Wednesday, February 11, 2009

O.N.E. Coconut Water

{Update #2 -- Just posted about Vita Coco Passion Fruit Coconut Water, and LOVED it -- I think I got a bad O.N.E. when I bought it because the taste/consistency was really different from this experience, see that post here.}

Have any of you tried O.N.E. Coconut Water?

ONE is coconut water from the inside of a young coconut before the meat grows in, which is where all the fat comes from, and then it's naturally filtered to give us this drink... It is supposed to be an excellent source for replacing lost electrolytes (nature's gatorade),

I have read MANY blogs about this product - people RAVING about how delish this was, etc etc.... I don't know. I got some today at Whole Foods (it was $5.49 for a 1 liter container! eeek)... and I don't think I really like it. Which is weird! I love coconut - I especially love cooking with coconut milk when making rice for thai dishes... but this stuff? not so much.

It's got a weird taste. And it's kinda thick - which grosses me out.... my co-worked tried some and thought it tasted like yogurt... I'll give it another taste tomorrow, maybe when it's colder it will be better.

I guess this is a good thing. If I did love it, it would be a very expensive craving to keep up.


**** UPDATE: For anyone coming to this site to read about this product, please read the comments below - there are some big Coconut Water fans out there!!!! I, sadly, was not one - though, it's been brought to my attention that I may have gotten a bad one, so if I try it again, I'll let you know.

26 comments:

sallybranwyn said...

This is so funny because I had heard the same thing and saw a little single serve size at my local convenience store. I tried it and blech! It tasted just weird and I also LOVE coconut. It wasn't horrible, but I'm not a fan, so I'll leave the supply to those who love it!

Anonymous said...

I love fresh coconut water! (the one straight from a coconut) It's better chilled.Its a great diuretic and really helps "clean" the kidneys. I don't know how this one tastes like, but we sometimes add a little milk and sugar in it which my son loves!

Marlow said...

I think coconut water tastes like a dirty butt...wait that's really harsh. I think coconut water tastes really really bad.

Amanda on Maui said...

I like coconut water, but I've never had it taste or feel like yogurt. Eww. Maybe you got a bad one.

Anonymous said...

I love ONE coconut water!

I drink it everyday after a long run.

It is a natural gatorade!

Anonymous said...

So I have been using O.N.E. Coconut water for a few months now and I must say I am VERY delighted with it. I have never been someone who has had anything other than water during a training session until I was put onto O.N.E. Coconut water and gave it a whirl. I don't like how sports drinks have left me more thirsty in the past. I have found that when mixing O.N.E. with regular water there is almost no taste other than that of natural water. Previously, when I had been training I would wake up in the middle of the night with charlie horses in my calves or legs and I was doing nowhere near the amount of training that I am doing these days. I have noticed that through out my workouts my muscles aren't cramping either. All of this is FANTASTIC in my eyes!!!

My favorite thing about O.N.E., if I were to only have one fav thing is that it is ALL natural. I LOVE all natural products.

J C

Anonymous said...

When I was a kid, I loved drinking the water from the coconuts my mother bought. My friends thought that was weird but it is delicious. Now it has become trendy 20 years later. The O.N.E. brand is by far the best I have found. It tastes the freshest and is pure. Best served chilled. It should not be like yogurt. I'm not sure if you got an old expired one or something or if it was actually another brand.

Here's a tip - if you want shredded coconut for a recipe but do not want the sulfites and sugar in packaged brands buy a whole coconut from the produce section and hammer it until it breaks. Do this over a bowl if you want to save the water and strain to remove the shell bits that fall in. Use a butter knife to pry the meat from the shell. Peel the inner skin from the white pulp with a vegetable peeler and the shred using a grater. Store in a zip lock bag in the freezer. It stays white with no chemicals this way.

Sherri said...

I have to agree.I do not necessarily like the flavor of coconut water either.I will use it on occasion because of the health benefits. People saying it is delicious is beyond me- gotta be used to digesting bland food like rice patties. It has to be something you acquire a taste for.

lorrwill said...

Am I glad I found this. I just read some people saying this is the best coconut water so I went to onecoco.com and the website is a hot mess. I am going to try the Harvest Bay stuff instead.

Thick? ewww. The coconut water that comes out of a coconut is - well like water.

Anonymous said...

I'm drinking one of these right now. It's thin like water and only slightly coconutty, as though it was taken from a fresh coconut.

One more time, this product is not supposed to be thick. There was something seriously wrong with yours. I hope you get a chance to try fresh coconut water someday so you can make a better informed decision of the stuff. Yes, the taste is mild, but it's no rice patty. You should be able to taste a little sweet, a little coconut, and a little planty vegetation taste. Good luck!

Anonymous said...

From wikipedia: While people prefer different flavors of coconut water, generally a green coconut with some age spots is the most popular. Coconuts from various parts of the world also differ in taste. For example, Indian coconuts tend to be sweet while Brazilian coconuts have a bland taste and Bangladeshi coconuts (due to the soil composition) have extremely sweet water and flesh with a very slight salty aftertaste similar to the Indian.

I'm trying a large brown coconut from Mexico. Its very bland with no sweetness at all - not very good. I'm wondering if time of year has anything to do with it.

Anonymous said...

the reason you didn't like it is probably because you were expecting coconut milk taste and it is not the same thing. Yogurt?! are you sure what you got was still good? It's supposed to look like cloudy drinking water and you should drink it cold to get the best taste... however , you are entitled to your opinion.
Be mindful that, people have been drinking coconut water for thousands of years before you and that your opinion formed on a very obviously limited experience with coconut really won't change things much on a grand scale.
I do agree with you on one thing. It is expensive... good marketing for american society that is forever overpaying for things that are basic every where else in the world...

Jalisa said...

I was a bit disappointed when I got this stuff. I had been looking around for weeks to find some. I absolutely love coconut and pineapple so I got the coconut water that has a splash of pineapple... Not what my taste buds were expecting! Or maybe I was expecting the sweet flavor like in Haagen-Daz pineapple coconut ice cream. Either way, I'll pass on the coconut water!

Allie said...

hey jalisa - yeah, this ONE plain coco nut was not my fave -- but I really liked the Passion Fruit Vita Coco water, I think it helps to have the flavoring! I posted about it here:

http://glutenfreegabfest.blogspot.com/2010/03/vita-coco-naturally-gluten-free.html

kelly said...

I was in a small grocery store in California and I saw a can of coconut water/juice. I forget what brand it was, but it was in a tall, thing can that was light green.

It tasted absolutely horrible. There were three of us passing it around, trying to taste and drink it.

It really just tasted straight like butt and we got two cans, too. Both were horrible.

There must be some kind of taster gene or area on certain people's tongues because there are definitely people raving about coconut water. I tried Googling why it tasted so bad and only found a few results, this being one of them. I refuse to believe you, or even me just happened to get a "bad" one. It just must truly tastes gagging-disgusting like rancid diapers to some of us. Why? I don't know.

AMANDA said...

We sell O.N.E. here at our non-toxic medi spa in D.C. (holecomedispa), and it is AMAZING! We go through it fairly quickly so we always have a fresh batch on hand, but if it goes bad = YUCK!

Coconut Water is BEST COLD! Refrigerate before use! I first tried it warm ewwwww, then I tried after a while COLD = AWESOME!

We sell them as singles and in cases of 12 unlike supermarkets who usually only sell singles.

HOPE IT HELPS,
REMEMBER COCONUT WATER = COLD!

~Amanda

Anonymous said...

I have tried all brands of coconut water, but nothing comes close to the real thing, some brands do taste horrible, and that could be due to any extra preservatives they put in, I find Vita Coco tooo sweet, ONE coco is actually the closest I have gotten to the coconut water I used to get back home in India for a price three times as less than ONE coco, so I treat like a treat!

Anonymous said...

I tried O.N.E and it's the same as the consistency as water and a little cloudy. But not all of them taste right (non flavored version). The ones that don't taste right have a slightly sour flavor. Since the good flavored ones have such a subtle flavor, it make a big difference. Do they add any extra stuff in the drink? It that happens, just close you nose and guzzle it down quickly like bad medicine, unless you got the bigger package.

Anonymous said...

ONE is definitely not as good as Vita Coco. Vita Coco is so much better for you and it tastes good

Anonymous said...

I love all things coconut and especially, coconut water from fresh coconuts! My mother lives in P.R. and has many palms. I visited last year and enjoyed fresh cut green coconut water every day...paradise! We also enjoy young thai coconuts from time to time and love the water...sweet and flavorful!
I tried a O.N.E. coconut water today, and it did not taste like the real thing...my daughters, who love fresh coconut water and drink it happily and eagerly, did not like the taste of the O.N.E. either. I discovered on the packaging that it says "gently pasteurized"!!! EEEEEK! It may be that the difference is in the pasteurization. I don't know what method they use, but it would be interesting to find out. Some use heat, steam or chemical pasteurization. Just like the almonds in this country, that are sold as "raw" ARE NOT truly raw. A law was passed a few years ago, demanding pasteurization of all almonds packaged in this country and those that come in from over seas...but I digress.
So, check it out and see if that is the reason why you don't prefer the taste of O.N.E. My suggestion: just by raw coconuts and drink their water...they are cheaper, too!

Anonymous said...

I prefer Taste Nirvana Coconut Water. My nutrition health store carries about 5 brands which I've tried all and I like 'Taste Nirvana Coconut Water' best and 'One' comes in a close 2nd.

Renai said...

I just opened a container of O.N.E. for the first time and threw it out without even tasting it. Supposedly doesn't expire for another two months, but it smelled absolutely rancid. I'm familiar with fresh coconut water and not expecting anything sweet or neutral- but this was foul. How do they have such quality control issues? I'm going to have a very hard time getting myself to try it again.

Unknown said...

Salty, SOUR (expiration date on my container of ZICO was well in advance, so that wasn't the problem)& expensive, to boot. Weird, since i adore anything coconutty...this is my 3rd attempt but it's still YUCK YUCK YUCK

:-P

Anonymous said...

If you want good coconut water, try Conchita. It comes in a red can, and I can't get enough of the stuff. It doesn't have that weird taste (my mom calls it a "brown" taste) that a lot of other coconut waters have.

teamo shibal said...

I purchased two cans of Maui & Sons coconut water this weekend. This way my first attempt to try coconut water. I made sure the dates were good - chilled in the fridge about two hours. I opened the can and poured into a clear glass. It was smooth like water but cloudy. The taste was (to me) horrible. It tasted nothing like coconut. I really wanted to like it too.

Unknown said...

I love coconut water but every O.N.E. brand I tried tasted horrible compared to others. Thought it was a bad batch at first, but I think that's how theirs tastes. I guess it's because they use green ones from Brazil. I've found the best ones to be from Thailand.