In news:rec.food.cooking, "cybercat" > posted on Sat,
10 Nov 2007 15:16:52 -0500:

> It's true. My dad was a route salesman for Coca Cola when I was small,
> and took me along when he set up samples in groceries, showed me how
> to adjust the mix to taste.

Okay, Coca-Cola has a formula, and when bottled, that formula has a certain
syrup to carbonated water ratio. There's a guideline for mixing syrup and
carbonated water in fountain drinks. If that guideline isn't followed, the
taste of the final drink is altered and it is no longer Coke. It might
taste better, but it isn't Coke anymore. That's the point. However,
thinking back, oftentimes the sweeter-tasting Cokes from fountains also
tended to seem a bit on the flat side, as if the carbonated water wasn't
right.