Purchase some cans of cola. Ideally, let’s all purchase Coke and Pepsi. Purchase the sugared versions, or the sugar-free versions, or both, and test four products at once. In general, people at are their best in the morning, and when they haven’t eaten anything else for at least an hour (avoid minty or spicy food before the test.)
Have a friend mark the bottoms of identical taste cups, and open and pour the samples for you. The samples should be at the same temperature. I recommend running a triangle test: two cups will be the same product, one will be different. Alternatively, if you feel you’re a real ace, you can identify the beverages by taste alone. Be sure to include the testing details, and compare your experimental choices with what you found in the book.
Can you tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi? Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi? Diet Coke and real Coke? Tell the class how easy (or hard) it was for you, and what helped you decide (fizziness? sweetness? spice level? vanilla impact?) Obviously, if you hate drinking cola, choose a different product to do a taste test on…..bottled water brands would also be a great choice.