We tested 10 coconut water – here are our favorites

When I was a child, coconut water was a special treat reserved for restaurants – generally Thai or Vietnamese – which transported fresh coconut. My sisters and I pray to my parents to please, please, please Order one, until they agree and the three of us get our own coconut. The server would cap three young coconuts on the table, each with their tops died out and a straw which escapes. We were happyly moving away, savoring the sweet and refreshing juice and the tender white flesh.

My friends, that’s why I was so disappointed the first time that I tried wrapped coconut water. It was the mid -2000s, and coconut with rancid taste did not look like the fresh stuff I grew up by drinking. We have gone through a long way since, and today there are many options of wrapped coconuts. The question is: which deserves to be purchased?

To find the best coconut water, our publishers have sampled 10 different brands that you will find likely to find in your local or online supermarket. We have each placed in cups, then sampled them in a random order without knowing which coconut water was which one. After having tasted 21 different coconut waters, we tabule the results and crowned a global winner that we would be happy to sip.

The criteria

Coconut water must be naturally sweet, hazelnut and refreshing. It should have the tropical notes of coconut without tasting like a sunscreen or a tanning, and it should not taste rancid, sour or musk. It must have a clean taste, with a velvety texture which is always more lightly thicker than water.

General winner

The unique organic coconut water of trader Joe

All our tasters were enthusiastic about this coconut water, which had a beautiful pink shade and a pleasant sweetness. Our editor -in -chief of social media, Kelli, wrote: “It has the taste of pure coconut that I expected!” Like Kelli, our assistant editorial director Megan and I both appreciated her coco-data flavor profile. “Maybe it’s pink that leads me but it has a good taste. More coconut and sweet nuts than the others,” wrote Megan. Likewise, our editorial director, Daniel, noted: “Good, close to fresh coconut water. Not 100% the same, but it would be a good substitute. ”

Finalist

Biological shoe of harmless harvesting

“Soft! Refreshing! Does this young coconut? Kelli wrote, who is the greatest compliment you could give coconut water. Although Daniel and Megan both thought that it was a little too fruity – Daniel detected a hint of grenade, which he had not – they both agreed that it was not bad, but not what they expected from the coconut. Like our winner, harvestive Harvest coconut water has a pretty pink shade and a natural sweetness that called on all our tasters.

The contenders

• 365 by Whole Foods Market Coconut Eau
• C2O Coconut Water “The Original”
• Goya coconut water with pulp
• Biological shoe of harmless harvesting
• Kirkland Organic Signature Coconut Eau
• Once upon a time there was a coconut 100% pure coconut water
• Trader Joe’s Pure Coconut Eau
• The unique organic coconut water of trader Joe
• Vita coco original coconut water
• Vita coconut pressed coconut water

In conclusion

Of all the coconut waters that we sample, only two specified the variety of the coconut used and where the coconuts came: our winner, the original organic coconut water from Trader Joe, and our finalist and an harmless organic nut water. The two brands use Nam Hom Coconuts of Thailand.

According to Dr. Niranjana Murty Hosakatte, professor of botany at the University of Karnatak and author of Genetic diversity of fruits and nutsThe Coconut Water of Nam Hom Coconuts is “very aromatic” and “sweet with a vibrating pink color” because of its many polyphenols-plants with antioxidant properties-including 2-Acetyl-1-Pyrroline (2AP), which gives the coconut water of refreshing and hazelnut flavor. Although coconut water is colorless when the coconut is open for the first time, it becomes pink while the many antioxidants oxidize in the presence of light.

Manufacturers often paste coconut water to make it sure to consume; This process, however, breaks down the many volatile compounds which can give coconut its pink shade and aromatic flavors. According to Trader Joe’s, their unique coconut water is pasteurized using a “short -term method at high temperature”. Also known as short time at high temperature (HTST) or flash pasteurization, the process is to heat coconut water at a temperature between 160 ° and 165 ° F (71.5 ° to 74 ° C) for three to 15 seconds, which kills bacteria. “The harmless harvest, on the other hand, does not have coconut water thermally and uses a micro-filtration system to sterilize their coconut water.

Our publishers generally preferred coconut water with a single ingredient: coconut water. The marks containing added sugar were often unpleasantly sweet, and those which included ascorbic acid as conservative were often too tangy to our taste. We preferred coconut water on the canned coconut water, with coconut water tetrapak arriving last. This is probably due to the fact that coconut water tetrapak is ultra-pasture, which can have a negative impact on the flavor of the drink. Although ultra-pasture coconut water is passable and we drank it in a pinch, we would all prefer to sip a lot of fresh, pink and tasty coconut water that has the taste of coconut.

Our test methodology

All taste tests are carried out with completely hidden and discussion marks. Tasteers have a samples taste in a random order. For example, the taster can taste the sample a first, while the B tootter B has first taste the sample six. It is a question of preventing the fatigue of the palace from unjustly give a single sample an advantage. Tasters are invited to fill out our tasting sheets classifying the samples for various criteria. All data is tabulent and the results are calculated without editorial entry in order to give us the most impartial representation of the real results possible.