Coconut Water-Nariyal paani

Being from Mumbai, where you get fresh coconut water at every corner, I miss this delicious drink in the land of sodas. Somehow sugary frizzy soda products just cannot satisfy thirst like sipping on cool coconut water on a warm sunny day. Not to mention the guilt of flooding your body with heaps of sugar and caffeine is unbearable.

There is a certain fascination to watch Nariyalwalah ( Coconut seller) expertly slash off  tough coconut skin with a rusty looking knife to make a tinsy hole at the top for a straw. As if the coconut water is not enough, the malai ( cream inside the coconut) is another wonder in itself. In Mumbai, coconut sellers  make a spoon from discarded coconut skin to scoop out the malai. Every bite is creamy, sweet and oh so delish!

Back to my hankering for coconut water, it is impossible to get fresh coconut water in Atlanta. So packaged coconut water is my next best bet. When you think of packaged products , preservatives are inevitable. Not true. At Costco, I tasted VitaCoco. 100% pure coconut water with no preservatives. Sounds too good to be true. So I researched their website to find out more.  The only ingredients in each pack is coconut water ( Not from concentrate) and Vitamin C.  Per the website, young green coconuts harvested in Brazil are used in VitaCoco. So whats the verdict on the taste, you ask? Very very close to a  fresh coconut sans the malai. No fat, no cholesterol, five essential electrolytes, more potassium than two bananas..and super hydration. No wonder coconut water is the new Hollywood fancy diet. Starlets like Demi Moore are seen sipping this natures wonder for fab bod. Packaging of this product is super convenient too. No aluminium cans. 12 individual paper cans with all the natural goodness inside. Perfect to grab on the go. At Costco, price for a pack of 12 cans is around $15.

Post a comment if you have tried this product.