After seeing a few writeups in various outdoor adventure mags, Mrs. Dewgrrl and I decided to buy a case of Zico to take with us on our camping/hiking travels over the summer.
Zico is one of the more recently publicized brands (that I’m aware of) of packaged coconut water being marketed as a sports drink.
Of course the contents of green coconuts has long been a beverage of choice for tropical folks. And for good reason, with it’s high potassium and electrolyte content, no fat, no sugar, no cholesterol, and low calories. Heck, it can even be used intravenously in emergency situations.
We found the drink to be a heavenly end to a long day on the trial. We’d leave a couple of them to chill in our cooler at camp, and take our usual water supply with us on the trail in our camelbacks.
Tasty, refreshing, invigorating, and almost palpable in its recharging of bodily fluids. We both preferred the varieties that had a little fruit flavoring essence added.
As we traveled around the states, sometimes we couldn’t find Zico, but we were always able to find tetrapacks of some variety of coconut water at healthfood stores.
I looked, but I was not able to find a lime-flavored variety. You’re welcome for the earworm.
When I lived on Oahu, one of my favorite treats when visiting Aloha Flea Market was the green coconuts. Guys would have 55 gallon drums of iced down green coconuts - you paid, he’d take one out, wack off the end with a machete and stick in a straw. Yummy!
Ah, nature’s pedialyte. This is the only thing my parents let us drink on the road in India. You can stop and get someone to scamper up a tree, pick a fresh green mango for you, make a hole with a parent-proffered knife to protect the intestines of their foreign-raised young, stick in a straw and drift away to hydration.
:smack: I meant to also mention that all of the varieties that we’ve encountered so far for sale in the states (and what I’ve seen advertised so far online) have been produced by Brazil.
I’m assuming they have a corner on the coconut market…
Something I’ve read here and there, I’ll try and find a cite. When taken directly from the interior of a coconut, the fluid is isotonic and sterile, among other desireable qualities.
After all these years, I’m still not close to the Marshallese in the use of a machete or a stake to get the goodness out of these miracles.
Sorry, but tell you what, we got LOTS of 'em here on Kwaj. If you want to work on your own coconut, I’ll be glad to send you some. Just let me know.
BTW, the slightly immature ones do not have a real coconut solid inside, it is more like a gelatinous glaze, but it is still nutritious and is often used as a supplement to baby food.
