Is Pepsi really better than Coke?

This post comes from Len Penzo at partner blog Len Penzo dot Com.

People have been enjoying cola-flavored soft drinks ever since 1886, when the first glasses of Coca-Cola were served up for 5 cents each (about $1.10 in today's dollars) at an Atlanta pharmacy.

Today, soft drinks are a key part of a beverage industry worth billions of dollars, so it should be no surprise that when it comes to the highly competitive soft drink wars, the century-long crusade for cola lovers being waged by Coke and Pepsi shows no sign of abating.

In 1975, Pepsi introduced a blind taste test known as the "Pepsi Challenge." Held in malls and shopping centers across America, it tried -- unsuccessfully -- to settle the "Coke vs. Pepsi" debate once and for all.

Pepsi claims the challenge proved that more Americans prefer Pepsi. Maybe so. But when it comes to bragging rights for America's top-selling soft drink, Pepsi has played the perennial bridesmaid to Coke ever since Pepsi made its debut at the turn of the 20th century.

• Bing:Malcolm Gladwell and the sip test

And Pepsi's pride took another hit in 2011 when sales of Diet Coke surpassed those of Pepsi, making it the second most popular soft drink in the U.S. 

Is Coke really that much better than Pepsi? I think so. Arguably, the biggest difference between the two soft drinks is that Pepsi is sweeter, while Coke has a bit more carbonation -- and I have a bias toward that refreshing fizz.

Today, my preference for Coke is so strong that I'll often change my drink order to root beer or lemonade at establishments that carry Pepsi.

For the record, I haven't always been a Coke drinker. As a kid, my family drank only Pepsi. In fact, I didn't become a loyal Coke drinker until I finally left the nest.

Anyway, with that in mind, I decided to find out which cola my family would ultimately choose in a modified version of my own Pepsi Challenge. (Post continues below video.)

How the test was conducted

As with my ketchup blind taste test, I recruited a bunch of family members as an expert panel. This time there were 10 eager volunteers (plus the dog, of course).

With the panel in place, I prepared individual cola samples in separate paper cups. To ensure the taste test was a blind comparison, the samples were marked "A" through "D."

The experts were asked to rank each cola solely for taste, from best to worst, with four points for the top performer and one point for the worst. The panel members were also free to make comments about each sample. When comparing products, panelists who could not discern a clear taste advantage between two or more brands were allowed to give identical rankings.

Introducing the cola competitors

I ran down to my local Albertsons supermarket and bought all four cola brands they were offering for sale: Pepsi, Coke, Royal Crown, and Chill, which is a bargain brand marketed by Shoppers Value.

Here, in reverse order, is a summary of the cola taste test results, based upon the inputs of my expert panel:

4. Coca-Cola

Price (2 liters): $1.79.
Panel scoring: 17 points.
Average score (4-point scale): 1.6.
Human judges who deemed it the best: 0.

OMG! Coca-Cola inventor Dr. John Pemberton must be rolling over in his grave. Not only did the top-selling U.S. soft drink -- not to mention my personal favorite -- finish in last place, it was thoroughly trounced by the competition. How bad was it? Not a single panelist selected Coke as the favorite cola, and six of the 10 human judges rated it dead last. A seventh ranked it second from the bottom. Flavor was the predominant complaint. The Honeybee gave the Coke demerits for being "too watery," while Dad said it was "lacking in flavor." On the positive side, Mark liked Coke's "fizz factor."

3. RC Cola

Price (2 liters): $1.29.
Panel scoring: 25 points.
Average score (4-point scale): 2.4.
Human judges who deemed it the best: 2.

Royal Crown Cola has been around in its present incarnation since 1934. Today, it is distributed by Dr Pepper/Snapple Group. Although not as popular as Coke or Pepsi in terms of sales, RC Cola received the blue ribbon from two panelists, and three other judges ranked it second best. Chris thought it was the "best tasting by far," and Aunt Doris gave it her highest mark because it was "simply perfect." On the other hand, Matthew said Royal Crown tasted "flat," and both Nina and my mom thought RC was "too sweet."

2. Chill

Price (2 liters): $1.
Panel scoring: 27 points.
Average score (4-point scale): 2.5.
Human judges who deemed it the best: 3.

The bargain brand performed well, earning three blue ribbons from the panel. Only one panelist, Mark, thought the Chill cola was the worst of the bunch. He said it was "way too syrupy." It's interesting to note that my Mom and Dad both picked Chill as their favorite cola and remarked on their evaluation sheets that they thought it was probably Pepsi.

1. Pepsi Cola

Price (2 liters): $1.79.
Panel scoring: 31 points.
Average score (4-point scale): 2.9.
Human judges who deemed it the best: 5.

As far as my expert panel was concerned, Pepsi is clearly the top pop. It received the blue ribbon from five of the judges, and two others thought it was second best. My dad was the only one to rank it last ("too flat"), but he was in the minority. Kevin wryly noted that the only thing that could have made the Pepsi better was a splash of rum.

So is Pepsi really better than Coke?

While Coke has always been America's top-selling soft drink, Pepsi has steadfastly maintained that, in head-to-head competition, more people prefer the taste of its product in blind taste tests. And even though my taste test experiment included additional competitors, it still managed to back up Pepsi's claims.

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I know I'mnot impressed. As far as I'm concerned, Coke will always be No. 1 in my book.

More from Len Penzo dot Com and MSN Money:

• Why Coke Rewards is for suckers
• Why sneaky pizza delivery fees are here to stay
• 18 facts you didn't know about your Social Security number
• How do your finances stack up?
• Want freebies? Drink some soda
• Coca-Cola loses faith in TV commercials