*~*Introduction and reason for purchase*~*

I'm a big fan of coconut water and have tried many varieties and up to now my favourites have been Cocofina and VitaCoco. I've normally bought these as a treat singular when I've popped into Holland & Barrett's as they are priced at almost £2 a can, so really are an occasional treat. When I received a £5 Amazon voucher as a reward from one of the survey sites I am a member of I was going to buy a book I'd seen but I happened to just type in coconut water and was surprised that there was an abundance of varieties including Cocofina which were all reasonably priced. I used my voucher in part payment and after receiving another voucher recently I decided to use in the same way, unfortunately Cocofina was out of stock and VitaCoco would work out too expensive so I opted for 12 cans of 'Grace Coconut Water' despite not trying before.

My review will now focus on my experience of trying this drink..



*~*Price, packaging & availability*~*

Grace Coconut Water comes housed in an attractive looking can which is a bright green in colour. There is an etch depicting a freshly cut open coconut with a straw in and the logo is emblazoned on the front in a bold blue font, making the whole appearance quite eyecatching. The green version (which I am reviewing) is the smooth option whilst the more white/ blue can colouring is the added pulp version (which I have also tried).

There is an integrated ring pull attached to the can for accessing the drink and from experience I can say it's relatively easy to open as opposed to some which literally tear your nail off in the process.

I have read online that this is available from selected supermarkets as well as certain health stores though I have only seen it myself online from Amazon where a pack of 12 cans is priced at £ 8.28 - equating to just 69p for a 310 ml size can this is the cheapest coconut water I have come across so far, making it excellent value in my opinion..if it tastes nice that is.



*~*Miscellaneous*~*

I'm not one for copying lengthy ingredient lists of any product but will state the following as I do feel it's important in food/ drink related reviews but please feel free to skip the following:

Grace coconut water contains 85% of young coconut juice and also contains water and sugar.

Each 310 ml can contains the following:

Energy - 400kj/90kcal
Protein - less than 1.6g
Carbohydrates - 22.0g
(of which sugars) - 20.0g
Fat - 0g
Saturates - 0g
Fibre - less than 1.24g
Sodium - 0.189g

The drink also contains: Vitamin C, Manganese, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, Phosphorous, Iron and Copper.

There is no mention on the can that this is vegetarian or vegan friendly as stated on Cocofina tins though this isn't to say it's not but I do need to point this out. For more information on Grace Foods in general check out www.gracefoods.co.uk or write to

Grace Foods UK Ltd
Grace House
WGC
Herts
AL7 1HW

Grace Coconut Water is produced in Thailand for Grace Foods.



*~*My experience of drinking Grace Coconut Water*~*

I have to admit I had never heard of Grace coconut water until coming across it on Amazon when it popped up as an alternative to my regular coconut water CocoFina. For the price I thought it seemed very reasonable, too reasonable in fact compared to the other brands and I was a little apprehensive of purchasing as I wondered if it would be a lower quality to ones I had previously drank. As technically it was only costing me £3.28 of my own money I decided to use my amazon £5 voucher towards it to try out at least.

On opening the can with the large pull back ring pull, there was a pleasant but faint aroma of coconut that emitted. On pouring into a glass I could see the drink was thin and had the consistency of tap water and whilst it claims it is a clear liquid I would describe this as being slightly opaque but with still enough transparency to class it as clear in comparison with similar products (which are far more milky white in colour almost like coconut milk).

The drink when consumed is pleasantly palatable with an average coconut essence that seems to hit the back of my mouth and my taste buds as soon as it is consumed. I wouldn't say this is overly sweet, as to be honest my preconceptions were it would be for some reason, but is far more 'nutty' than I imagined.

I know I'm making comparisons here but the reason I adore Cocofina is due to it's nutty essence that lingers and although Grace coconut water is far sweeter in comparison it actually leaves a woody/ nutty aftertaste making it a very palatable drink (for me anyway).



*~*Would I recommend this?*~*

This coconut water may have been a substitute for my regular variety though I have to admit to being very impressed with it. It has a smooth texture when drinking and because of it's thin consistency it goes down very well making it easy drinking material. I have found it to be particularly refreshing in the recent bout of warm weather that we have experienced and is ideal on it's own (with or without ice) as well as being an ideal mixer for some Coconut Liqueur that we were given as a present at Christmas. The water is is smooth and refreshing and has just the right balance of sweetness/ nutty essence to make this an ideal Summer soft drink.


Coconut water is an ideal drink for during/ after training, in hot weather or even after a hhavy night on the tiles as it helps to restores the body's natural PH balance.

I adore this and in future will purchase again through Amazon when I redeem a voucher as it such an easy drinking beverage that really hits the spot and refreshes almost instantly. It's smooth and tastes sublime leaving a hint of nutty essence as an aftertaste and is perfect.

*It's also worth pointing out that I have recently tried the pulp version though I was less than impressed with this as I found it lacked taste, and though I have nothing against drinks containing pulp as a rule (in fact I often prefer the option to smooth) I just found what it made up in pulp it lacked in taste so have since stuck to purchasing the smooth variety.

Extremely refreshing, smooth, not too sweet/ nutty and extremely economical in price in comparison with similar products this is an ideal Summer drink and highly recommended.

5/5