Coca-Cola Releases Its First Permanent Flavor in Three Years – Here’s What ‘Spiced’ Tastes Like
As if one new flavor wasn’t enough, the brand is also launching a TikTok-exclusive drink called 'Coca-Cola Happy Tears.'
Photo courtesy of Coca-Cola
With a 130-plus-year history and slate of now-iconic beverages to its name, it’s only natural that Coca-Cola might want to spice things up once in a while. And while the past few years have seen a slew of mysterious flavors including one that tastes like dreams, a Coke of the future (with a little help from A.I.) and collaborations with celebrities and video games, in 2024 the brand is releasing its first so-called “Spiced” drink.
Coca-Cola Spiced will hit store shelves across the country later this month. (Though we can’t help but point out that it seems like a missed opportunity to tie this into the upcoming release of the spice-focused epic Dune: Part Two.) But don’t let the name fool you, this Spiced Coke is fruit-forward, too, with a pop of raspberry flavor in the mix. The announcement from Coca-Cola states that Spiced will be the first new permanent Coke (and Zero Sugar) flavor it has added to the lineup in over three years.
So how does Coca-Cola Spiced taste? Mostly like raspberry at the outset, though not as tart as you might expect. And if you’re thinking “Spiced” means “spicy” (understandable considering we’ve seen Flamin’ Hot Mtn Dew in our lifetimes), don’t worry — any “spice” we could detect simply served to round out the flavor and was mostly present as we finished each sip. While the Coca-Cola team wouldn’t disclose the exact flavors in their spice blend, there was definitely a lingering hint of cinnamon and other similarly warm spices in this pleasing, albeit subdued, “spiced” flavor.
Coca-Cola has previously toyed with spicier flavors in its iconic recipe with the release of a limited-edition Coca-Cola Cinnamon in the U.S. in 2019. Funnily enough, the brand also started offering Coca-Cola Raspberry flavor, found mainly in its Freestyle soda fountain machines, domestically in 2009.
Coca-Cola Spiced (and its Zero Sugar counterpart) will be available nationwide as 12-packs of 12-ounce cans, individual 12-ounce “sleek” cans and 10-packs of mini cans, as well as 20-ounce bottles, two-liter bottles and half-liter six-packs, beginning in mid-February.
Photo courtesy of Coca-Cola
If that’s not enough new Coke for you this month, on February 17 — a.k.a. National Random Acts of Kindness Day — Coca-Cola Happy Tears (they’re not done with those esoteric flavors just yet!) will drop exclusively via TikTok in the U.S. and U.K. That limited-edition Coke Zero flavor reminded us of peach iced tea combined, of course, with classic Coke. So if spices aren’t your thing, hopefully this flavor combo will bring a happy tear to your eye.
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