Best Coconut Water Brands To Buy In 2020 Reviews

The Best Coconut Water You Can Buy at the Store

Our favorite brand of coconut water is Zola Original Coconut Water. Stopping short of cracking open our own coconuts, we sampled 19 tetra-paks, cans, and bottles of nature'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!

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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 favorite smoothie, or using to braise a Vietnamese pork dinner.

Our Favorite Organic Coconut Water: Harmless Harvest

The first pink coconut water to 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 Johnson wished it had "a little more tang" though, and admitted her absolute "ideal coconut water would be an equal mix of Harmless Harvest and Pure 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.

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, but Becky Hughes still 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.