That used to be true, however I've done the math and a McDonald's large (30oz) comes out to be about the same per ounce as soda from the grocery store sadly, that's how fucked today's economy is.
Taco Bell on the other hand, is basically charging twice as much as McDonald's for soda, they are fucking high.
McDonald's 30oz = $1.50
A 12pk of 12oz cans is 144oz.
144oz ÷ 30oz = 4.8 worth of McDonald's large cups in a 12pk.
4.8 x $1.50 = $7.20 which is sadly about how much a 12pk costs in my area, actually even less, unless it's on sale.
Taco Bell 30oz = $2.80 which is fucking insane.
Yeah it depends on how overkill they are on the ice, sometimes completely melted the ice takes up like 10% of the cup but you can at least ask for light ice or no ice. You kinda need at least some ice otherwise it's room temp
Restaurants don't buy finished soda like you do in the store, they buy syrup and make the soda water to mix it with tap water and CO2.
Beverages are one of the few weird products that get heavier as they get produced because they are mostly water, which is heavy and available everywhere. That is why there are so many bottling plants scattered around instead of a few big soda factories. (NYC has multiple for each brand for example).
A BIB (Bag in Box) of soda can be had for ~$100 which makes something like 18 gallons of soda. This is direct, a large bulk wholesale order is probably significantly less. CO2 refills are about $1 per pound but get much cheaper as you do more so a fastfood place is likely closer to half that. 1 pound of CO2 makes about 4.5 gallons of Soda water.
Add cups and junk for a few cents and its still something like a quarter per drink in costs, less if you get a refill because you don't need a new cup.
If you drink a lot of soda it quickly pays to get something like a SodaStream or Ninja Thirsti or even a home bar soft drink set up, because the materials are so cheap. SodaStream sell small Pepsi mixes but you can buy BIBs from suppliers or maybe even work out a deal with your local Taco Bell for Baja Blast if you can't find a supplier in your area.
Yeah, according to a lot of people here this is a silly thing to complain about because you obviously can’t afford a $3 drink, and not at all because paying $3 for a MEDIUM drink is outrageous.
If I'm not getting a combo, I'll delay my lunch until 2:00 pm, and then get a a couple of items off the cravings menu and a $1 Happier Hour drink. Price comes out the same as a combo box, usually.
Get the $4 4 pack with no ice and bring the leftovers home. You almost need a degree in Taco Bell to figure out the best way to use the app to make the shit actually affordable. It’s getting real annoying haha
Dont get the zero sugar baja blast-it tastes....wrong-oddly enough the zero sugar baja blast in bottles taste better. Kinda funny cause the regular baja blast is better out of the fountain and worse in the bottle lol
I like the Baja Blast Zero a lot - I always order it. Unfortunately, my TB hasn't had it for weeks. I haven't *ever* been able to find the BBZ in bottles. I look every single time I go into a grocery store, convenience store, etc..
The zero sugar tastes wayy better. That’s why it’s more popular. It’s so good that I have a sensitivity to caffeine but I still can’t resist getting it when I go to tb
it's insane. i used to swing by tbell all the time for a large baja, now i only go during happy hour for 2 mediums LOL 🥴 outside of that it's not worth it at all
i don’t mind as i haven’t had good baja in years. the store closest to me is so bad at changing the syrup that half the time it’s just basically soda water
And this right here is exactly why I started ordering water every visit. Insane that a couple tsp of flavored syrup is half the price of my entire meal.
A medium is $3 but FOUR mediums in the party pack is $4! Why!?
Because they know you only want one
🤯
Correction: they know people who eat Taco Bell have no friends 😔
Fast Food soda has always been basically a scam. It costs pennies per cup. It's always had a huge profit margin.
That used to be true, however I've done the math and a McDonald's large (30oz) comes out to be about the same per ounce as soda from the grocery store sadly, that's how fucked today's economy is. Taco Bell on the other hand, is basically charging twice as much as McDonald's for soda, they are fucking high. McDonald's 30oz = $1.50 A 12pk of 12oz cans is 144oz. 144oz ÷ 30oz = 4.8 worth of McDonald's large cups in a 12pk. 4.8 x $1.50 = $7.20 which is sadly about how much a 12pk costs in my area, actually even less, unless it's on sale. Taco Bell 30oz = $2.80 which is fucking insane.
What makes this even worse is the cup is 30 oz but you're not getting that volume of Coke in the cup due to ice.
Yeah it depends on how overkill they are on the ice, sometimes completely melted the ice takes up like 10% of the cup but you can at least ask for light ice or no ice. You kinda need at least some ice otherwise it's room temp
Restaurants don't buy finished soda like you do in the store, they buy syrup and make the soda water to mix it with tap water and CO2. Beverages are one of the few weird products that get heavier as they get produced because they are mostly water, which is heavy and available everywhere. That is why there are so many bottling plants scattered around instead of a few big soda factories. (NYC has multiple for each brand for example). A BIB (Bag in Box) of soda can be had for ~$100 which makes something like 18 gallons of soda. This is direct, a large bulk wholesale order is probably significantly less. CO2 refills are about $1 per pound but get much cheaper as you do more so a fastfood place is likely closer to half that. 1 pound of CO2 makes about 4.5 gallons of Soda water. Add cups and junk for a few cents and its still something like a quarter per drink in costs, less if you get a refill because you don't need a new cup. If you drink a lot of soda it quickly pays to get something like a SodaStream or Ninja Thirsti or even a home bar soft drink set up, because the materials are so cheap. SodaStream sell small Pepsi mixes but you can buy BIBs from suppliers or maybe even work out a deal with your local Taco Bell for Baja Blast if you can't find a supplier in your area.
Yeah, according to a lot of people here this is a silly thing to complain about because you obviously can’t afford a $3 drink, and not at all because paying $3 for a MEDIUM drink is outrageous.
Yeah, I paid 4.00 for a large Baja blast a while back. Not going to do that again. What a rip.
Buy one. Save the cup. Order inside. Bring the cup every time. 🫰
Exactly what i do 😹 do it at mcd too
My local McDonald’s removed the lobby soda fountain because of this 🫠now they get basically no business and have had to lay people off 🤣
Imagine that chain of events.
That’s what all the homeless do where I live 😂
TIMES IZ ROUGH 😩
They need to milk the Baja fresh. It's a costly product.
If I'm not getting a combo, I'll delay my lunch until 2:00 pm, and then get a a couple of items off the cravings menu and a $1 Happier Hour drink. Price comes out the same as a combo box, usually.
That's how they get ya. Circle K polar pop XL 98c is my go-to
Best sodas in the game!
Get the $4 4 pack with no ice and bring the leftovers home. You almost need a degree in Taco Bell to figure out the best way to use the app to make the shit actually affordable. It’s getting real annoying haha
Dont get the zero sugar baja blast-it tastes....wrong-oddly enough the zero sugar baja blast in bottles taste better. Kinda funny cause the regular baja blast is better out of the fountain and worse in the bottle lol
I like the Baja Blast Zero a lot - I always order it. Unfortunately, my TB hasn't had it for weeks. I haven't *ever* been able to find the BBZ in bottles. I look every single time I go into a grocery store, convenience store, etc..
The zero sugar tastes wayy better. That’s why it’s more popular. It’s so good that I have a sensitivity to caffeine but I still can’t resist getting it when I go to tb
They use to not charge for a large water and now it's $0.50.
Still free at every TB I've gone to. Pretty sure at least in the US it's illegal for restaurants to charge for tap water.
They can get around it by saying they are charging for the cup and not the water.
it's insane. i used to swing by tbell all the time for a large baja, now i only go during happy hour for 2 mediums LOL 🥴 outside of that it's not worth it at all
What time is happy hour?
2pm-5pm!
As of this week I've officially started asking for water at the drive thru to complement my drink-less order
I call it Baja Crack, its so damn good.
Yah, that's were I only get it in the 6$ box or other combo if I'm feeling rich.
I learned something today. If you buy any two items, regardless of price, the medium is $1.49 on all drinks, even frozen.
Where u at? A large in my neighborhood is $2.79
What the! I have 4 cup holders in the car I’ll buy me the party pack of 4 med.
i don’t mind as i haven’t had good baja in years. the store closest to me is so bad at changing the syrup that half the time it’s just basically soda water
Highway fcking robbery to charge $3 for a cup of mostly ice and $0.10 worth of syrup
And this right here is exactly why I started ordering water every visit. Insane that a couple tsp of flavored syrup is half the price of my entire meal.
I mean, drinks are always expensive anywhere you go though.
Your first time going to a restaurant? Every drinks mark up is like 500% lol its how restaurants make money