Fairtrade Organic Coconut Beer-A Taste Of A Tropical Paradise! (Mongozo Coconut Beer)

Member Name: Machair1

Product:	Mongozo Coconut Beer
Date:	15/05/09 (35 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Delicious and refreshing and something different.

Disadvantages: None

Thursday and Friday is boys' night in at our house and I join them! The telly is great with American Idol reaching its finale, and I usually get in a few treats and we settle down for a few hours of fun.

I try to pick out some different things to try and recently when shopping on one of my favourite websites at www.ethicalsuperstore.com I came across some rather delicious sounding coconut beer called Mongozo.

As a lover of all things coconut and tropical I thought this sounded really lovely and so I bought a few bottles. They also sell a banana version too which I have also bought, but this review is about the newly sampled and much enjoyed coconut flavour.

The bottle itself looks like you would be served this on a tropical deck in The Maldives with the sound of waves rippling. The blue label with a wonderful coconut against the backdrop of a desert island is simply divine. The shimmering blue foil around the bottle neck is a lovely decorative touch.

This beer is made from fair trade organic Quinua and because you are opting to buy this it is ensuring that the growers in the third world are paid adequately and fairly for their product.

It is made from Water, Malts, Quinua, Coconut, Yeast, Hops, and Sugar and this is brewed in Belgium. 3.5% alcohol. Quinua is an alternative spelling for the grain Quinoa which you may be more familiar with, and is an ancient grain full of protein and once referred to as "The Gold Of The Incas". It is a complete protein containing all the essential amino acids and is full of magnesium and b vitamins too!

The producers of this beer say that it is best enjoyed in a half coconut shell which I can believe, but a glass is absolutely fine, it could, however, be a novel idea for a summer barbeque to serve it in this unique way.

The history of this beer is really quite unique. It was created by the The Chokwe who are an ethnic group living in Central Africa and the name of the beer means "to Your health" in their native language. Now in their culture it is a 2 century year old tradition that women make beer, not men, and it was the great, great grandmother of Henrige Kabia who made a new beer using palm nuts. As this lady had no daughters she had to break with tribal tradition and tell the recipe to her son and when he arrived in The Netherlands as a refugee he was able to use this secret to make this beer which is now made under contract in Belgium
http://www.mongozo.com/

The company actually make 5 flavours altogether including Mango, Quinua and Palmnut. Ethical Superstore don't stock these but I am thinking of emailing them as the mango sounds lovely!

So what did we think? - Our opinion.
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We all love it. It's like drinking Malibu but in a beer! The intense flavour of coconuts radiates from the delicate fizzing amber liquid which is subtly different from beer made just from hops. It's light and refreshing and perfect to serve with exotic meals. I really love it with any kind of curry which you can of course add coconut too and it makes a refreshing summer drink.

The boys in my house love it. In their words it is delicious, tropical, and sweet, has a lingering aftertaste of Bounty Bars and reminds them of holidays. I think it is unique, different, and certainly one I would choose again as not being a lager drinker myself I thought this was really lovely, and so bridges the gap for those who are not quite so fond of beers and lagers.

It costs £2.19 for a bottle containing 330ml and you can also buy in bulk from Ethical Superstore which is discounted by 5%. At the moment they are doing free delivery for orders over £10 and if you purchase through Quidco you will receive a further 10% off.

It's a lovely summer drink to sip in the garden or to take on a special picnic.
A really lovely and unusual drink, a taste of the exotic. I bought some sundried fruits to have with this including pineapple, coconuts, and papayas and it was a lovely night in with a desert island theme!

Summary: A beautiful summer beer.