I walk into @WFMRaintree aka one of my local Whole Foods, and right in the front is this display of fresh coconuts in ice. There was a very fit woman about early 30's standing at the display picking out a coconut.
As she saw me gander over the coconuts she said to me, "the water in these coconuts are awesome! When you're done drinking you can scoop out the meat and eat it. It's so delicious...it's one of my favorites!"
This woman was so genuinely excited about the fresh coconuts that I got sucked into her enthusiasm and decided that for $2.49 why not try it. The blogger in me is thinking, "Hmmm, this will make for a good blog post too :)"
I've never had fresh coconut water still in its coconut shell here in the States. Whenever I have visited the Philippines with my parents, we will enjoy fresh coconut water in shell because it's everywhere especially from street vendors.
So with my 1/2 veggie sandwich on ciabatta bread, I enjoyed some fresh coconut water and I have to say that in the shell the water tastes so much better than canned coconut water. Plus, many of those canned coconut water drinks are about $1.99. For 50 cents more, I get the real stuff. That's a no-brainer sale for me.
Although, if I were working in an office, I bet it would be quite hysterical to bring back a coconut shell to my cubicle.
On a quick side note, speaking of fitness, here is an interesting article at U.S. News & World Report Health that compares coconut water to Gatorade because coconut water has been called, "nature's sports drink." The one big thing that article forgets to mention is that coconut water does not contain High Fructose Corn Syrup or artificial colors. I still don't understand the concept of "fitness" drinks that are fluorescent yellow-green or purple. Just seems counter healthy to me.
Anyway, if you have the chance to drink coconut water straight from the coconut shell, do so! I agree with that woman, it's delicious.
