June 2025 · 16.9 fl oz · Sparkling · Pasteurized · Added Sugar · Not Organic
The Coaqua website bills this as “Single-origin Vietnamese coconut water. Sourced directly from coconut farms in Vietnam.” Well yeah — where else are they going to source Vietnamese coconut water? It seems like they’re trying to be the Graza or the Fishwife of coconut water — take a solid product, add millennial marketing, and sell it at about 50% more than what it probably should cost. Especially when the product is neither organic nor fair trade. Worth noting there is a touch of added sugar here — a gram or two per 8oz — as well as ascorbic acid (probably to help with shelf life and color).
The smooth and milky profile of Coaqua really lends itself to carbonation. And this is a very lightly carbonated offering — almost effervescent — so it retains a lot of the good qualities of Coaqua still while improving some of the downsides. For example, the overly sweet taste is punctuated by the carbonation, in the same way that it’s easier to drink a super sweet soda when fresh and bubbly vs flat. I’m still not impressed with the company’s complete lack of documented ethical practices.