Containers
When it comes to drinking your Pepsi, you've seen
that the ideal way to drink a Pepsi is to chill it just short of freezing and drink it
straight from the container in which it was purchased.
Unfortunately there are many reasons why this won't always work - such as when several
people are sharing Pepsi from a large bottle. So this part of my site provides guidance
on drinking Pepsi from a container (such as a glass) other than the bottle/can in which
the Pepsi was purchased.
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Keep the Lid Closed
While it may take up to 4 hours for a Pepsi to go totally flat, up to 25% of the carbonation
can be lost within the first fifteen minutes after opening a container of Pepsi.
Because of this, you should re-seal the Pepsi immediately after pouring - regardless of
how long it will be before you pour the rest of the Pepsi.
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The Original Container
Buy Pepsi in glass containers. All other containers transfer some taste to the Pepsi. The Pepsi
purist will choose glass because it transfers the least amount of taste to the Pepsi. If
glass is not available, aluminum is preferred over plastic.
If you've been buying Pepsi in a container other than glass, you might not be able to
taste the difference the first time you drink Pepsi from a glass container.
This is because the taste organs (nose and tongue) can get used
to the flavor and may not report the subtle taste changes to your brain. To re-gain the
improved Pepsi taste you will need to drink exclusively from bottled Pepsi for 2-4 weeks.
Somewhere in that time frame the nose/tongue will re-gain their ability to distinguish
the contamination free taste of Pepsi.
If you simply cannot use glass containers (such as for safety reasons - you mother won't
trust you to run with glass or your hand shakes too much to hold the comparitively heavy
glass), the chose plastic over metal. Plastic will transfer less taste to the Pepis
than will metal. Pepsi bottlers line their aluminum cans with a plastic coating for just
this reason.
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Size of the Original Container
Pepsi drinkers who are throwing a party are well advised to purchase Pepsi in bulk. However,
for the individual Pepsi drinker, bulk purchases may cost less but will result in a
significant lowering of the overall taste pleasure derived from the Pepsi. This results
from the need to retain the carbonation in the Pepsi. In all containers, as Pepsi is
removed the remaining Pepsi will lose carbonation to the empty volume of the container. When
the lid is removed for pouring, all of that carbonation is lost. So if a small container
is used, the loss is minimized. For a large container, where the empty part of the container
can exceed the volume of the remaining Pepsi, a Pepsi drinker will see a very pronounced
flatness as early as half-way through the bottle - regardless of how tightly the container
is sealed between usage. Only if the Pepsi is to be used immediately (within a 30 minute
period) should a large bottle be used. This would be true primarily for parties or family
get-togethers.
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Shape of the Drinking Container When Ice is Used
In an earlier section I explained the issues associated with using ice with Pepsi, and
gave tips on how to overcome the problems that ice presents. Using ice with Pepsi
also influences the type of container from which you should drink.
The most basic rule on selecting the drinking container (I'll just use the word glass
from now on to mean drinking container) is that its aspect ratio (height divided by
width) should be 2:1 - that is, it should be twice as wide as it is tall. Also, in general,
the shorter the glass the better - with the ideal glass containing only a single drink
of Pepsi. This is true because while a Pepsi is sitting in ice, the ice is melting and
diluting the flavor of the Pepsi. Since a one-drink Pepis is not very practical, I
recommend that a glass of approximately 3 inches be used - about the size of a coffee cup.
That size provides a balance between a very tall glass (which guarantees that much of
the Pepsi will be diluted before it is consumed) and a very short glass (which means that
you or your hostess will forever be filling up glass).
The wider glass recommendation comes from the need to prevent the Pepsi from being drawn
across the long dimension (height) of the ice in the glass. By using a wide glass, the
Pepsi will be drawn through a shorter height of ice.
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Fill Distance
When pouring Pepsi into a glass, how close to the top of the glass is appropriate?
The answer is obvious when taking into account some of the earlier lessons - exactly
to the lip of the glass is optimum. This minimizes that agitation and other mechanical
movement of the liquid when the glass is tipped for drinking. It also minimize the distance
over ice which Pepsi will be drawn before entering the mouth.
Unfortunately, the average Pepsi drinker cannot maintain control of their hand well enough
to prevent spills unless the Pepsi is at some distance from the lip of the glass. Coffee
drinkers typically have that skill - they had to learn it or else burn their hands.
I personnally recommend one lip's width (lip of the drinker) from the top of the glass.
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Shaking a Container
Contrary to popular opinion, it is acceptable to shake an un-opened container of Pepsi. While
it is true that shaking will release gas, it is a temporary effect and the gas will eventually
be re-absorbed into the Pepsi (except for large bottles of Pepsi as noted above).
However, the re-absorption time can be as much as 2 hours, so
shaken containers of Pepsi should be set aside for that length of time to allow the carbonation
to settle back into the Pepsi.
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One-Handed Can Open
First of all, there is nothing wrong with the use of two hands to open a can of Pepsi.
One hand holds the can, the other hand pops open the top. The problem is that it's just
not, ... well, it's not the Pepsi purist was of opening a can. The preferred method
is to use a single hand.
To open a can with a single hand, place your hand above the can with the middle finger
directly above the pop-top. Use the other four fingers to brace the can. Then pull the pop-top
upwards using the middle digit of the hand.
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Can Handling
Once the can is open you should not grasp the can by surrounding it with your palm in full
contact with the can. By placing the can in your palm you make intimate thermal contact with
the can, reducing its chill life by at least 50%. The problem is even worse for folks with
sweaty palms, as the sweat provides almost twice the thermal contact between the palm and the
can. This does not apply to glass or other non-metal cans.
Instead, keep the hand above the can and allow the fingers of the hand
to make contact with the can only at the circular lip at the top of the can.
Some folks like to use the "coffee cup" grip. With your drinking hand, close all but the
thumb and small finger. Use the remaining (open) fingers as though they were the top and
bottom of the handle on a coffer cup.
Both of these techniques can double the chill life of the Pepsi.
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Drinking From Any Container
While there is no correct way to use the mouth to dring Pepsi, there are nuances which
should be understood. Many Pepsi drinkers follow the "sip" approach, putting a minimum
of their lip in direct contact with the Pepsi fluids. While this provides greater control
of the amount of Pepsi which enters the mouth, it has the distinct problem of thinning
the fluid cross-sectional area, exposing more of the Pepsi to the air - removing key
carbonation from the taste and minimizing the amount of Pepsi which strikes the tongue
at any one time. Sippers often complain that the Pepsi doesn't have as much taste as
Pepsi drinkers who use other drinking techniques.
Sipping also has the problem that it leaves Pepsi in a container with ice for a maximum
length of time - allowing for maximum melting of the ice and dilution of the Pepsi taste.
In a social setting, the sipping approach may allow a single order of Pepsi to last an
entire conversation, but not without paying a penalty on taste.
The alternate approach is the "gulp". Here, the Pepsi is essentially poured past the lips
directly to the tongue in the rear of the mouth. When using the gulp approach it is best
to pour only one swallow of Pepsi into the mouth and allow the tongue to taste it before
swallowing. Having a bulk amount of Pepsi hit the tongue at one time provides a maximum of
refreshing taste because the tongue has enough heat energy to force the release of the
carbonation in a single swallow of Pepsi. Putting more Pepsin into the mouth than a single
swallow results in the partial waste of the Pepsi because the carbonation is not released
before swallowing.
It is definitely not recommended to pour Pepsi past the tongue, going straight into the throat.
Many Pepsi drinkers are known to open their throat in such a way as to allow the Pepsi to
flow directly into the throat and then into the stomach without ever pausing on the tongue
to allow for tasting. Not only does this waste the Pepsi but when taken to extremes it creates
a build up of gas in the stomach which must eventually be released - a potentially embarrassing
social event known as a belch.
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