Every fountain drink machine uses “actual syrup”. They’re all mixed in the machine in real time. But yes, many places fuck up the ratio and don’t bother correcting it, and don’t check it regularly.
McDonalds routinely checks the ratio. They also use an amount of syrup such that if some (all?) of the ice melts, you still have full strength soda. So it’s extra flavor before any ice melts. I don’t have a citation for that, but a friend once posted a citation explaining it, and I read it. Seems legit. McDonalds Diet Coke has more flavor that a can of Diet Coke, even.
The real reason is that Coca-Cola sends McDonald’s the actual syrup for mixing and specifically calibrates their machines.
McDonald’s janitor here:
No, it’s the creature. Part of my duties include feeding it and cleaning its cage.
Do you feed it the maggots from the milkshake machine?
You mean the maggots that make the milkshakes or the regular kind that sometimes get into the machine by mistake?
Either way, no.
Every fountain drink machine uses “actual syrup”. They’re all mixed in the machine in real time. But yes, many places fuck up the ratio and don’t bother correcting it, and don’t check it regularly.
McDonalds routinely checks the ratio. They also use an amount of syrup such that if some (all?) of the ice melts, you still have full strength soda. So it’s extra flavor before any ice melts. I don’t have a citation for that, but a friend once posted a citation explaining it, and I read it. Seems legit. McDonalds Diet Coke has more flavor that a can of Diet Coke, even.
Oh. I didn’t know it was that complicated.
Fresh Sprite is the only reason I would ever go into McDonald’s.