Hot on the heels of the launch of Coke Energy in South Africa, Coca-Cola Plus Coffee is now also available locally.
The new Coke is infused with 100% Brazilian coffee bean powder and comes in a 200ml can. It has quite the caffeine kick: 34mg per 200ml can. By comparison, a 250ml can of Red Bull has 80mg caffeine.
According to the World Health Organisation, the daily allowable caffeine intake for an adult is 400mg.
“Coca-Cola Plus Coffee is therefore far below the normal requirement, but like anything people need to understand to consume it in moderation and have it as part of a balanced beverage intake across the board,” said Bernard Pieters, Coca-Cola’s head of integrated marketing communications.
It will be available at various stores across the country and will sell for around R12. For comparison, you can get a 500ml sugar-free Coca-Cola for under R10 at some outlets.
Taste test
We rounded up a group of tasters, some of whom expressed reservations about the extra caffeine.
“I am concerned as to how this will affect my health and most importantly my heart, considering that this will be a double shot of caffeine,” said one unwilling participant.
But they were won over by the taste. It had a strong coffee flavour, combined with a pleasant sugary taste. It tastes like coffee first, with a Coke aftertaste, one taster remarked.
“It taste like cappuccino and cupcakes actually,” said another taster. A can contains around 159 kilojoules.
Despite the double caffeine hit, the tasters didn’t experience a strong kick.
While one of the tasters wouldn’t buy it again (unless it’s a Monday morning and she needed a “heavy coffee boost”), in all, it mostly received a positive reception.