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—often 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 buddies, is why I used to be so dissatisfied 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 right now, there are a lot of nice packaged coconut water choices. The query is: Which of them are value shopping for?

To seek 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 realizing which coconut water was which. After tasting our method by 21 totally different coconut waters, we tabulated the outcomes and topped an general winner that we’d be blissful 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 shouldn’t style rancid, bitter, or musky. It ought to style clear, with a velvety texture that’s ever so barely thicker than water.

General Winner

Dealer Joe’s Single Origin Natural Coconut Water

All our tasters have been captivated with this coconut water, which had a beautiful 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 high-quality substitute.” 

Runner-Up

Innocent Harvest Natural Coconut Water

“Candy! Refreshing! Is that this younger coconut?” Kelli wrote, which is the best praise you possibly can 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 horny pink hue and pure sweetness that appealed to all our tasters.

The Contenders

• 365 by Entire 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 keeping with Dr. Niranjana Murthy Hosakatte, a botany professor at Karnatak College and creator of Genetic Variety of Fruits and Nuts, coconut water from nam hom coconuts is “extremely fragrant” and “candy with a vibrant pink coloration” 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 various antioxidants oxidize within the presence of sunshine. 

Producers typically pasteurize coconut water to make it safer to eat; this course of, nonetheless, breaks down the various unstable compounds that can provide coconut water its pink hue and fragrant flavors. In keeping with Dealer Joe’s, their single origin coconut water is pasteurized utilizing a “high-temperature short-duration technique.” Also called high-temperature short-time (HTST) or flash pasteurization, the method includes 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 accordance with TJ’s web site, “retaining the vibrancy of the coconut taste.” Innocent Harvest, alternatively, 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 usually most popular coconut water with only one ingredient: coconut water. Manufacturers containing added sugar have been typically unpleasantly candy, and people who included ascorbic acid as a preservative have been typically 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 possible as a result of tetrapak coconut water is ultra-pasteurized, which may negatively affect the flavour of the beverage. Although ultra-pasteurized coconut water is satisfactory and we’d drink it in a pinch, we might 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 checks 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 numerous standards. All information is tabulated and outcomes are calculated with no editorial enter as a way to give us probably the most neutral illustration of precise outcomes doable.