't seem to tolerate anything with stevia though, that stuff is vile. My go-to is to mix fruit juice with plain sparkling water. It doesn't take much juice to give a nice light, slightly sweet flavour and it's way less sugar. I find I can't handle full sweet drinks anymore, the sugariness is just too sickly sweet.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Stevia isn't artificial, it's from a plant. It's sweeter than sugar and doesn't have the weird aftertaste. You can taste the difference, but I like it. Otherwise I agree, artificial sweeteners are gross.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

It definitely has a weird aftertaste. That stuff makes me involuntarily make a face, just like lemons. 😆

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Stevia has a awful aftertaste

by Anonymous 3 months ago

YES!!! I always felt like I was the only person whose taste buds were messed up for not liking the artificial sweeteners or tasting the difference in the drink! Even the slightest amount. The aftertaste is awful!

by Excellent_Sun 3 months ago

Diabetics. Next question

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Yep. After getting acclimated to Zero Sugar, reg soda is now gross. Accidentally took a swig of hubby's Pepsi and it was so bad!

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Hello, yes. Sucralose is a life changer for me.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Yeah my mom is diabetic, the OP is self centered and not considering them in the equation. Sugar free alternatives dont exist for taste preferences, they exist for health reasons. Diabetics, pre-diabetics, those looking to reduce their sugar intake for overall health reasons. Liquid sugar is incredibly dangerous. A couple of swigs of coke can pull a diabetic out of a near coma and put them back to normal blood sugar levels in a matter of minutes....imagine what a can or two does to someone with normal blood sugar levels, instant large insulin release. Do that long enough and you become insulin resistant.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

It's not like anyone is making you drink these drinks. I happen to actually prefer the taste of coke zero over regular coke and guess what? It doesn't have like 70 g of sugar.

by Lessie29 3 months ago

Like into drinks not labeled diet? If so that is kinda devious

by Lessie29 3 months ago

Agreed, diet soda is so gross. Chewing gum makes me sick anymore. :/

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I remember when they started switching the gum and I couldn't chew it for longer than 5 min before being sick as hell. It's been years probably since I've tried to, I wanna look into natural gums but they're typically expensive - and have to be ordered.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I've met people who claim to genuinely like the taste of coke zero/diet coke but I don't get it. Think it's an acquired taste like coffee or whiskey but it's a taste I don't care to acquire. I see it like the tobacco vs vaping debate. At least sugar is natural so I'll take my chances with it.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Agreed, I know people who religiously drink diet everything and I just can't wrap my head around it. It tastes fake to me.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Exactly

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Stevia is a plant extract, not an artificial sweetener. It definitely tastes strange in certain things, but I really love my yoghurt sweetened with it.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

CLEARLY wasnt talking about people like you but go on.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Dramatic but ok bro

by reynoldsreyna 3 months ago

Just drink something else :)

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I completely agree. They all taste foul like licking a bitter pill. I don't think people are lying though I think they just aren't as sensitive to it as you and I

by Rich-Magician6194 3 months ago

We can be brainwashed to like alternative sweeteners just as easily as we were brainwashed to like regular sugar. You just grew up on regular sugar and now it's a switch. But if someone only ever had alternative sweeteners, they would think they taste great and crave them. There is a difference between artificial ones and natural ones (like stevia).

by Brilliant_Mind_961 3 months ago

Sucrose and fructose is what makes up table sugar…

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Dude regular soda is ass! Diet is where it's at!

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Which artificial sweetener is better? I prefer Sucralose and my go to artificial sweetener.

by Emergency_Rhubarb 3 months ago

That's the worst of them all.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Diet is almost always superior.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Or when they use pear juice as a sweetener instead of just regular cane sugar (or even HFCS honestly)

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I miss coke life and Pepsi next, the Stevia ones.

by Due-Frosting-5626 3 months ago

I hate a lot of sweeteners In general, especially when you put it into tea

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Artificial sugars give me a MASSIVE headache. I can't drink diet sodas without feeling sick. Plus they just taste funky.

by Disastrous_Help_2463 3 months ago

Not an unpopular opinion. To me. Not to mention it gives me the squirts.

by ernserfriedrich 3 months ago

I personally prefer artificial sweetener to sugar. It's a lot less brutal on my guts, too. To each their own!

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Not my fault. I only drink super. Artificial sweetener is rubbish.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

The only sugar-free drink I actually like the taste of is sugar-free Solo. It tastes almost the same as normal Solo. All of the others taste horrible

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I can't stand them also. You know the smell you get when your chemistry teacher is burning potassium ribbon? That's what they taste like. All of them, including sucralose and stevia. Artificial sweeteners are why I'll never forget it. The only one that doesn't is erythritol. I wonder if it's something like the coriander soap gene thing.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Yea it's disgusting

by Anonymous 3 months ago

You're 100% correct.

by Jesse69 3 months ago

It's the uncanny valley applied to taste buds. You have evolved to understand that whatever tries to deceive you plans to kill you. Same for light beer, decaf coffee, skim milk, impossible meat, instant potatoes, and fat free salad dressing.

by Plus-Farm3754 3 months ago

Definitely unpopular but ill take my stevia over sugar any day

by Imaginary_Try9497 3 months ago

I don't understand how people can tolerate it. I wonder if it's like cilantro that it just tastes foul to some people

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Definitely

by WillingnessDeep 3 months ago

What I hate is when they stick it in something to lower the added sugar and it's not a diet its just a random thing. The worst was when Coke decided to add Splenda to Seagram's regular ginger ale in the US. I drank it for tummy aches... and Splenda gives me a upset stomach. it took almost a year of declining sales and consumers complaining for coke to remove the Splenda, and decide that if people want diet soda they will by diet/zero sugar soda. The second worse times this happened was some unsweetened applesauce sauce I bought... I expect apple sauce with no sweetener added; well I must be stupid because I had one only to find this tastes horrible and look at the ingredients, Splenda. Did I mistakenly buy diet applesauce? Nope, It just says unsweetened plain applesauce. I returned it to the supermarket, it was a store brand. The next week the applesauce had a sign saying, it was actually sweetened with Splenda. The supermarket had stuck printer labels on all the packages saying it was sweetened to a Splenda. I was on clearance in less than a month.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

So a lot of people such as OP love the taste of HFCS and sugar?

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Nice rant, but you can just not drink the stuff. They still make plenty of options with your fave corn syrup.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Monk fruit tastes like sugar btw

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I'd rather drink straight sugar or never drink anything sweet again than that foul fake stuff. It literally makes me sick to my stomach to the point I might hurl.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Type 1 diabetic here... walk away slowly.

by Last-Quantity 3 months ago

I don't think it ruins it but it does CHANGE it I'm just accustomed to it with some drinks like Diet Coke In coffees or teas or water or juice I agree I'd rather unsweetened than most alternative sweeteners.

by grahamstreich 3 months ago

Completely agree. It's horrendous. Just give me sugar please! But not 30+ grams!!! Why is it all or nothing?

by Krisschumm 3 months ago

I am totally to blame. While I seldom drink soda, it is almost always the sugar free version because I prefer the taste. Sorry

by Anonymous 3 months ago

All of it: stevia, monk fruit, allulose, etc ALL make things taste worse. I'd rather have a small amount of regular sugar or nothing at all.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Is it possible to get unsweetened? Without sugar and without the artificial versions. Just to taste it for real.

by Larkintheodora 3 months ago

I love my diet coke 🥤

by HistoricalCurve2165 3 months ago

Stevia isn't artificial but I agree it tastes bad. My grandma used to grow it, can't believe it's popular now. Splenda is good though, I love Coke Zero

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Sadly many brands like Fanta and home drinks are introducing sweeteners into "regular style" beverages so you really have to watch out!

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Oh I had no idea (not US) I like buying a syrup and adding that to sofa water, I'd rather have the sugar than go anywhere near the sweetness Tho stevia is not so bad, aspartame used to make me quite ill

by Repulsive_Gain 3 months ago

Went to an event and the only drinks they had were sugar free

by Anonymous 3 months ago

if (good) water isn't your favorite beverage i look down on you

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Lol, I don't fully agree (I can handle the taste), but I appreciate the sentiment. Too much fake crap in our diets.

by keshawnklocko 3 months ago

Swap to diet and you'll know what they mean. I literally can't drink regular soda anymore unless it's cane sugar based. High fructose corn syrup taste 1000 times more like chemicals than Aspartame does, and it gives sodas a really thick and gross texture too.

by Anonymous 3 months ago

I should have been clear it was Mexican coke.. Only kind I get haha

by Anonymous 3 months ago

Aspartame is bad for you.

by Mammoth-Elk 3 months ago

Not me, I do not drink that crap.

by PrizeChemical 3 months ago