YOU MIGHT HAVE seen a new Coca-Cola drink on Irish shelves over the last few days, but what exactly is it?

Coca-Cola Life is the green-branded drink that has just launched all over Ireland, and it’s confusing some people out there as to what it is – and why it’s green (no, it’s not related to Ireland in any way).

Is there anything actually green about it?

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Apart from the packaging, not really. According to the company, Coca-Cola Life is sweetened with a blend of sugar and stevia leaf extract (which is green) – and both are naturally sourced. However, it has faced criticism that its sugar levels are still very high.

What is the difference with regular Coke?

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With its 89 calories Coca-Cola Life has a third fewer calories than the standard red Coke, and it also has less sugar. By all accounts it tastes very similar to the red Coke, but some connoisseurs will probably notice a difference in texture.

Where does it fit in with the other Coca-Cola drinks?

Given both Diet Coke and Coca-Cola Zero are calorie-free offerings, Life would appear to sit slightly away from those and closer to the original Coca-Cola in terms of its potential marketing.

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Coca-Cola has committed to ”provide consumers with increased choice of reduced, low and no-calorie beverage options and also to reduce the average calories per litre in its range of sparkling drinks by 5% by the end of 2015.” This new drink would play into that aim, anyway.

What exactly is the Stevia extract used?

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Stevia is a zero calorie sweetener derived from the leaves of the stevia plant – and it’s the unique selling point of this new drink.

Stevia extract has been approved by the European Union as an additive for food and drink, but there are concerns out there over the nature of sweeteners like it. The extract can be up to 300 times sweeter than sugar – and it’s already used in Sprite here, which is also owned by Coca-Cola.

Has it been anywhere else before Ireland?

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Yes. Last year it was introduced to the UK and the US, and the year before that Chile and Argentina (where it was first created) had it on their shelves.

Here is some of the UK media reaction when it launched last summer:

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So to sum up, everyone is just a little bit perplexed by the new development

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Confusion reigns, but we hope this cleared some things up.

By David Elkin for DailyEdge.ie 

More Coca Cola is selling fancy milk now>

More What’s the difference between Coke and Pepsi?> 

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