Cocozia 100% Organic Coconut Water {#sponsor product review}

I was recently contacted by the marketing department at Epicurex LLC with an offer to receive and review their Cocozia 100% Organic Coconut Water*. Sure thing. My family loves coconut water. In fact, we currently have two other brands in the fridge. Why not try a new one?

No matter which coconut water we're drinking, we always compare it to the coconut water you sip from the actual fruit. That's to what they all aspire, right? 

This is one we had in Costa Rica [see right] after we visited the Arenal. Whenever we can get fresh coconut water, straight from the coconut, we do. Until our next trip to the tropics, however, we try various brands of organic coconut water available to us.

Coconut water - in case you're unfamiliar - is the clear liquid in the center of young, green coconuts. It's very different from coconut milk or coconut cream which is made by soaking the flesh from older coconuts in water. Coconut water is, and should be, virtually unprocessed.

To that end, I try to avoid a couple of things with any coconut water that I choose for my family. First, added sugars. Cocozia passes that test with flying colors. Its ingredient list is a single item: organic coconut water. Nice.

Second, heat-pasteurization. Pasteurization kills bacteria. That's a good thing, right? Yes. However, while heating coconut water to high temperatures may extend its shelf-life, it destroys some of the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. So, my preference is always unpasteurized, raw coconut water. R did find some brands that are high pressure pasteurized (HPP), meaning that nutrients were intact but the bacteria were "squeezed out"?!?! I don't know exactly how that works. In any case, Cocozia's package reads: "gently pasteurized." Not quite sure what that means, but I would prefer unpasteurized or even HPP.

In addition to just drinking it straight, I decided to try a recipe with Cocozia...

Cocozia Chia Pudding 

by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Ingredients

• 6 T chia seeds
• 2 C Cocozia Coconut Water (feel free to use whatever coconut water you have)
• 1 T honey (I used a wildflower honey from Kimes Apiary in Watsonville)

Procedure
Pour the coconut water and honey into a large jar. Add in the chia seeds. Cover with a lid and shake to combine. Let sit in the refrigerator - to chill and thicken - overnight. To serve, spoon into glasses.

All in all, I was impressed with Cocozia. The flavor of Cocozia is remarkably close to that of fresh, raw coconut water straight from the fruit. I love that the ingredient list is one item. I do like that Cocozia is certified organic by the USDA and verified as non-GMO. Those are all important to me.

If you’d like to learn more about Cocozia, visit their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter, @CocoziaBev.

If you can’t find Cocozia locally, you can order it from Amazon. I'm including an affiliate link below. If you are uncomfortable using the link, feel free to go to amazon and search "Cocozia coconut water" on your own!

*DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary case of Cocozia 100% Organic Coconut Water for the purposes of review.  The opinions expressed here are my own and the recipe shared in the review of this product was not sponsored.