Coconut Water Flavours: A Breakdown Of Nutty, Sweet And Saline Tasting Notes
Coconut water extracted from tender coconuts or even ripened brown coconuts is a very sweet and slightly creamy drink with a complex flavour profile. The taste of coconut water is changeable and varies according to the coconut’s age, variety and how it is processed. Often, tender coconut water is served by itself in its coconut shell as a popular streetside drink but it is also added to a number of cocktail and mocktail blends to introduce a tropical effect into these beverages.
Added to drinks like a tropical mule, a piña colada and even a coconut infused classic gin and tonic, coconut water builds lots of sweet and nutty notes into blends, while imbuing them with just a hint of a salinity. This leads to the creation of an intricate blend complete with lots of flavour depth.
Here’s a breakdown of the different nutty, saline and fruity flavour notes in coconut water that have led it to become a favoured summertime drink:
Coconut Water’s Sweetness
One of the most prominent flavours in coconut water is its sweetness. Fresh tender coconut water has a pronounced sweet quality that is hardly sugary, yet is enough to work as a sweet flavour introduced into cocktail or mocktail blends. In summers, tender coconut water is almost always sought for its sweet character which eliminates the need for adding any external sugar alternative into drinks. Such is the case with coconut water extracted from riper nuts too, which is just as sweet but slightly more dense.
Nutty Flavour Profile
What brings a deep and dense note into coconut water is its nutty flavour profile. Coconut water has a subtle coconut flavour, which is not quite as potent as the tasting note of coconut flesh yet is present enough to give it a buttery, almond-like taste. This nutty flavour profile also introduces a roundness into coconuts to endow them with an earthy finish and aftertaste. Without tasting too much like coconut milk, this nutty note comes through in a subtle way in coconut water that nonetheless brings depth into the its overall flavour.
Salinity
Bringing a flavour twist into coconut water is its salinity that plays a role in making all the other tasting notes in the drink more pronounced. Sometimes, tender coconut water can taste slightly tart and even briny which is a result of this salinity or lightly salty and mineral-like taste. It is critical to understand this flavour because it brings about a balance in the natural drink that is added to different beverages precisely for such well-rounded flavours.
Fermented Sour Notes
Older coconuts sometimes carry a lightly fermented or sour note. While such overpowering notes can be an indication of a coconut that is past its prime, in a more subtle form, fermented and sour coconut water can be an interesting addition to drinks which require this slightly pungent, tart and sour quality. This tasting note builds a bit of depth into beverages and lends them density when used sparingly.
Grassy Profile
Some younger coconut variations contain a crisp flavour and a grassy, cucumber-like crispiness which give them a hint of a savoury finish. Coconut water extracted from these fruits is almost melon-like on the nose with little hints of aloe vera that give it an herbal finish. Coconut water complete with this grassy profile has a mellow sweetness and a pronounced bright and savoury quality which makes it a suitable addition to botanically flavoured gin-based cocktails.
Drink Responsibly. This communication is for audiences above the age of 25.
