SPOT.ph Roadtests Coconut Water: Battle of the Buko Juices!

(SPOT.ph) Nothing says tropical more than coconut trees swaying to the cool breeze during sunset. But not everyone can make a quick escape to the beach to be a part of this vision of paradise. We make do with the next best thing. Sometimes that involves a sidewalk, a cariton, a man with a bolo, and heaps of coconuts ready to be cracked for juicing. Ah yes, the ever dependable buko juice. It’s a refreshing drink during the summer season and a way to escape the depressing flavor of gloom that comes with the rainy season. It’s also being promoted as a natural alternative to sports drinks and has thus earned the adoration of health buffs all over the world, prompting the production of coconut water in boxes and bottles.

So we wonder, which of these commercialized coconut waters on the supermarket shelves is worth grabbing after a long, tiring day at the gym or office? We even bothered to read the labels to see if these drinks make good with the promise that they contain less sugar and no preservatives.

Mogu Mogu Coconut Flavored Drink with Nata de Coco (P79.75/1 L)

Ingredients: Water, Nata de Coco, fructose, sucrose, sodium hyrdrogen sulfate, nature identical coconut flavor, preservative (E211), no color added

Thoughts from the testers:

• "I hate Mogu Mogu."
• "I actually like this."
• "It’s not coconut juice, I just like it for the Nata de Coco."
• "There’s so much sugar in this!" [Note: Drink contains 34 grams of sugar per serving]

Hyrdo Coco: Original (P20/250 ml)

Ingredients: Coconut water, water, sucrose, fructose, acidity regulator malic acid, coconut water flavor, acidity regulator Sodium Bicarbonate, vitamin B3, B5, and B6

Thoughts from the testers:

• "It’s so sour. There’s nothing ’coco’ about this stuff!"
• "From the look on your faces, I don’t even want to try it anymore."
• "This is by far the worst of the bunch."
• "Is this expired?" [Note: The expiry date reads April 2014]

Tropical Dew: 100% Natural Coconut Water (P67/1 L)

Ingredients: 100% Coconut water

Thoughts from the testers:

• "Ano ba ’to? Ba’t ganito lasa?"
• "This tastes more like coconut oil. Yech."
• "I doubt that this is really 100% coconut water."
• "I deeply regret letting this touch my tongue."

La Natural: Young Coconut Juice (P26/330 mL)

Ingredients: Coconut water, water, refined sugar, young coconut bits, carboxy methyl cellulose, sodium metabisulphite (as preservative)

Thoughts from the testers:

• "Why is this yellow?"
• "This tastes like fart."
• "Where did all the refined sugar go?"
• "What the hell is carboxy methyl cellulose? I just put that in my mouth."

Pacific Sun Coco Fresh Natural Coconut Water (P75/1 L)

Ingredients: Coconut water, reconstituted coconut water (purified water + coconut water concentrate), cane sugar, sodium metabisulfite

Thoughts from the testers:

• "This kinda tastes like Coco Quench."
• "How does it manage to taste this old?"
• "I need something to take the taste away from my mouth."
• "Do I really have to taste it? You make it sound so vile."

Nyogi Pure Coconut Water (P26.50/250 mL)

Ingredients: Pure coconut water

Thoughts from the testers:

• "It tastes like water."
• "This one kinda tastes like paper."
• "Haha. Nyogi. Cute name."
• "It’s not as bad as the others but it doesn’t taste like anything."

Tasco Brand Young Coconut Juice with Pulp (P26/250 mL)

Ingredients: Young coconut juice, water, sugar, sodium metabisulphite

Thoughts from the testers:

• "I kinda like it but the taste doesn’t want to leave your mouth."
• "I like it when you first drink it but I can taste the can, too."
• "It’s pretty okay, just has that metallic taste. I kinda like it."
• "Ooh. It has coconut bits."

Tropicana Coco Quench Coconut Water Drink (P94/1L)

Ingredients: Coconut water, reconstituted coconut water, sugar,  sodium metabisulfite

Thoughts from the testers:

• "Tastes old."
• "It’s like the juice of a coconut left in the husk for a long time."
• "I think they included some of the husk in there."
• "It’s just weird that this is actually relatively okay."

Coco Royal Pure Coconut Water (P30.25 / 300 mL)

Ingredients: Coconut juice, potassium metabisulphite

Thoughts from the testers:

• "I like this one! It actually tastes like coconut!"
• "I’m going to Google ’potassium metabisulphite’."
• "Hey, maybe it tastes better when it’s in a glass bottle. This is pretty good!"
• "I think this is the best one!"

Lipa Fresh Coconut Water (P52 / 500 mL)

Ingredients: Fresh coconut water, sugar, fresh young coconut meat

Thoughts from the testers:

• "My favorite! It’s the most refreshing!"
• "I like Coco Royal better. Maybe you just have brand loyalty."
• "I’m not sure which one I like more but I guess it earns points for not having chemicals?"
• "Ito ang pinakamasarap."

Verdict

Most of what we tasted made us regret taking on this task but it was fun finding out that there can be a variety of interpretations for what can pass for "coconut flavor." Lipa wins by a nose against Coco Royal since it lists no chemical additives among its ingredients.