When the Silicon Valley investment firm BlueRun Ventures redecorated its Menlo Park, Calif., office last year, it stacked its entryway with a throw pillow embroidered with a black hashtag, carefully placed vintage typewriters, wireless speakers hidden in chalkboard art and wall-mounted wooden crates that display glass bottles of Coca-Cola imported from Mexico. The soda-as-décor is “a little retro and throwback,” said Cheryl Cheng, 37, a partner at the firm.

Among subcultures that pride themselves on early adoption — techies, foodies, Brooklyn baristas — Mexican Coke is the new black. MexiCoke, as it is also called, is imported from Mexico and is sweetened by pure cane sugar, rather than the corn syrup found in the American version. Devotees say it delivers a sugar-infused, caffeine-amplified buzz, which is a particular draw for stay-up-all-night coders, writers and musicians. For hard-core fans, it’s Mexican Coke or none at all.

More expensive than most sodas, 12- and 16.9-ounce glass bottles of the beverage can go for $3 or more apiece. But its followers splurge because of what they see as a two-pronged authenticity — a nostalgic look and natural ingredients (as natural as a soda can be, anyway). “One of the things that is really important to us is having all high-quality ingredients to our food, and we want that in our beverages as well,” said Tyler Brown, beverage manager for the Umami Restaurant Group, which sells Mexican Coke along with shiitake mushrooms on its burgers at its 24 restaurants. Mr. Brown said MexiCoke is its best-selling drink.

The drink is emerging as a pop-culture reference as well. Last month, the hip-hop duo Leather Corduroys released a new single, “Mexican Coke,” on SoundCloud. The musicians Joey Purp and Kami de Chukwu (whose real names are Joey Purple and Kene Ekwunife) said they chose the title because it signals that they are hipper than most hip-hop artists. “Mainstream would be like American Coke, with artificial flavors, and we would be like Mexican Coke — better packaged, all that,” Mr. Purp said.