Cocobella coconut yoghurt review
Here we will give a hands-on, taste-tested review of Cocobella coconut yoghurt. We’ll look into the benefits, ingredients, nutrition, uses and flavour of this dairy-free yoghurt. And we’ll talk about its strengths and weaknesses.
This vegan yoghurt is widely available in supermarkets and health food stores in Australia.
You might also be interested in reading our article about the best vegan yoghurts in Australia reviewed.
Ingredients of Cocobella coconut yoghurt
The specific ingredients are: water, coconut milk, native starch, dextrose, carob bean extract, agar, yoghurt cultures and probiotics.
So the yoghurt is all natural, but it does include added sugar in the form of dextrose.
In case you wondering, carob bean extract is a natural thickening agent made from the seeds of the carob tree. It is used as a thickener and a stabiliser to prevent separation. And agar is a jelly-like substance derived from red algae which is used as thickener and a vegan alternative to gelatin. We’ll talk more about the result of these thickeners later in the review.
It’s also interesting to note that this yoghurt uses coconut milk (after water as the primary ingredient), whereas Coyo coconut yoghurt uses coconut cream as the primary ingredient. This may explain the differences in taste which we will talk about below.
Benefits of Cocobella coconut yoghurt
Here we’ll look at the health benefits of this yoghurt as well as comparing some key health metrics against dairy yoghurt and its closest competitor Coyo coconut yoghurt.
Probiotics
Probiotics are live, beneficial microbes that have been proven to offer health benefits.
Cocobella coconut yoghurt includes the following microbes, most of which can be considered probiotic:
Bifidobacterium - the species is not specified so we can’t be sure it is strictly a probiotic, but it is likely to be
Lactobacillus acidophilus - a probiotic which supports digestion, enhances gut microbiota balance and may reduce symptoms of lactose intolerance
L. paracasei - a probiotic which boosts immune function, helps manage inflammation and supports gut barrier integrity
L. bulgaricus - sometimes considered a probiotic but it doesn’t survive gastric acid well
Streptococcus thermophilus - not a probiotic, used in yoghurt fermentation
In terms of the actual amount of these live cultures, there are 2.5 billion colony forming units (CFU) per 100g. It’s worth noting that unlike most other vegan yoghurt we’ve reviewed, this CFU count includes the live cultures which aren’t considered probiotic.
For context, Coyo includes two probiotic strains which together give 2 billion colony forming units per 100g.
Read more about the benefits of probiotic foods.
Postbiotics
Postbiotics are essentially things probiotics produce during fermentation. These include healthy short-chain fatty acids which nourish our gut lining and may help reduce symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
Other health measures
One thing to be conscious of when buying coconut yoghurt is that it has a very different nutritional profile to dairy yoghurt.
Fat: This yoghurt is high in fat with 9.7% fat - which would place it at the top end of dairy yoghurt. However, this is much below Coyo which has 14.9% fat. It’s also important to note that the fat in coconut yoghurt has a higher percentage of saturated fat than dairy yoghurt does.
Protein: Compared to dairy yoghurt the protein content is very low - it is only 0.9% protein. Coyo isn’t much better at 1.3%.
Calcium: Again, compared to dairy yoghurt this yoghurt would have extremely low levels of calcium. Neither coconut yoghurt even mentions the calcium metrics.
Sugars: Cocobella is lower in sugars compared to dairy yoghurts with only 2g per 100g. Coyo is even lower with 1.4g.
Sodium: This yoghurt is very low in sodium, but most yoghurts are to some degree.
Appearance
As the picture below shows, it appears like a slimey, homogeneous soft serve ice cream. Sorry, but it doesn’t look right to me.
Texture
It is advertised as ‘thick and creamy’ but don’t get your hopes up. The texture is indeed thick, but this comes from the two added thickeners, and again, it just seems wrong. It’s like a thick gooeyness which isn’t very satisfying. Maybe this strange texture also affects the perception of creaminess, because it isn’t nice and creamy like some dairy yoghurt and Coyo are. I was expecting a much nicer creaminess given it is so high in fat to be honest.
Flavour
The aroma is subtly of coconut.
The taste is a bland, mild coconuttiness. The acidity is quite low. There’s just really not much going on.
Overall, the taste is underwhelming. The texture is strange, it feels like something is missing and you are left not very satisfied after eating something quite fatty ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Uses
On its own this yoghurt is quite bland. Perhaps it would be best used with fruits and granola or put in a smoothie.
Cost of Cocobella coconut yoghurt
A 900g tub from Coles costs $9 - which is more than premium yoghurts, but cheaper than Coyo.
Summary
Rating: 3 stars out of 5.
Verdict: Cocobella coconut yoghurt offers some probiotics, but an odd texture from the thickeners used and a fairly bland taste let it down. It also suffers from the usual poor health metrics coconut yoghurt does. And even though it is cheaper than some coconut yoghurt, it is still quite expensive.
Pros
dairy free (if that’s important to you)
various probiotics
natural ingredients
low in sugar (even though some is added)
Cons
underwhelming taste
odd texture
high in fat
low in protein
very low in calcium
expensive
Factors we consider in our ratings
The factors we consider when doing a review (and the weightings of each of these) may vary depending on the product we are testing, but here are the key general factors we consider when we settle on a rating for a product.
Health benefits
We find out how the product will be good for your health and outline the benefits for you in simple language. This often involves doing research so you don’t have to. We often link to scientific studies or articles summarising scientific findings so you can dig deeper if you want to.
Things detrimental to health
We want to highlight where a product might include something bad for your health - even if it might be good for you in another way. This could include such things as pointing out certain additives it contains or high sugar levels.
How its made
This will vary depending on the product, but we want to see a quality process for making it and quality ingredients. For example, we want to see a kombucha traditionally fermented with lots of different microbial strains and we want to see a yoghurt made with fresh milk and not milk powders.
Price
While we expect quality products to be more expensive, they still have to be priced within reason. On the other side of things, a product which is priced very competitively will get a ratings boost based on the value it provides.
Flavour
For some products flavour won’t be a factor (eg probiotic tablets), but for others, like yoghurt or kimchi, flavour is a key aspect because these products are made to be enjoyed as well as being healthy! We will try to be as subjective as possible and describe the flavour in detail so you can get an idea of whether you would like it or not.
Our favourite gut health products in Australia
YourBiology Gut+ probiotic not only offers 10 strains of probiotics, but also includes two types of prebiotics, three digestive enzymes and vitamin D for gut health support. All this means it offers a lot more benefits for gut health and general health than most probiotic supplements do
FixBIOME is a natural and very evidence-based supplement which is specifically designed to get your gut back into good shape. Perfect for those who need a gut reset
Read more about the best gut health products in Australia.
Your reviewer
This hands-on review was written by Travis, the founder of this website, long-time gut-health enthusiast, science nerd and passionate kombucha maker of over 10 years!
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