Coke swears that Orange Cream Coke Zero is different from Orange Vanilla Coke Zero

I adore Coke Zero. Even when Coca-Cola has changed the formula, I’ve stuck right by the soda. (I’ve protested the changes, but I’m still wildly loyal to the groundbreaking zero-calorie innovation.) I’ll have a Coke Zero or two with lunch. I’ll grab a bottle while on a long drive. A fountain Coke Zero at a fast food stop is a near perfect moment.

I’ve dabbled in the various Coke Zero varieties. Cherry. Vanilla. Cherry vanilla. When I saw that Coca-Cola was rolling out a new Orange Cream flavor for Coca-Cola Classic and Coke Zero (sorry, it doesn’t appear to be available in Diet Coke), my soda-finding radar was activated. I would find Coke Zero Orange Cream and I would consume it.

But wait, wasn’t there already an Orange Vanilla Coke Zero? you ask. Your memory serves you well. An Orange Vanilla flavor of Coca-Cola and Coke Zero was available from 2019 to 2022, and while Coke wants us all to think that this new Orange Cream Coke Zero is different, the box lists the latest variety as “orange vanilla flavored.”

So, um, yeah. Now we have Orange Cream Coke Zero … that is absolutely, completely different from any previous version of Coke Zero.

Where I found it

I found Orange Cream Coke Zero at Harris Teeter. (It wasn’t in the soda aisle, it was instead on an end cap.)

What I paid

A single 12-pack of 12 oz. cans was regularly priced at $10.99, but Harris Teeter had them on a “buy two, get one free” sale.

My thoughts

I usually drink soda straight from the can, but Harris Teeter obviously doesn’t refrigerate its twelve-packs of cans so I had to pour my first taste of Orange Cream Coke Zero into a glass with a handful of ice. I don’t think this affected my scientific process here, but I’m sure there was a slight difference when compared to drinking a cold soda from the can.

I’m not sure what I was expecting when I took my first sip. The “cream” part of Orange Cream makes me think of cream soda, but that’s not what Orange Cream Coke Zero is supposed to be. (I’m begging Coca-Cola to officially release the cream soda variety of Coke Zero that’s available in Coke Freestyle machines. I would buy the crap out of that.) The label makes it clear that “cream” means vanilla.

Does the taste of Orange Cream Coke Zero live up to the reality that it’s supposed to be an orange vanilla cola? While those flavors are there, they’re both too muted to be fully distinguishable. I thought that Oreo Coke Zero did a better job invoking the classic vanilla flavor that Coke uses than Orange Cream Coke Zero did. And based on the cans of Mango Pepsi Zero that I have in our fridge, I know that a soda company can properly deliver a specific fruit flavor if they want to.

None of this is to say that I didn’t finish my glass of Orange Cream Coke Zero. (Our daughter also asked for several sips, and I’m starting to think that she’s pulling a fast one on me when it comes to her sips becoming longer and longer …) It also passed the test of whether or not I was ready to have a second can after finishing the first one.

Final verdict: I GUESS SO?

I enjoyed Orange Cream Coke Zero. I’ll buy it if I find it at the grocery store or Target and want a drink for the arduous seven- to fifteen-minute drive back to our house. The big question when it comes to any new Coke Zero flavor, though, is whether it’s good enough to replace the standard Coke Zero in our fridge. And of course it isn’t. Coke Zero is Coke Zero. Everything else is second place at best.