COCONAUT - sparkling young coconut water
pleasantly unusual
coconut drinks are quite divisive, as far as i can tell. they’re not easy to swallow (pun intended) due to the gelatinous consistency of raw coconut, perhaps on account of the vaguely herby taste too. for those living in parts of the world where coconuts are not easily accessibly commodities, i’d think expectations regarding the flavour of the hard shelled fruit are shaped by synthetic tastes (think Bounty bars). as such, i had no idea what to expect with this one, and the “sparkly” bit of the title made it even more intriguing.
• taste profile: as one would expect, it smells like coconut, but subtly so. you can tell it’s carbonated from the get go, as the fumes escaping the can subtly stung my nostrils. a first sip does little to clarify what this is like, but the aftertaste, in its simplicity, is pleasant - beautiful tones of toasted coconut. the taste appears to cut down the middle, so to speak: while the carbonation brings forth salinity, the coconut water is sweet, albeit lacking in complexity. i guess what makes this an interesting drink is just how confusing it is - it subverts our expectations about the flavour (i.e. coconut water) with a texture which is not typically associated with it (i.e. carbonated water).
• rating: 8/10; not sure this is something i’d have on the daily, but it is a very interesting product. given how difficult it is to pinpoint the flavour, i found it engaging, each and every time i took a sip. it’s good - give it a try. but i feel this may be a little too experimental to make for a widely consumed product.
• background: without digging too deep, this appears to be a Polish company. a cursory search and i was able to track down two websites for Coconaut:
an international site, which is… interesting in terms of marketing (see below).
yeah, “who is he?”
labelled an “isotonic” drink, it definitely plays into the sports drink wave of marketing. and that’s okay - at the end of the day, the ingredients on the list are nothing i’d personally be worried about.
