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Texas original and Texas favorite Dr Pepper has been around for well over a century. It's insanely popular around these parts, and most people I know will reach for a Dr Pepper before they'll touch another soda brand.

I gave up "sugar sodas" when I was 11 because I was pressured by older female relatives/friends to do so. They grew up in Orange County, California, so I assumed they knew exactly what was up and I complied with their pressure. I'm glad I did, or I'd likely be as big as a house. I drink several sodas a day. I am ruined for "sugar sodas" forever, as I cannot stand the way they feel on my teeth. Weird, but that's me.

I started my diet soda journey with Diet Coke, as it was the only viable option for a while until Diet Dr Pepper came out. That was my go-to for many years, that is until I discovered Coke Zero.

I'm grateful to the scientists that keep inventing better artificial sweeteners. Coke Zero uses a blend of artificial sweeteners to achieve its great, "real Coke" taste:

We sweeten Coke Zero Sugar in our bottles and cans with a blend of aspartame and acesulfame potassium (or Ace-K).

I make a lot of decisions around Coke Zero, I am much more likely to go to a restaurant that has it (thank you, Wendy's!), and I budget for it when I go to the grocery store. I still very, very much love Coke Zero, but it now has big-time competition with Dr Pepper Zero Sugar, which I will refer to as DPZS from here on out to save my fingers from the typing.

DPZS is delicious. Of course, it tastes much more like a regular Dr Pepper than the old-school diet variety does. It has more depth of flavor; you get more of that rich plum goodness. For a real treat, get DPZS & Cream Soda. It tastes very much like my standard order at Sonic Drive-in -- a DDP with vanilla and cream, but with way fewer calories.

The availability of DDZS is a little weird right now, I've found it at convenience stores in bottles and at Big Lots in cans. Here's hoping it establishes its rightful place on grocery shelves soon.

This article was in no way endorsed or commissioned by Dr Pepper, but if they're looking for the most passionate spokesperson alive, they should call me.

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