Current Events > Those Coca-Cola Freestyle machines suck

(+) Yeah! (+)

Out of like 150+ options, only 5 of them are half decent

And the machines are slow as fuck

They had Surge in them for a minute. Appears to be gone now.

And yeah, half the time with those you decide what you get based on what they still have, no so much what you actually want.

The few times I've ever used one I liked adding peach flavor so sprite, it's gooooood

MC_BatCommander posted...

The few times I've ever used one I liked adding peach flavor so sprite, it's gooooood

This is what I came in here to mention. It's like someone put peach Jolly Ranchers in a bottle of Sprite. So good.

Speaking of amazing peach candy flavored drinks... Have you tried the Monster Cosmic Peach? It tastes just like some of those gummi peach rings. I have a hard time finding it. :(

MC_BatCommander posted...

The few times I've ever used one I liked adding peach flavor so sprite, it's gooooood

This

DuranOfForcena posted...

those things existing kinda piss me off, because back when i drank soda all the time and frequently went to fast food places, i always mixed and matched different sodas at the regular fountains, it was kinda a gimmick of mine, my friends and family would even tease me about it sometimes because i would do it so much, but i stopped drinking soda right around the time the Freestyle machines started to become a thing, so i've actually ever used one once. they totally would have been my jam back in the day though.

You were spared, cuz drink mixing with the freestyle takes longer and the flavors are garbage. Regular drink mixing is still top tier

Bugmeat posted...

This is what I came in here to mention. It's like someone put peach Jolly Ranchers in a bottle of Sprite. So good.

Speaking of amazing peach candy flavored drinks... Have you tried the Monster Cosmic Peach? It tastes just like some of those gummi peach rings. I have a hard time finding it. :(

Aw man peach rings are my all time favorite lol, a drink that tastes like them sounds very dangerous

Those things are the best, love it when they are there

MC_BatCommander posted...

The few times I've ever used one I liked adding peach flavor so sprite, it's gooooood

I'll have to give that a try. Usually I just do lime flavor in coke.

Haven't used 1 in a long time, but I liked it.

I hated those machines when I worked fast food briefly as a second job. People would come up to you during lunch rush to complain an obscure flavor was out and demand you drop everything to replace the cartridge.. There was only one spout so folks would complain about tasting someone's previous soda selection. The machine was also confusing for people who just wanted water.

I like having the options. A lot of the places I have been haven't run out of stuff to an inconvenient degree, thankfully. Usually just one or two options out at most. I really enjoy adding the Lemon-flavoring into Coke.

ExtremeLuchador posted...

The machine was also confusing for people who just wanted water.

Did they ever change that in a software patch or something? Because I've seen the machines with a section labeled water that just puts a single, large and obnoxious button on screen that just says 'Water'

MC_BatCommander posted...

The few times I've ever used one I liked adding peach flavor so sprite, it's gooooood

I usually put lime or peach into everything

Usually get cherry Dr. Pepper when I see those. Only time I drink Dr. Pepper really

the only place i went 2 that had 1 switched 2 pepsi 2 save money

it was nice 2 add vanilla 2 my root beer but otherwise nbd

mybbqrules posted...

They had Surge in them for a minute. Appears to be gone now.

And yeah, half the time with those you decide what you get based on what they still have, no so much what you actually want.

If you do Mello Yello with the limeade mix it comes pretty close to Surge.

I appreciate vanilla coke zero

DuneMan posted...

Did they ever change that in a software patch or something? Because I've seen the machines with a section labeled water that just puts a single, large and obnoxious button on screen that just says 'Water'

You described it correctly. This would still confuse so many people.

Of course now every fast food place only bothers to stock 8 out of 40 flavors. Sorry cherry vanilla Coke fans.

ExtremeLuchador posted...

Of course now every fast food place only bothers to stock 8 out of 40 flavors. Sorry cherry vanilla Coke fans.

They're on the way out. They're prohibitively expensive, require calling a specialist technician to even update the software, get dirty as all hell and employees never bother changing/calibrating them because they're complicated pains in the ass. Source: Worked in two places that used them.

My state has sugar tax, but still. A regular "box" of syrup for your average soda gun/bar gun costs $120-$200 for just one soda. Retooling a Freestyle machine to stock capacity costs like 3k and they're quarter sized syrup boxes.

I almost never get pop when I go to places with these, but I loved playing around with different flavors to get something fun and tasty.

I once also imbibed the hell that was diet fruit punch Fanta. That was absolutely wretched.

I love them for the same reason TC hates them.

C-zom posted...

They're on the way out. They're prohibitively expensive, require calling a specialist technician to even update the software, get dirty as all hell and employees never bother changing/calibrating them because they're complicated pains in the ass. Source: Worked in two places that used them.

My state has sugar tax, but still. A regular "box" of syrup for your average soda gun/bar gun costs $120-$200 for just one soda. Retooling a Freestyle machine to stock capacity costs like 3k and they're quarter sized syrup boxes.

Yeah, I already find a few that are either out of service entirely or just have the basics stocked. I wouldnt be surprised if 50 years from now they will unearth one of those curiosities of the early 21st century in some elderly zoomers storage shed and itll be on the future equivalent of one of those History Channel picker shows.

They're great. We need more of them.

Leave my Cherry Vanilla Barq's Root Beer alone!

I hate the ones at the AMC I frequent, because there's 6 of them and at no time will more than 2 of them have the proper ratio of syrup to soda water for the diet/zero sugar drinks. They're mostly soda water, so not sweet and tastes like nothing. gotta hop around to find the one or 2 that taste okay.

Never have that problem at other Freestyle machines or the Freestyles at another AMC.

ExtremeLuchador posted...

I hated those machines when I worked fast food briefly as a second job. People would come up to you during lunch rush to complain an obscure flavor was out and demand you drop everything to replace the cartridge.. There was only one spout so folks would complain about tasting someone's previous soda selection. The machine was also confusing for people who just wanted water.

Does Coke ever send out a rep or a vendor to service those things?

C-zom posted...

They're on the way out. They're prohibitively expensive, require calling a specialist technician to even update the software, get dirty as all hell and employees never bother changing/calibrating them because they're complicated pains in the ass. Source: Worked in two places that used them.

My state has sugar tax, but still. A regular "box" of syrup for your average soda gun/bar gun costs $120-$200 for just one soda. Retooling a Freestyle machine to stock capacity costs like 3k and they're quarter sized syrup boxes.

Last fall there were headlines that McDonald's was going to get rid of self-serve fountains altogether... so we're headed back to 70% full glasses by staff who barely care, & homo sapiens not comprehending that when we ask for no ice, that is no frozen cubed water in the beverage.

Cherry+Sprite