Coca-Cola Life Fridge pack $9.49 for 8 x 355ml cans.
This reduced sugar Coke was first released into Argentina, Chile, Mexico and the UK where it was well received, and it has just hit the shelves here and in Australia.
The drink has 35 per cent less sugar than the standard red Coke and is being marketed to 20- and 30-year-old consumers.
This 52-year-old consumer had a taste... and liked it, with reservations.
Carbonated water
Sugar
This is still quite a high sugar product with 23g per 355ml can or nearly 5.5 teaspoons of sugar. Red Coke contains 10.6g of sugar per 100ml or 37.6g per 355ml can which is nearly 9 teaspoons of sugar. So you're getting a saving of 3.5 teaspoons of sugar by drinking this version.
Colour 150d
This is a highly controversial colour also known as Caramel IV or sulphite ammonia caramel.
The colouring is made out of reacting corn sugar with ammonia and sulphites under high pressures and high temperatures.
Those reactions produce the chemicals 2-methylimidazole and 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI).
A recent article in Time magazine reported that the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a Washington-based consumer watchdog group, has petitioned the US Food and Drug Administration to ban this colouring on the grounds that the chemicals are carcinogenic.
A 2007 study by the National Toxicology Program found "clear evidence" of lung tumours in mice.
The state of California has also concluded that 4-MEI is a carcinogen and is crafting regulations that may require food and drinks containing significant levels of the chemical to bear cancer warnings. However the American Beverage Association insists it is not a threat to human health, there is no evidence that it causes cancer in humans and a lawsuit has been filed to block efforts to list 4-MEI as a carcinogen.
Biochemist Fred Guengerich told ABC news there were arguments on both sides but a human would have to drink more than 1000 cans a day to suffer the same effects as the mice.
Flavour
The flavour used by Coca-Cola is a trade secret but attempts over the years to deconstruct it have found it is mainly made up of vanilla and cinnamon with other tastes such as lime, orange and lemon with spices such as nutmeg and coriander.
Food acid (338)
This is phosphoric acid which is added in beverages as an acidulant, which means it gives a sharp taste to soft drinks.
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found the phosphoric acid in cola drinks leads to lower bone density. However a study funded by Pepsi suggests the opposite - that insufficient intake of phosphorus leads to lower bone density.
And another study found no impact on calcium levels because of phosphoric acid and said if there was a decrease in calcium it was more likely to be caused by people not drinking enough milk.
Caffeine
The label does not tell you how much caffeine is in each serve.
Sweetener (960)
Stevia is an extract of the plant species Stevia rebaudiana. The shrub is native to Paraguay and South American tribes have used it as a sweetener for centuries.
It has been used in Japan since the 1970s, when a method for producing the commercial product stevioside was developed.
As well as being between 250 and 300 times sweeter than sugar, stevioside (like the stevia leaf itself) contains no calories and doesn't raise blood sugar so it can also be consumed by diabetics.
While stevia is safe to consume, some nutritionists have noted that simply removing some sugar and replacing it with stevia doesn't make a drink (or food) healthy. Stevia can also have a rather bitter aftertaste but I didn't find that in this product.
My recommendations
Coca-Cola Life is definitely lower in sugar than standard Coke and it's good to see a large corporation looking at healthier alternatives to sugar.
And even though I don't drink a lot of Coke, it tasted better to me than Diet Coke or Coke Zero. And strangely better than the Coke Life I tried on a trip to the US earlier this year.
This can will give you 97 calories instead of 140 calories in a standard red Coke. But it still contains colouring, caffeine, phosphoric acid and sugar, so it should still be a treat, not an every-day drink.
An article in this paper by Sandra Jones last year said that a look at Coca-Cola's 2013 financial results showed profits from regular soft drinks were declining and sales of "healthier" options were increasing.
The two existing diet colas account for 32 per cent of cola sales, and sales of mini-cans grew 70 per cent in 2013.
Reflecting the increasing health consciousness of consumers, in the same period sales of Mount Franklin water grew by 9 per cent and Pump water by 10 per cent.
She said: "Perhaps the most genuine option for this and other such companies would be to cut back on the production and marketing of sweetened soft drinks and focus on selling products that are actually good for consumers."
Highlights
• 35% less sugar than standard Coke
• Still has colouring, phosphoric acid, caffeine and sugar
• Sweetened with stevia which has no calories or effect on blood sugar levels
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