I’ve spent my entire life scoffing at Coca-Cola purists. Like, seriously, you can’t just have a damn Pepsi when you go to Taco Bell? C’maaaaan. That said, I agree that Coke makes the best cola. It’s so crisp. It’s so sweet and flavorful. It tastes exactly how cola should taste. Our whole team agrees, it’s the best cola. The only thing better than an ice-cold Coke? An ice-cold Cherry Coke.
Could a cherry cola-flavored energy drink ever come close to replicating the punchy, spicy goodness of a real cherry cola? Celsius is giving it a shot. A new Celsius flavor just dropped: Sparkling Cherry Cola, so we tried it to find out whether that extra jolt of caffeine is worth forgoing the classic.
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I’ve tried a lot of Celsius flavors, and I gotta say, their fruit flavors are their best flavors. When I sat down to taste and rank 18 Celsius flavors, their Sparkling Cola ranked 17th. Not a great showing! “It tastes like very weak, generic diet cola,” I wrote. “You know when someone drinks coffee and then inadvertently breathes in your face? Drinking this is like the diet cola version of that.” Harsh! But I’m sad to report that Celsius Sparkling Cherry Cola is only slightly better than Celsius Sparkling Cola.
Pros: If you always wished Cherry Coke contained around five times more caffeine, you’re finally in luck! A 12 oz Cherry Coke has 34 mg of caffeine, while a 12 oz can of Celsius Sparkling Cherry Cola has 200 mg of caffeine. And then there’s the rest of Celsius’ purported benefits: They claim it accelerates metabolism and burns fat, plus it’s totally sugar free (it’s sweetened with sucralose).
Cons: Much like Celsius Sparkling Cola minus the cherry, this just doesn’t have the bite or oomph to scratch that cola itch. It tastes much more like a diet black cherry soda than a cola, which would be totally fine if it weren’t for the whisper of cola flavor that leaves you searching for more. I will say that I watched my colleague, Mythical Kitchen’s Josh Scherer, pound an entire can of this (at room temp), so it’s certainly not undrinkable. But don’t buy this expecting a big cola flavor.
Howdy! I’m Gwynedd, Sporked’s managing editor. I live in Los Angeles and have access to the best tacos the U.S. has to offer—but I’m a sucker for a crunchy Old El Paso taco night every now and then. I’ve been at Sporked since 2022 and I’m still searching frozen mozzarella sticks that can hold a candle to restaurant sticks.
Why you should trust me: I’ve been a journalist for 20 years (yikes), a consumer of food for 40-plus years, and I’m truly hard pressed to think of foods I don’t like (or that I can’t tolerate at the very least). Oh and one time I cooked my way through Guy Fieri’s cookbook and wrote about the journey through Flavortown.
What I buy every week: Trader Joe’s Original Savory Thins. Fat free plain yogurt (usually Fage or Nancy’s). Honeycrisp apples. Sweet cream coffee creamer for my at-home Americanos. A frozen cauliflower crust pizza and some jarred mushrooms to top it with. Old El Paso Stand ‘N Stuff taco shells and Gardein Ground Be’f, even though I think “be’f” is a nightmarish contraction.
Favorite ranking: Stouffer’s frozen dinners. I don’t own a microwave (I get my cancers the old fashioned way!), so I love taste testing things that I don’t really buy to eat at home.
Least favorite ranking: Soy sauce. Don’t get me wrong, I love soy sauce—but consuming that much sodium in one sitting is probably illegal in some countries. Our frozen enchilada taste test was a close second; the smell of microwaved corn tortillas still haunts me.
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Gwynedd Stuart
Jon Gutierrez
Hebba Gouda
Will Morgan
