The Best Coconut Water You Can Buy at the Store

Our favorite brand of coconut water is Zola Original Coconut Water. Stopping short ofcracking open our own coconuts, we sampled 19tetra-paks, cans, and bottles ofnature's sports drink, ultimately deeming Zola the best coconut water. Zola has a pleasingly subtle flavor with just a bit of tropical aroma and natural sweetness, and a tart, refreshing finish. For our methodology and the full list of coconut waters we tasted, scroll to the bottom of the page. First up, the rankings!

The Best Coconut Water Brand:Zola

Coconut water needs to strike a delicate balance. It's naturally salty, naturally sweet, and also naturally sour. Some of the coconut waters we tasted were too sweet, giving them an artificial vibe. Others veered too far into sour territory—not refreshing. Zola, however, hit all three points in harmony. Made with coconuts from Thailand, Zola hits the tongue with a faint vanilla malt flavor and then finishes with a lemony zing. The color is clear with a slight cloudiness, which is important to note since many of our samples were a swampy yellow color (not necessarily a bad thing nutritionally, but not particularly appetizing either). Don't take that to heart though, since the clearest coconut water we tasted was also the most foul smelling—the biggest turnoff of all. Zola, however, has a wonderful tropical aroma—smelling as if someone in the next room had just ripped open a bag of dried coconut. Consider it an all-purpose coconut water: great for drinking after a workout, mixing into your favoritesmoothie, or using tobraise a Vietnamese pork dinner.

BUY IT:Zola Original Coconut Water, $55 for 12 (1-liter) tetra-paks at Amazon

Our Favorite Organic Coconut Water:Harmless Harvest

The firstpink coconut waterto hit store shelves in the U.S., Harmless Harvest is our pick for the best organic coconut water. Off the bat you'll notice that Harmless Harvest, which is also made exclusively with Thai coconuts, has a nuttier aroma than most other brands—some tasters compared it to the milk at the bottom of a cereal bowl. It has a more robust flavor too. The reason for this is the same reason for its delicate pink hue—this coconut water is minimally processed and kept in refrigeration, resulting in a drink that, according to the brand, tastes "the closest you can come to drinking straight from a coconut." It's also noticeably sweet, but the sweetness tastes natural, as opposed to a few other contenders which had an artificial quality.Emily Johnsonwished it had "a little more tang" though, and admitted her absolute "ideal coconut water would be an equal mix of Harmless Harvest andPure Brazilian"—the other pink contender on the roster, which had a fruitier, tarter, less nutty profile. She then demonstrated this to the group by combining the two and passing it around the room. Honestly, it really was delicious.

BUY IT:Harmless Harvest Coconut Water, $10 for 32-ounces at Target.com

Clearly, not all coconut water is made the same.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle

Our Favorite Store-Brand Coconut Water:Whole Foods 365

A touch sweeter than Zola—but nowhere near the sweetness of Harmless Harvest—is this easily found grocery store brand. Note, this is the regular coconut water from 365 Everyday Value and not the organic version, which we did not like. It was less complex in flavor than our winner, butBecky Hughesstill called it "exactly what I'm into—a 'lil salty, a 'lil sweet, slightly nutty." Overall it has refreshing, light, natural flavor and we'd gladly pick up a pack anytime we're walking through Whole Foods.

Buy it:365 Everyday Value Coconut Water, $3 for 1-liter at Whole Foods

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What We Were Looking For

We started out by sourcing only plain coconut waters—no chocolate-flavored or lime-infused versions allowed. We chose only pulp-free versions because, frankly, we don't want all those chunky bits in our drink. We preferred coconut waters that list only "coconut water" or "coconut juice" as their sole ingredient (these two descriptors mean the same thing—for more on how they differ from coconut milk,check this out). However, we didn't steer away from brands with ingredients like "natural flavors"—which means that it has naturally derived additives meant to enhance the coconut water'sactualnatural flavor. In the tasting however, these samples routinely fell to the bottom of the list because they tasted overtly of vanilla—or worse, sunscreen. We also allowed brands with added sugar, which some include to make a "consistent product."

Some other coconut water taste tests mention the effect various types of packaging can have on the flavor of coconut water. While we did find that cans and tetra-paks of one brand could have variances in flavor, we found no correlation between packaging material and ranking on our own list.

How We Tested

All coconut waters were stored in the same refrigerator and then decanted into clear quart containers so we could more accurately judge the variations in color. As stated above, color wasn't always an indication of quality, but it did affect overall perception. Samples were then tasted in random order by a panel of Epicurious editors and other staff in a blind tasting. No distinction was made between organic and non-organic products during testing.

The Other Coconut Waters We Tasted

• 365 Organic Coconut Water
• Amy & Brian
• C2O
• Coco Libre
• Foco
• Goya Organics Coconut Water
• Harvest Bay
• Jax
• Naked Coconut Water
• ONE
• Pure Brazilian
• Taste Nirvana
• Trader Joe’s Pure Coconut Water
• Trader Joe’s Organic King Coconut Water
• Vita Coco Coconut Water
• Zico Coconut Water

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Using coconut water instead of mineral water in this homemade sports drink adds even more refreshing flavor:

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