Cup Of Coke Vending Machine

[theantiquetiger]

We were talking about Coca Cola vending machines at work the other day and I brought up the machine that served a cup of Coke. A few people had never heard of them.

It would drop an empty cup, than a scoop of ice. Then it would add Coke syrup and soda water.

Has anyone never seen one of these? I remember it at Sears back in the 70's.

[Godzilla]

My dad worked for the state of Indiana and one of the cafeterias had a machine like that. It was one of the special treats we got as a kid when we went to work with him. I hadn't thought about it in years- great post

[theantiquetiger]

For some reason, these Cokes tasted better than any other. May just be my imagination or it was because of the mixing of the syrup and soda. It my have been richer in syrup than todays fountain drinks (or bottles).

BTW, I have been told to buy bottle Cokes at Mexican specialty Grocery stores because their bottle Cokes come from Mexico and they still use cane syrup as the sweetener (instead of todays corn syrup).

I don't drink Coke (I am a Diet Coke man), so I wouldn't know.

[Sideshow Spock]

In the early 90s I used to pick up my wife from graduate classes some nites, and there was a snack room with one of those coke machines in it. Always got a kick out of it..

[Earth 2 Chris]

Sounds similar to the hot soup vending machine you see at nicer rest stop/welcome centers. Never saw the Coke version before, though.

Chris

[toys2cool]

never heard or seen these before,sounds like the hot chocolate machine they use to have the hospital when I was a kid

[Marvelmania]

We used to have one in our office kitchen. It would drop the cup then add the carbonated water then the coke syrup. It was pretty cool and was about 4' tall. They eventually got rid of it because it wasn't used enough. I thought about buying it but am still holding out for a real vendo 44.

[Mikey]

We were talking about Coca Cola vending machines at work the other day and I brought up the machine that served a cup of Coke. A few people had never heard of them.

It would drop an empty cup, than a scoop of ice. Then it would add Coke syrup and soda water.

Has anyone never seen one of these? I remember it at Sears back in the 70's.

I remember them.

You either got a cup of coloured seltzer or a cup of syrup 80% of the time.

I also used to think they were dirty.

Rats and mice love spilled syrup

[palitoy]

I remember those well, you wanted a coke even if you weren't thirsty.

I also remember getting the chicken soup out of a vending machine I found in a barn, that was a mistake.....

[HardyGirl]

Yeah, I remember those. That's the kind of vending machines they had before the ones w/ bottles and cans.

[ScottA]

There was one of these in the building of the last job I had when I first started there. Always fun when the cup failed to drop but the ice and coke didn't.

[Adam West]

Yeah, I remember those. That's the kind of vending machines they had before the ones w/ bottles and cans.

I assume you mean plastic bottles. I can remember being really young and buying a 7 oz bottle of coke in one of those green glass bottles for a dime....man I'm sounding old. You would open a door and pull the bottle out of a slot. I'm pretty sure it was an antique even back then but was still being used for nostalgia reasons.

When I first entered the workforce we had the coke machines that dropped the cup and filled it with coke plus a few other choices. The company helped subsidize the cost so they were only a quarter and must have been a good 16 ounce serving.

Thanks for the memory. Now I feel like my parents who used to talk about the days when burgers were a nickel or a dime and a movie was $.15 or so.

I do remember being able to see a matinee movie for about $.50 or $.75. Now around here it's $7 for a matinee (even for the kids).

[Hotfoot]

My doctor had one of these in his waiting room. Was a relatively new one. It did not get reinstalled in last years remodel.

[LadyZod]

I work in a hospital and in our offices we have what are called Breakmates.

I like them.


As for why coke doesn't taste as good as it used to... it's quite simple. High Fructose Corn Syrup. It replaced cane suger in the mid 80's in the coke receipe. Remember New Coke? It happened around that time frame.

Foreign countries have their own bottling plants for their locals, and many still use cane sugar. South America, Mexico, Canada... if you can get coke from these places (like little Mexican bodegas or restaurants that import it) do so, and try it.

Also, many deli's will carry Coke with cane suger during Passover. Just look for a six pack of coke labeled KOSHER.

It'll bring back memories.

[EmergencyIan]

Very cool thread! I'd like to see one of those in action. I remember using other similar machines, but not one that dispensed Coca Cola in this manner.


- Ian