For a while there Vita Coco coconut water was THE drink to be seen with. C’mon, that’s not just marketing speak - you must have seen the pics of everyone from Rihanna to Madonna slurping on a carton of Vita Coco? No, well goodness, it must be kind of damp living under that rock.
Still, so famous is Vita Coco - apparently it has cult-like brand loyalty - that when I was assigned the task of reviewing the new Vita Coco Kids range, I got wildly excited and thought my prayers had been answered. Why? Because for reasons that I cannot fathom, my kids are always reluctant to drink enough.
Read on to find out whether it lived up to my expectations...
Admittedly it may be because I am one of *those* strict and boring mothers who only allows milk or water at mealtimes or for drinks between meals, and rarely indulges the kids in their love of fizzy, sugary or generally more exciting drinks.
I spend half the day trying to get my kids to drink something. I ply them with one glass of juice at breakfast, dispatch them to school with bottles of water which invariably come home un-touched, and then coax them to down some kind of drink at tea-time.
And of course, come bedtime they declare that they are DYING of thirst and beg me to bring them a drink of water. Which, if I do, they will invariably spill all over the bedclothes or squirt in one another’s faces instead of settling down to sleep. And don’t even get me started on the whole waking up to pee at the crack of dawn thing and disturbing the whole house in the process.
So - you’ll understand my glee when Vita Coco Kids coconut water landed on my desk. I was pretty sure I’d found something which, at long last, my kids would happily hydrate with.
Er, wrong.
It’s not that Vita Coco isn’t tasty, it’s just that my kids are fussy. It comes in a range of different flavours and we tried a couple of them but my kids just weren’t sold.
This stuff is supposed to have all sorts of health benefits, and my kids were vaguely impressed that it’s made from the juice of seven month old coconuts - younger than the average coconut is scarified to make coconut water - but I think the problem is that the flavour is too subtle.
It’s gluten-free and vegan approved and has no fat or cholesterol, and is packed with five essential elctrolytes, making it a good sports drink for little people. It’s even full of nutrients and potassium but none of that really matters to kids, who tend to just know what they like and like what they know.
So will your kids love it? Hard to say but I will admit that I wish mine did, as Vita Kids Coco coconut water strikes me as just about the most perfect lunch box item. It’s healthy, it’ll stop them dehydrating, it ticks the old fruit and veg box (I think…) and it’s the perfect size.
So I guess my conclusion is that it’s the sort of drink I wish my kids loved, and it’s worth sampling if you’re looking for something healthy for your kids to drink. And I quite fancy trying the latte versions sometime, so we're keeping an open mind on all things Vita Coco.
Pros: Vita Coco Kids coconut water packs all sorts of health benefits and is ideal for lunch boxes.
Cons: My kids just didn’t like the taste. Pesky kids.
Overall verdict: If your kids like it, wonderful. If they don’t… I’ve heard it makes an excellent drinks mixer. Someone pass me the gin, please….
You can click here to buy direct from Vita Coco or have a browse here at Amazon's offering. Better still, head to Tesco where it's 2 for £5 right now.
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