When Victoria's Kitchen first contacted me about sending me some samples of their new Coconut Almond Water, I must admit that I was a bit...concerned. I very much enjoy their plain almond water, but my recent beverage history is riddled with bad experiences with coconut waters, and the last thing that I wanted to do was share another negative post about a new coconut something - particularly one from a company as competent as Victoria's Kitchen. This, as I found out immediately upon opening the bottle and taking my first sip, was a silly concern - one that almost makes me feel a bit presumptuous in retrospect. While I am ashamed to admit that I have now officially doubted Victoria's Kitchen two times in a row, I am also excited to be able to report that my preconceived notions about a beverage have never been more wrong.
In my original review of Victoria's Kitchen Almond Water, I actually touched upon my initial hesitation toward the drink due to its conceptual resemblance to coconut water. It's sort of funny, then, that the first foray into expanding the Victoria's Kitchen product line would contain coconut, but I'm very glad that it does. Victoria's Kitchen's Coconut Almond Water does not actually contain any of the all-overwhelming coconut water that I was afraid of, but rather uses a delicious and natural coconut flavoring on top of their already very solid almond water foundation. All of the original traits of the almond water are still there, but this time with the addition of a new tropical taste.
Coconut is one of those flavors that is fairly difficult to actually get right. While I enjoy the taste of coconut a good bit, I have definitely had plenty of beverages touting coconut as a main ingredient that were either overwhelmed by the flavor, tasted artificial or were just not very good representations of the various subtleties of coconut's relatively complex taste. Coconut is a complicated taste to match with other things, and then even harder to proportion after a pairing has been reached, but Victoria's Kitchen has gotten it just right. There is just enough taste of the coconut in the beverage to be noticeable without overpowering the almond water base, and the light sweetness of the drink really helps to bring the two flavors together. On top of the drink being very well-balanced, the coconut flavoring is also very natural and tastes like the actual meat of a coconut fruit, rather than the candied, unchewable confectionery flakes with which the term "coconut" has unfortunately become so synonymous. All in all, this is a very tasty twist on an already very tasty beverage.
While I never would have guessed that almond and coconut would have gone well together, Victoria's Kitchen has demonstrated very clearly that they do. The coconut brings an extra element to the almond water that gives the beverage a slightly more interesting level of appeal (the combination of flavors may actually be an easier sell to less adventurous, non-almond-loving friends), while at the same time enhancing the taste of the original drink and punching up the uniquely impossible to describe taste (I've resorted to calling it "roasted," but even that isn't quite right) of fresh almonds. If you like almonds or coconut or things that taste fantastic, you will love Victoria's Kitchen Almond Water Coconut.
Verdict: Highly recommended
Samples sent courtesy of Victoria's Kitchen, LLC.
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I think a coconut water is good but will only depend on the source of coconut water. I mean if the makers are not filtering it properly and it could an expired product or something. But when it comes to drinks, I can suggest that you should try some tulsi tea which is made out of organic herb. So far I never had any bad experiences on drinking a tea.
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