We Style-Examined 10 Coconut Waters—Right here Are Our Favorites

Once I was a baby, coconut water was a particular deal with reserved for eating places—normally Thai or Vietnamese—that carried contemporary coconuts. My sisters and I might beg my dad and mom to please, please, please order one, till they acquiesced and acquired the three of us our personal coconuts. The server would plonk three younger coconuts onto the desk, every with their tops lopped off and a straw poking out. We’d slurp away fortunately, savoring the candy, refreshing juice and the tender white flesh. 

That, my associates, is why I used to be so upset the primary time I attempted packaged coconut water. It was the mid-2000s, and the rancid-tasting coconut water was nothing just like the contemporary stuff I grew up ingesting. We’ve come a great distance since then, and at this time, there are a lot of nice packaged coconut water choices. The query is: Which of them are price shopping for?

To search out the perfect coconut water, our editors sampled 10 totally different manufacturers you’re more likely to discover at your native grocery store or on-line. We positioned every in cups, then sampled them in random order with out figuring out which coconut water was which. After tasting our manner by way of 21 totally different coconut waters, we tabulated the outcomes and topped an general winner that we’d be completely happy to sip on.

The Standards

Coconut water needs to be naturally candy, nutty, and refreshing. It ought to have the tropical notes of coconut with out tasting like sunscreen or tanning oil, and it mustn’t style rancid, bitter, or musky. It ought to style clear, with a velvety texture that’s ever so barely thicker than water.

Total Winner

Dealer Joe’s Single Origin Natural Coconut Water

All our tasters had been smitten by this coconut water, which had a stunning pink hue and nice sweetness. Our senior social media editor Kelli wrote: “This has the pure coconut style I’ve been ready for!” Like Kelli, our affiliate editorial director Megan and I each loved its coconut-forward taste profile. “Possibly it’s the pink that’s getting me however this one tastes good. Extra coconutty and candy than the others,” Megan wrote. Equally, our editorial director Daniel famous, “Good, close-ish to contemporary coconut water. Not 100% the identical, however chilled it’d be a positive substitute.” 

Runner-Up

Innocent Harvest Natural Coconut Water

“Candy! Refreshing! Is that this younger coconut?” Kelli wrote, which is the best praise you might give coconut water. Although Daniel and Megan each thought it was barely too fruity—Daniel detected a touch of pomegranate, which it didn’t have—they each agreed it wasn’t unhealthy, simply not what they anticipated from coconut water. Like our winner, Innocent Harvest’s coconut water has a gorgeous pink hue and pure sweetness that appealed to all our tasters.

The Contenders

• 365 by Complete Meals Market Coconut Water
• C2O Coconut Water “The Unique”
• Goya Coconut Water With Pulp
• Innocent Harvest Natural Coconut Water
• Kirkland Signature Natural Coconut Water
• As soon as Upon a Coconut 100% Pure Coconut Water
• Dealer Joe’s Pure Coconut Water
• Dealer Joe’s Single Origin Natural Coconut Water
• Vita Coco The Unique Coconut Water
• Vita Coco Pressed Coconut Water

In Conclusion

Of all of the coconut waters we sampled, solely two specified the number of coconut used and the place the coconuts got here from: our winner, Dealer Joe’s Single Origin Natural Coconut Water, and our runner-up, Innocent Harvest Natural Coconut Water. Each manufacturers use nam hom coconuts from Thailand.

In response to Dr. Niranjana Murthy Hosakatte, a botany professor at Karnatak College and creator of Genetic Range of Fruits and Nuts, coconut water from nam hom coconuts is “extremely fragrant” and “candy with a vibrant pink shade” due to its many polyphenols—plant compounds with antioxidant properties—together with 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (2AP), which provides the coconut water its refreshingly candy and nutty taste. Although the coconut water is colorless when the coconut is first opened, it turns pink as the numerous antioxidants oxidize within the presence of sunshine. 

Producers usually pasteurize coconut water to make it safer to devour; this course of, nonetheless, breaks down the numerous unstable compounds that can provide coconut water its pink hue and fragrant flavors. In response to Dealer Joe’s, their single origin coconut water is pasteurized utilizing a “high-temperature short-duration methodology.” Also referred to as high-temperature short-time (HTST) or flash pasteurization, the method entails heating coconut water to a temperature between 160° to 165°F (71.5° to 74°C) for 3 to fifteen seconds, which kills off micro organism whereas additionally, in response to TJ’s website, “retaining the vibrancy of the coconut taste.” Innocent Harvest, then again, doesn’t thermally pasteurize their coconut water in any respect, and makes use of a micro-filtration system to sterilize their coconut water.

Our editors typically most popular coconut water with only one ingredient: coconut water. Manufacturers containing added sugar had been usually unpleasantly candy, and people who included ascorbic acid as a preservative had been usually a contact too tart for our liking. We most popular bottled coconut water over canned coconut water, with tetrapak coconut water coming in final. That is probably as a result of tetrapak coconut water is ultra-pasteurized, which may negatively influence the flavour of the beverage. Although ultra-pasteurized coconut water is satisfactory and we’d drink it in a pinch, we’d all a lot favor to sip on contemporary, pink, flavorful coconut water that tastes prefer it got here straight from a coconut.

Our Testing Methodology

All style exams are performed with manufacturers utterly hidden and with out dialogue. Tasters style samples in random order. For instance, taster A could style pattern one first, whereas taster B will style pattern six first. That is to stop palate fatigue from unfairly giving anybody pattern a bonus. Tasters are requested to fill our tasting sheets rating the samples for varied standards. All knowledge is tabulated and outcomes are calculated with no editorial enter so as to give us essentially the most neutral illustration of precise outcomes attainable.